Betula n. 'Little King'

I really, really like this plant. It seems to have many of the qualities of the straight species and then the added twist of its stocky and diminuative nature.

Can anyone recommend other dwarf North American native tree cultivars that have similar qualities?

I'll be back in about a week to see what you have to say. Thanks!

No personal experience, but there are a couple of dwarf Liquidambars out there like Gumball and also a dwarf Katsura called Heronwood's Globe.

Willis

Does anybody know if these dwarfs originated as brooms or as slow growing seedlings?

Willis-

The dwarf Liquidambar would be fun around here. They're marginally hardy but worth a go. Would that I could tell you about whether or not it's a phenotypic variarion. That's really fun stuff to know. Let's wait......and see what others'll say!

I say...everyone send the sweetgum question to Lucky.

How about Aesculus glabra var. nana? Not really a cultivar but dwarf. Acer saccharum 'Kompact' may have been renamed by now but definately a dwarf. Fraxinus pensylvanica 'Leprechaun' is usually a topgrafted tree that looks like a lollipop for some years. It gets a flower gall badly in Central IL and then there's that bug, a borer or something. ;-) One of my friends is doing an internship at Longwood Gardens and he spotted a witches broom on a Juglans. I don't remember which species it was but they are trying to propagate it. Taxodium distichum 'Peve Minaret' is a compact baldcypress. My guess is that many of the plants weren't witches brooms but seedlings, but that is only a guess.

Regards,
Ernie

Here's a dwarf form of Kentucky Coffeetree.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Shrubs/HPIM1628.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Shrubs/HPIM1629.jpg

How about a compact dwarf sugar maple?

Acer saccharum 'Shawnee' (times two)

Ok, now that is pretty dope. It is renewing my interest in little trees. Now that is a broom if I ever saw one. For a nice selection of trees to make ya feel taller try:

http://smallplants.com

Willis

Unfortunately, smallplants.com lists A. s. 'Shawnee' as a zone 6 tree. Bummer.

I don't believe it. Don't tell the other sugar maples that they are zone pushers.

Willis

It's very possible. I believe that Red maples (Acer rubrum) are native north to south along the Eastern part of the USA. A tree from the southern limit will not be hardy in the north. If the broom developed in zone 6 or lower, it could very well be a zone 6 tree (or zone 5b; VV you're such a zone-pusher! (:o))

Provenance, Provenance. I hate that word so much I misspelled it twice (fixed with spell check). With a name like Shawnee, sounds like it came from the Ntl forest in Southern IL-KY.

Willis

Yeah, if every plant had zone 1 provenance, we'd be able to grow everything.

Of course, it goes without saying, that the plants would be able to tolerate the heat of the south.

In my fantasy world, everything is possible! Impatiens are completely winter-hardy here.

Then ultimate drwaf tree...this is among the smallest known Japanese Maples called Sharp's Pygmy. This plant is 8 years old and still under 10 inches!

Looks like an 8 year old snack for a wabbit. I haven't bought any dwarf japanese maples yet, but that Coonera has been speaking to me. That or the wabbits are whispering next to my window at night. How would you recommend protecting a dwarf like that from a bunny without obstructing the whole thing with a cage or having it smell like pee? Which brings me to my next post...

I'll snoop around and see if I can determine just how far and wide 'Shawnee' sugar maple has been distributed or planted, but I wouldn't abandon hope based simply on the location of one nursery that happens to be growing this clone in NC.

Theodore Klein, nurseryman extraordinaire and exemplary plantsman, selected Acer saccharum 'Shawnee' from a witches broom. The late great gentleman made his home in Crestwood KY (http://www.yewdellgardens.org/), and made his many observations and selections from his travels near and far from his home and business.

It is likely (and contact with Yew Dell could confirm this) that 'Shawnee' was observed and selected in the Ohio River valley region, which until the latest solar cycle since 1994 has been solidly in the zone 5 camp with regular winter visits of minimums in the -10ºF to -20ºF range (-23.3ºC to -28.8ºC). In fact, 1994 brought the lowest recorded minimum temperature ever in KY, one county away from Yew Dell Gardens when it reached -37ºF (-38.3ºC).

Since Mr. Klein knew, grew (and would also teach you) during a span of time from the 1940s to the 1990s, it's safe to say that 'Shawnee' sugar maple has tolerated repeated exposures to rather severe conditions.

Heck, for you glacial remnant raconteurs, this plant might not even poke its head out above your relatively meager snow cover during the winter.

Wow, Thank you all for oyur suggestions. Acer s. 'Shawnee' 'll probably get my money, though. It seems to have a very similar habit to the Betula n 'Little King' that I already have.

I never fret too much about hardiness. Clearly, I'll not be planting any epiphytic orchids but, until I've killed it myself, I never really trust what any one person has to say about hardiness. It seems to be wrapped up in far too many variables such as siting and soil.

I'm going to cross my fingers and go off to Forest Farms to see if they have my favorite new sugar maple!

You might also consider Acer grandidentatum, which is the Rocky Mountain form of the eastern sugar maple. Smaller and denser, it does okay here. Spring Grove has it. My guess is it would probably do even better in a less humid and colder environment (but I would check its hardiness). Not easy to find commercially. Easier than A. saccharum "Shawnee," I don't know. But it has a tight, symmetrical form, almost formal in character, good fall color, most of what you'd expect from this class of maple.

Scott

I think I'd get A. grandidentatum just to say the name. It's kind of a somersault for the tip of the tongue:)

This mini Suger Maple, how tall does it get? Have you any experience with it and the rate it grows. I have a spot where I would like some 20' tall trees and shrubs mixed and there is an electrical easement that runs through part of this area...

I've only seen A. grandidentatum (and, yes, it's a great name), at the Morton and at Spring Grove. I didn't get a good picture either place, but here is the one I've got. I should mention that this tree was infested with forest tent caterpillars this spring, but so was everything else, so I don't think it's an indication that this tree is especially prone to problems. But worries like that are always in the back of my mind when one takes a plant out of a place like the Rocky Mountains and puts them in a place like the Midwest. Nevertheless, if the plant is performing okay in Chicago or Cincinnati, it's probably worth a try in Michigan or Maine, particularly in dryer spots.

Scott