Tony Carnell wrote:

Hi all,

I'm looking for suggestions for a relatively small tree I'd like to
plant through a deck I intend building at the top of my garden.

The site is north facing, with a reasonable amount of sun, and the soil
has been well cultivated over the years so it's in good condition.

I'm after a smallish tree with as much seasonal interest as possible
(flowers, autumn colour, interesting bark), but one that hasn't got
invasive roots because although it won't be near any buildings it will
be close to the boundary with a neighbour and they have a path that I
don't want to damage.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Tony.

One of the native UK whitebeams (sorbus). They form a series of
microspecies with very limited distributions in the wild, often
restricted to a single locality - sorbus bristoliensis and sorbus
wilmotiana both naturaly only grow in the Avon Gorge, Bristol. Sorbus
devoniensis is more or less restricted to slopes on the edge of Exmoor
and north Devon cliffs.

Most are quite small (12-15 ft maximum), slow growing and have
berries/coloured leaves, lasting into autumn. Generally pretty tough and
can handle most UK weather.
--
Larry Stoter