Please suggest tree to use as ornamental in a formal garden

I would like to create a formal walkway in my back yard, and line it on both sides with small trees that I might even keep pruned to a lollipop shape, or umbrella. I've seen pears, portugal laurels, apples, holm oaks in a book on period gardens, mostly in England. I live in Massachusetts. I would like them very small, ideally 10 - 15' so I can prune them myself and so they don't shade the rest of the yard. I see that the ornamental pears typically grow to 20', which is a little tall. Can I keep them smaller if I prune? Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm not planning on mixing those varieties, just choosing one. And I can't bring them in every winter, I already have a couple citrus in pots, don't have room for any more. I'm planning to plant these in the ground.

The best "lollipop" trees I've ever seen are Korean lilacs (Syringa meyerii or maybe Syringa patula) grafted onto standards. I know a local nurseryman who creates these, but I don't know if they are commonly available around the country or not.

Scott

You can also buy roses that are grafted onto something to create a standard--that way you can have pretty blooms too and you wouldn't have to worry about it getting super tall

Both really good ideas, any others?

I am doing this with redwoods... but I am going to let them keep their main shape in the tops.

You could do that with rose of sharons I think. I always look at one at a hotel by me. It's probably 30 years old and it's 12-15ft tall with a nice shape, nice flowers also. At least I think it's a rose of sharon, looks like one.

My MIL keeps two Rose of Sharons in the 60 year range both kept to nice little trees about 10 feet tall.

There are a handful of dwarfer forms of crabapple that could easily fit the description you've provided. There is even one named Lollipop® (see here: http://www.lakecountynursery.com/lollipop.htm )

Additional crabapples that have been in the trade even longer (and conform to the tight rounded form) include Coralburst™ and 'Satin Cloud'. The ornamental Malus offer so many seasons of interest:

•the range of white, pink, or red flowers in singles and doubles
•clean green disease resistant foliage throughout the growing season including some cutleaf forms and reddish to burgundy types
•good fall color ranging through reds, oranges, and yellows
•multiple choices of habit from standard broad rounded, upright, vase, pendulous, to weeping and dwarf
•in the best forms stunning fruit display that can last all winter with blood red to cherry red to orange to yellow

Traditional crabapples had large fruit that dropped early and wasn't/isn't suited to typical garden uses today. No more. These small fruits (¼-½") persist till birds take them, or are hidden by new spring foliage. I could go on...

Another "cueball" type plant is Dirca palustris; doubt that anyone has ever planted an allée of this species (and it may not reach the 10' size you wish for), but hey, break new ground!

Finally, pawpaw (Asimina triloba), when grown in full sun makes an exceptionally uniform tree. You might call it the Bradford pear of small native trees (if you were mean). I wouldn't ascribe it as many ornamental features as many of the other choices offered on this thread, but it would be unique.

I thought it was an interesting use of a small umbrella-shaped tree overlooking a walkway. I'm not sure what they are, but I'd guess Morus.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Trees/HPIM2452.jpg

I really like the malus lollipop, does anyone know a mail order company I can order some from? I'm not a landscaper, and every place I find on the internet requires you to be a landscaper.

A plant produced as a top-graft (like Lollipop­™) probably won't be available via mailorder. If you toured the website and noticed all the licensed growers, then you could visit your local nursery/garden center and see which of these firms that they order plants from and try to get one that way.

Since you are after more than one plant, there is a decent chance that the local source may try to accommodate your interests.

Cindy,
My bad memory can't come up with the nursery's name but I have friends who rave about the owner & nursery that is right on route 3 in Plymouth...The name begins with a T or S...ahhhhh it's driving me crazy. If not there you might want to call Sylvan's and see about pre-ordering.

I went out this morning and took some photos at my local nursery of some Malus that I fell in love with last season. They stand no taller than six feet and certainly have artfully been pruned over many years. This of course makes them a costly item $800.00+ each, after I scraped my chin up off the ground it was suggested to me by one of the employees that I just buy a young sargent malus learn to prune artfully and the ten or so years will fly by. I wonder now if these pictured might in fact be lollipop? I would really love just one. kt

Malus sargent or lollipop?

Those don't appear to be top-grafted plants (the stated preference for producing this slow-growing clone), so I'd put my money on Malus sargentii.

IDing a crabapple in the winter from 1500 miles away (despite good picture quality) is sketchy at best. Do you remember the flower color on this? The foliage color/texture? These are often better ways to ascertain this group of plants identity.

If you checked the website above, you'd see in the pictures of Lollipop™ a very dense-headed plant. This is typically due to very short internodes (stem length between buds) and slow growth (short stem extensions annually). The crabapple you've illustrated seems to have a bit more vigor, which would be typical of Sargent crab.

VV,
As always I believe your right again, they don't seem to be top grafted and they were not as dense as the lollipop. Now to learn the fine art of pruning. Thanks kt

We have some type of holly trees lining our sidewalks in town that have a lollipop shape. I'm not sure what kind they are but they stand around 9ft high and are no bigger than 3ft around. The top is a perfect round ball.