On 27/02/2012 15:10, AL_n wrote:
wrote in
:

I'd suggest you go back to the drawing board and rethink your
specifications a bit.

You may be right. My "plan B" rethink would be to use an even smaller
(dwarf) tree, planted even closer to the house. This would provide the
dappled shade I need for anyone sitting out on the East-facing staging,
immediately in front of the east side of the house. In this case, the tree
should reach a maximum height of 10 feet or so, with a "diameter" (I use
the word loosely), of about 5ft. The foliage should not be too dense, as I
only want dappled shade and still be able to see through it. Evergreen or
deciduous would be fine. If it produces something edible, that's a bonus.
Primarily, it needs to look attractive, and not too common-looking. A
twisty trunk as opposed to a straight one would be good.

How about ginko or mulberry then. They both grow *much* larger
eventually but you could keep them down to size as wanted.

Get a male ginko unless you like the nuts (fruit smell awful).

--
Regards,
Martin Brown