Small Trees for Landscaping – Add Colorful Touch to Your Landscape

Small trees may not reach the towering heights, but they add beautiful colors to your landscape. Whether you are looking for a color to brighten your garden or to add a little shade, small trees for landscaping will suit your place perfectly. 

Adding small flowering trees to your space is the best way to spruce up your space and add life to the yard. Small trees are an amazing addition that brings wildlife, color, and shade to the landscape. 

Small Trees for Landscaping

Evergreen small trees are an amazing element to add to your home landscape. The small plants not only improve the air quality but also provide shade. The small trees beautify the landscape and make it look nicer by filtering pollutants and harmful dust (Source). 

One of the best benefits of growing small trees in your garden is that they enhance the air quality. Here are some of the best small trees for landscaping. 

Redbud

Botanical Name: Cercis Canadensis 

Size: Upto 10 feet tall

Hardiness Zone: 5-9

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Redbud is one of the best small trees for landscaping. It is appreciated for displaying beautiful white or pink flowers in the spring. This small tree is easy to grow, and it has delightful heart-shaped leaves that turn to golden-yellow color in fall. 

The flowers of this beautiful dwarf tree are more hot pink than red. This amazing small tree for the front yard has an amazing spreading habit, and it opens in a vase-like shape. Redbud attracts butterflies and grows upto 10 feet in height. If you want to grow this small tree in your landscape, then make sure to manage good drainage. 

Crabapple

Botanical Name: Malus selections

Size: 6 to 30 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 4-8

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun

Crabapple is a perfect small tree for landscaping as it will add a beautiful seasonal flair to your space. This is the best small tree for the front yard as it produces beautiful flowers in shades of pink, red, and white. In addition to this, crabapple is popular for producing burgundy, red, gold, or orange fruit.  

Crabapple is a dwarf tree that provides a month of beautiful flowers that attract native pollinators and honeybees. It is an easy-to-care plant that does not require pruning, but if you want, you can prune it in late winter. 

Crape Myrtle

Botanical Name: Lagerstroemia

Size: 6 to 25 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 6-9

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun

Crape myrtle is one of the best small trees for landscaping. It offers beautiful big clusters of frilly flowers in mesmerizing shades of lavender, pink, red, or white in fall and summer. This dwarf tree requires a long and warm growing season, but finally, it provides you with beautiful flowers that add a colorful touch to your garden. 

Many varieties of these small shade trees produce amazing yellow, orange, or red foliage in autumn. They bloom on new wood, so make sure to prune this small tree in late winter. 

Kousa Dogwood

Botanical Name: Cornus Kousa selections

Size: 15 to 30 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 5-8

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moisture

If you want to put a beautiful spring show in your garden, then the Kousa Dogwood is a perfect choice for you. This small tree for landscaping will mesmerize you with its attractive white or pink flowers. 

Kousa Dogwood grows red fruits during late summer and amazing reddish-purple foliage in autumn. It is a fast grower and can handle partial shade. There is a wide range of species of dogwood so make sure to opt for the one that is suitable for your area. In addition to this, plant it in well-draining soil, as soggy soil can kill them. 

Fringe Tree

Botanical Name: Chionanthus virginicus

Size: 12 to 20 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 3-9

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moisture

This small tree is a versatile plant that is native to Eastern North America. You can grow fringe trees as a small tree or shrub in your landscape. If you want to add a touch of fragrant white flowers to your garden, then this dwarf tree is a perfect choice for you. 

Fringe tree flowers in late spring and it produces blue-purple fruits in fall. These fruits will attract birds to the garden, which in turn will add a lively touch to your space. 

Saucer Magnolia

Botanical Name: Magnolia x soulangeana 

Size: Upto 25 feet tall

Hardiness Zone: 4-9

Soil Needs: Rich and well-draining soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in moist

If you are looking for a small tree that offers the most beautiful flowers, then saucer magnolia is the one for you. This dwarf tree offers beautiful large blooms in shades of purple, white, and pink in mid-to-late spring. The flowers can be around 10 inches, which gives them the common name “saucer.” 

You do not need to prune this small tree but will have to shape it. Make sure to manage consistent soil moisture as this plant does not do good in too dry or too wet soil. 

Golden Chain Tree

Botanical Name: Laburnum x watereri

Size: Upto 30 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 5-7

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moist

It is an amazing small tree for landscaping, Golden chain tree blooms in early summer and late spring. It produces beautiful hanging clusters of yellow flowers. 

The golden chain tree has amazing green bark and yellow flowers, which make this tree a stunner. When the clover-like leaves allow some beautiful sun rays to break through, the tree looks mesmerizing. Make sure to grow this tree in a location that is properly sheltered from strong winds as it has weak branches. The green clover-like foliage of this plant is highly attractive. 

Hawthorn

Botanical Name: Crataegus crus-galli

Size: Upto 25 feet tall

Hardiness Zone: 3-7

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun in medium moisture

Hawthorn attracts pollinators in early summer with its small red fruits. It offers beautiful white flowers with a mesmerizing fragrance. It is a dense but low-branched tree that is armed with a wide range of large thorns. Once the plant matures, its thorns would not be an issue. 

During autumn, the plant adds an amazing appeal to your garden with its orange-red color. You can prune the plant when needed, but make sure to wear protective clothing as it has thorns. 

Carolina Silverbell

Botanical Name: Halesia tetraptera

Size: Upto 40 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 4-8

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moisture

Carolina silverbell is another amazing small tree for landscaping. It is a small ornamental tree that will provide you a delightful and mesmerizing early-spring show. This small tree is an ornamental shrub that grows dangling clusters of white bell-shaped flowers. In foliage, the tree creates a beautiful shade of yellow.  

Japanese Maple

Botanical Name: Acer palmatum selections

Size: Upto 20 feet tall

Hardiness Zone: 5-8

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in moisture

It is one of the best trees to make your zen garden. This one is a perfect small tree for the front yard as it looks amazing in its full fall finery. This beautiful small tree has amazing delicate leaves that are green-to-red in varieties and turn into mesmerizing shades of purple, red, and orange during fall. It is a low-maintenance outdoor plant that does not require regular pruning. However, you can create a tree-like canopy by removing the lower branches.

Mountain Stewartia

Botanical Name: Stewartia ovata

Size: Upto 15 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 5-9

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moisture

Mountain Stewartia is an elegant dwarf tree. It grows beautiful flowers in midsummer, which makes it one of the best small trees for landscaping.

This tree is famous for its dark green summer foliage and Camellia-like flowers. Stewartia is a slow-growing tree but looks amazing when the leaves turn red and orange.

Serviceberry

Botanical Name: Amelanchier selections

Size: Upto 25 feet tall 

Hardiness Zone: 4-9

Soil Needs: Well-drained soil

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade in medium moisture

If you are looking for a four-season beauty, then serviceberry is the best small tree for the front yard. This dwarf tree grows clusters of beautiful white flowers that are slightly fragrant. They drop before the emergence of leaves in early spring. 

The flowers grow small and round berries, which turn from red to dark blue fruits. These fruits are often used in jellies, pies, or jams. The beautiful leaves of this small plant have splendid red color in fall. 

Final Words

Adding small trees for landscaping in your yard is the best idea to add colors to your yard. The dwarf tree gives a beautiful touch to the garden and purifies the air. Trust me; the small trees will brighten up your garden and provide you with a colorful show. Grow these small trees in your garden and share your experience with us by dropping a comment.