Good weeping or spreading tree to sit a bench under?

I'm searching for a nice flowering tree that I can sit a bench underneath for a corner in my yard. There is a city tree sale coming up that has Candied Apple crabapples for a good price, but I can't find many pictures of mature trees. The pictures I'm coming up with look like younger trees and they don't seem to weep very much. They also seem to be pretty small so I'm not sure if they'd be tall enough to sit a bench underneath or if they are intended to be more of a showcase in the garden. Any opinions on this tree?

I'm envisioning something like this stunning picture of an old cherry tree that is wide and pendulous but on a smaller scale. http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=3334451

Can you suggest some other options? I would really like something with persistent fruit, if any at all. The site is in sun now, but when out parkway trees start to mature, it'll get less sun.

Thanks for your help!

I always like how this Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Blue Weeping' looks but it might not work where you are.

There's also this Cerciphyllum japonicum 'Pendulum'

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/143733/

the cucumber magnolia is a spreading understory tree. It has 10 leaves so you can sit under it in the rain with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper and you wont get wet. And in the spring it does this: (see photo). Hardy to 4b. It does need some room.

Red Jade is my favorite crab apple -- if you don't mind little apples falling on your head.

This message was edited Apr 22, 2007 8:08 AM

The 'Tolleson's Blue weeping' juniper is hardy to USDA zone 3, so there should be no issues with it in IL. I have one in my backyard and it has done great. It's not a wide-spreading tree that you'd be able to sit under, so it wouldn't work from that standpoint.
Mike

Elph:

Since you started off saying you'd like a flowering tree...and then added you wanted something pendulous that reminded you of the grand weeping cherry illustrated elsewhere (only on a smaller scale), then....the conifers mentioned probably won't be in the right category (though they are great plants in and of themselves).

If a disease-resistant heavy flowering persistent fruited decent fall color small ornamental tree is really what you want, consider Malus x Molten Lava®. This is an excellent crabapple developed by one of the greatest hybridizers in the upper Midwest, Fr. John L. Fiala. It's been out in production for years, so shouldn't be too difficult to come up with. Klehm Nursery in your neck of the woods introduced it and used to grow it. I even purchased this plant from there during a former career.

Take a look at these links for more information about this stellar little tree.

http://www.lakecountynursery.com/molten%20lava.htm

Well, I'd have linked to PlantFiles too, but there's apparently gremlins in the system this afternoon and won't let me in.

Good luck in your choosing.

Not with cold, but (coming as it does from the Rocky Mts) it doesn't like summer humidity very much. Watch out for leaf blights like Cercospora, Phomopsis and Kabatina, which are more of a problem in humid areas.

Resin

edit: typo


This message was edited Apr 22, 2007 8:33 PM

Thank you all for the suggestions. The Molten Lava crabapple looks perfect for what I am looking for in this location. Do you also have any first hand knowledge of the Candied Apple crabapple? Thanks again!

Scott's picture of the venerable Weeping Cherry seems to have captivated a lot of viewers. Someone on another site (yes, that one!) was even asking about it. Here's a Japanese Tree Lilac I found in northern Minnesota.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Trees/HPIM1728.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Trees/HPIM1733.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/maackia/Woody%20Stuff/Deciduous%20Trees/HPIM1731.jpg

Maackia, that tree lilac looks great as well. I was considering the Pekin lilac, which is available at the tree sale I mentioned previously. Do you know how that one would compare to the Japanese Tree Lilac? What initially turned me off of the Pekin Lilac is that from the pictures I was able to find online, it looks like more of an upright tree and I really want something that has more of a horizontal element to it. Love the contorted branches in the pictures you posted. Thanks for the help.

I think the Pekin Lilac will have an upright habit like the JTL, especially the first several years. Here's a pic of my JTL, which I planted as a small container tree around 2000. A multi-stemmed tree would tend to be more spreading than single-stemmed. One advantage of these trees is they flower during mid summer while its hot and sitting on bench is advised.

I think your best option would be to go with one of the spreading/pendulous crabs such as VV mentions. Like Gloria125, Red Jade is one of my favorites as well. Spreading/pendulous habit, lovely flowers in mid May, abundant and glossy small fruit, and disease resistant foliage.