Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' is a dwarf form of the Southern Magnolia
that will reach 20' or so over time. Another dwarf form is 'Teddy Bear', but
I don't have any experience with it. Dirr states that Teddy Bear is 'Dense,
compact, upright-pyramidal form, wavy leaves.' Although it can be
'semi-deciduous' in our Zone depending upon the winter, the Sweetbay
Magnolias have a lot to offer such a space. They are usually multistemmed
and 'shrubby' in growth but you can prune it to tree form pretty easily.
'Moonglow' is a strong pyramidal tree form that won't really need special
pruning.

Less ornamental but still a fine tree is the conifer Cryptomeria japonica.
The leaf texture and rugged bark are magnificent. Variety 'Yoshino' will get
to 30' at maturity.

Dave
Fairfax, VA



Peter wrote in message ...

I'm landscaping a circle in a suburban cul-de-sac.... The circle is
30 feet in diameter, and gets full sun. Surrounded by plenty of
decideous trees such as Sweet Gum and Hickory Locust on adjoining
properties, but the circle stands out in the sun. My thoughts are
to place a smallish tree in the center of the circle....

Location is in Maryland, right between Baltimore and Washington,
D.C.. we are officially in a zone 7a but because of the urban city
heat, the USDA has also described this area as being zone 8.

Kinda crazy weather.... can be 110 degrees in the summer months and
drop down to -20 degrees below zero during the winter. We've just
had 4 years of drought, yet this year, it's rained so much my
backyard turned into a swamp. I planted carmellia's last year,
and the temperature promptly dropped to 20 degrees below zero,
followed by a very wet spring.... about an inch of standing water
on top of the ground. Last year the ground cracked from the heat and
drought. So it needs to be a sturdy tree.

What tree's would be evergreen, grow about 30' high with
a 20' spread, forming a canopy. I was considering a
magnolia.. but am open to suggestions.

Are any of the magnolia family evergreen and somewhat smallish???
Are they quick growers??


Thanking you in advance !!!

Your suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated.