Crabapples are full sun (6+ hours) trees. In that location, the tree may not develop its deep burgundy foliage color or retain it all summer. It may "green out". Just something to be aware of. OTOH, the Bloodgood would prefer that not-full-sun siting and maintain its color. It's tough to judge the scale accurately but the maple is a bigger tree overall and may overfill that space in due course.

Gardengal-Thank you for your reply. I wondered about the amount of sun and was a bit surprised that the nursery recommended the crabapple for that reason. Also You have a good point, I am concerned the bloodgood may get too big over time. Do you have any other suggestions? I have looked at dwarf Japanese Maples but haven’t found a variety with the traits I am drawn to which are traditional maple leaf shape ( not lace), reddish leaves and a branch structure that is somewhat visible . I am open to other species as well. Looking to add something of interest both when leafed and in the winter when I can see its branch shape.

What is the directional orientation of this site? The sun loving pine looks to be doing well, and you state, “It gets several hours of sun followed by filtered light.“ Another question to ask is how soon do you think this site may change when it comes to sun? If the trend is towards shade, and you wanted it planted exactly where the pine is, then maple may be the way to go. Could you pull the planting out a bit from where the pine is to enhance and ensure adequate sun?

At the risk of being annoying, what species of pine do you have?

z5 is about half the US and very divergent.. give us a big city name... not all JMaples are winter hardy in my ground freeze z5 ....

not sure thats a pine at this distance.. but that is beside the point...

is your only goal.. anything but green???

when you can affirmatively state your goals... and then add in the cultural variables.. then it should be easy to make a choice...

sand is great for trees... never amend soil.. see link for timing.. and a general guide... july and august is not tree planting time...

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

getting a new transplant tree fully established in front of a bunch of large older trees.. can be tricky if those trees are water hogs... do not rely on lawn irrigation ofr the first 2 years... and it should need no more water from you after 2 years...

why do you care how big it gets???.. the trees behind are not so small they will be dwarfed...

the classic part sun smallish understory tree is a redbud... not sure i would recommend the non green variations.. as you move away from all green.. then you need more sun...

may we have a very succinct list of your goals.. and your location... ???

ken

Thanks for the guiding questions. The orientation of the site is more a natural forested area to the south and a small lawn area to the north. I don’t think the amount of sunlight is going to change any time too soon as it has been this way for quite some time. I am not able to pull the planting out more than 5 feet or so as I want it to be on the boarder of the yard. The pine is an Eastern White and is about 5 feet tall.
I am in the Grand Rapids MI area.
My goals:

1. Create a small focal area that we can enjoy while we are sitting in the yard.
2. Add a different color leaf. I love all of the greens of my trees, but thought adding color variety during the summer would be nice.
3. Shorter than the surrounding trees in order to differentiate the area a little bit.
4. Interesting branch shape visible in the winter months.
   Bonus attracting birds and pollinators

Ken, I am not sure what you mean about cultural variables, but I would be happy to give more details. I am not in any huge hurry to plant if the fall is better for the tree.

I'm guessing you've already visited Frederik Meijer Gardens. If not, I'd check it out ASAP and find out what works and what doesn't in conditions similar to yours. They make it sound as if A. palmatum does well for them, but I'd have a look for myself. In fact, I am going to have a look as we'll be visiting there at the end of August. BTW, it's a nice spot you've got and I can see why you want to make it a focal point.

maackia I am familiar with Frederick Meijer gardens and enjoy going several times a year most recently for the butterfly exhibit . What a great suggestion! You will love visiting there. I think maybe I should look into an emperor one Japanese maple for size, color and my conditions.

Have you considered replacing the white pine with a golden conifer?

cecily, thanks for the suggestion I had to look up Golden conifer as that wasn’t familiar to me. There are some beautiful varieties. I will definitely try to fit one of those into my yard but I think at this location I would enjoy seeing the branch structure exposed in the winter months.