Q • I have a small square area outside my condo that would be so great for a small tree. The bad news is it’s very hot there in the summer. One side of the square is the brick house, two sides are air conditioners and the fourth side is the concrete driveway. Is there any kind of tree that could grow in that environment? A cherry, redbud, dogwood or small maple would be preferred.
That’s a very challenging situation and you don’t give dimensions, so I’m left wondering how small is small? In any event, I would rule out all redbuds and dogwoods as they are woodland edge species that appreciate a break from hot afternoon sun. If I was to try a cherry, it might be Prunus ‘Snow Fountains’ (tinyurl.com/c54romj) or Prunus ‘Bonfire,’ an ornamental peach (tinyurl.com/crecb7u).
One of the new, hardier crape myrtles such as ‘Acoma’ might work. Your small courtyard should provide shelter from severe winter cold and increase the likelihood it maintains mature size and stature from year to year. See tinyurl.com/9ob4vyy.
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Among maples, I’ve seen the paperbark maple do very well in hot, sunny locations, and its upright growth habit is well-suited to close quarters. See tinyurl.com/9sgl4r8.
Perhaps the best choice might be the Shantung maple. The specimens that we planted in the large planters on Spoehrer Plaza at Missouri Botanical Garden have held their own remarkably well for 25-plus years in spite of being surrounded by hot hardscape and only growing in limited soil space. See tinyurl.com/94qqben.
Write to Chip Tynan at [email protected] or Horticultural Answer Service, Department PD, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Mo. 63166. Check his blog at: mobot.org/gardeninghelp/hilight.asp