If there’s one thing I think every garden could benefit from, it’s more trees; nature’s air conditioning, they create shady spots, add plenty of year-round interest in the form of berries, blossoms, and shifting foliage, and they are great for wildlife. And yet…
Well, and yet there are five I’d never plant in my own garden. I’m certainly not anti-tree – quite the opposite, actually; my own garden is home to several, including a few trees in pots (an apple and an olive, to be precise), a pear tree planted in the ground, and a glorious magnolia that steals the show every spring. (It’s the tree everyone comments on when they visit, and I can’t pretend I’m not a little smug about it).
But years of writing about gardening, speaking to arborists and landscape designers, living with an RHS-trained gardener (handy!), and learning from my own mistakes have also taught me that not every beautiful tree belongs in every garden…
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The five trees I’d never plant in my own garden
So, which are the five trees I’d never plant in my garden? Well, a caveat first: none of these are “bad” trees. In the right setting, each one has plenty to recommend it. Some become far larger than most people expect, while others create maintenance headaches that simply aren’t worth the effort in my opinion (although I’d happily admire from afar!).
With that in mind, then, here are the five trees I’d never plant in my own backyard – and the three I’d recommend instead.
1. Sumac
Top of my list of trees I’d never plant in my garden is sumac, even though I completely understand the appeal. The fiery autumn foliage is breathtaking, and those upright, velvety seed heads add interest well into winter.
My issue is what’s happening underground. Sumacs spread by suckers (rhizomes), sending up new shoots several feet away from the main trunk. If the roots are disturbed – or the tree becomes stressed – those suckers can appear all over the garden.
In a large landscape, that’s not necessarily a problem. In my garden, though, I’d rather not spend years digging out unwanted shoots from borders and lawns. So sue me.
2. Leylandii
The UK’s most infamous hedge plant has earned its bad reputation for a reason, so you’d best believe it’s on my list of trees I’d never plant!
Leylandii grows incredibly quickly, which sounds like a bonus until you realise you’re signing yourself up for constant pruning just to keep it under control. Miss a season or two and it can quickly tower over fences and neighbouring gardens.
Even with my own live-in gardener, it’s more maintenance than I’d ever want to commit to, so it’s firmly on my “no thanks” list.
3. Conifer
Controversial? Maybe! However, while some conifers are stunning specimen trees, they’re simply too dominant for the average garden.
Many create dense shade that makes it difficult for anything else to thrive beneath them, while their thirsty root systems compete with neighbouring plants for water and nutrients.
I much prefer trees that coexist happily with the rest of the planting rather than becoming the only thing that can grow in one corner of the garden.
4. White willow
Willows are, as a rule, very thirsty trees, so they don’t tend to do well near houses as the best of times. Still, I don’t dislike white willow itself; I just hate the fluff.
My neighbours have one, and every year when it goes to seed, it feels like we’re living inside a snow globe. The fluffy seeds drift everywhere, float through open windows and somehow end up absolutely everywhere in the garden.
It’s beautiful from a distance, but after breathing in enough willow fluff over the years, I know it’s not a tree I’d choose to bring any closer to home.
5. Plum tree
The last on my list of trees I’d never plant in my garden might surprise people because I absolutely love homegrown fruit.
The problem is that I rarely seem to get to enjoy much of the harvest. Birds and other wildlife always used to beat me to the ripest plums when I lived in a rented house with a glorious plum tree in the garden, and any fruit that fell to the ground quickly turned into a mushy mess.
For me, it’s a lot of anticipation for a fairly small reward. (And I may or may not have a friend with a plum who constantly messages me about pigeons divebombing the fruit, so that may also be a reason I wish to avoid it. Who can say for sure?).
The three trees I’d happily plant instead
Crocus
Amelanchier Laevis ‘snowflakes’
If I could persuade every gardener to grow one underrated tree, it would probably be an amelanchier. It delivers clouds of spring blossom, stunning autumn colour and genuinely delicious berries that are criminally overlooked.
Crab apples tick almost every box for me. They put on a wonderful display of blossom in spring, develop gorgeous autumn foliage and produce colourful fruits that birds love. Better still, those fruits can also be turned into delicious jellies, jams and pickles!
Crocus
Cornus Kousa Var. Chinensis
If I had room for another ornamental tree, Chinese dogwood would be near the top of my list. It’s slow growing, making it much easier to manage, produces masses of blossoms and finishes the year with spectacular crimson-purple autumn colour.
Try not to let me be the oracle of all your tree-based decisions; as I said already, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a universally “bad” tree – only trees that are better suited to certain gardens than others.
The trick is choosing one that fits both your space and the amount of maintenance you’re realistically willing to take on. For me, that means prioritising trees that offer year-round beauty without becoming a constant job, because I want to spend more time enjoying my garden than managing it.
If you have the time and are inclined to put the work in, though? That’s a perfectly valid choice! I’ll be sure to raise a glass to you from my hammock as you prune…
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