Trees for Small Gardens

We've got a whole range of small trees that are perfect for more space-limited gardens. Grown with the utmost care at our Vale of Evesham nursery, we have everything from patio fruit trees to dwarf acers and cherry blossoms. Because after all, why should having a smaller space stop you from owning a lovely little tree?

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Ornamental trees (233) Cherry blossom trees (32)Crabapple trees (29)Birch trees (10)Willow trees (13)Acer trees (33)
  • Brown Turkey Fig Tree Soft Fruit
    From £20
    £22 From £20

    UK Hardy Fig Tree | 'Brown Turkey'

    By far the best fig for the UK

    • Boasts a traditional, sweet figgy taste
    • Fully hardy and well-suited to the UK climate
    • Caramelise and serve with balsamic vinegar
    • Pick in August and September

    5 options available

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  • Victoria Plum Tree Fruit Trees
    From £32
    From £32

    'Victoria' Plum Tree

    Plums fit for a queen

    • The iconic plum with a superb flavour
    • Damp, cold or partial shade? No problem
    • Makes the perfect plum frangipane
    • Harvest from late August onwards

    5 options available

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  • Flamingo Willow Tree | Salix Integra Hakuro Nishiki Ornamental Trees
    From £25
    £35 From £25

    Flamingo Willow Tree | Salix integra 'Hakuro-Nishiki'

    A riot of eyecatching colour

    • Charming bushy tree
    • Small tree - grows up to 2m
    • Variegated pink, cream and green foliage
    • Perfect for patio pots and front gardens

    6 options available

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  • Eureka Lemon Tree | 4 Seasons Lemon | Grafted Mini-Stem Soft Fruit
    From £25
    From £25

    Grafted Patio Lemon Tree | 4 Seasons Lemon

    Zingy lemons all year round

    • Evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers
    • Grafted for stronger growth
    • Make the best lemon meringue pie!
    • Fresh, zesty fruits throughout the year

    5 options available

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  • Growers' Talk

    Our top trees for small gardens

  • Cheal's Weeping Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus 'Kiku-Shidare' Ornamental Trees
    From £38
    From £38

    Cheal's Weeping Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus 'Kiku-shidare-zakura'

    The little tree that packs a pink, fluffy punch

    • Small, perfectly formed weeping cherry
    • Can grow to 3.2m (depending on form)
    • Rose pink, fluffy double flowers
    • Clusters of blossom from April to May

    7 options available

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  • Conference' Pear Tree Fruit Trees
    From £33
    £38 From £33

    'Conference' Pear Tree

    The UK's favourite pear

    • Soft, sweet and succulent
    • RHS Award of Garden Merit winner
    • Eat straight from the trug!
    • Harvest from September

    4 options available

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  • 'Braeburn Hillwell' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £30
    From £30

    'Braeburn Hillwell' Apple Tree

    A sport with improved colour

    • Fresh, aromatic taste (eating)
    • Lovely and low maintenance
    • Bite into fresh and savour the fab flavour!
    • Harvest from October to early November

    3 options available

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  • 'Bramley's Seedling' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £28
    From £28

    'Bramley's Seedling' Apple Tree

    The UK's favourite cooking apple

    • Sharp, cooks down to a rich flavour (cooking)
    • A reliable heavy cropper
    • If you want apple pies, come this way...
    • Harvest from September (keeps to February)

    7 options available

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  • Discover

    The best trees for patios

  • 'Cox's Orange Pippin' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £32
    From £32

    'Cox's Orange Pippin' Apple Tree

    A British classic!

    • Wonderfully aromatic (eating)
    • Tastes 10x better than supermarket bought
    • Delicious eaten fresh or pressed for juice
    • Harvest from September to October

    4 options available

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  • 'James Grieve' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £32
    From £32

    'James Grieve' Apple Tree

    Disease-resistant and delicious

    • Sharp early apples, sweet later (dual)
    • Award winner, renowned for its juiciness
    • Makes great pies and crumbles
    • Harvest in September

    3 options available

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  • 'Kilmarnock' Dwarf Weeping Willow Tree | Salix caprea Ornamental Trees
    From £40
    From £40

    'Kilmarnock' Dwarf Weeping Willow Tree | Salix caprea

    A weeping tree… On your patio?!

    • Proudly weeping tree
    • Small tree - grows up to 2m
    • Fuzzy grey-yellow catkins, deciduous foliage
    • Can easily be grown on a patio

    3 options available

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  • Flavourcot Apricot Tree Fruit Trees
    From £45
    £58 From £45

    'Flavorcot'® Apricot Tree

    Flavour by name and nature!

    • Fab flavour, arguably the best of any apricot
    • Reliably high-yielding in warm summers
    • Bake a batch of apricot shortbread
    • Harvest from late July to September

    2 options available

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  • 'Discovery' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    'Discovery' Apple Tree

    Loved by pollinators and the RHS

    • Sweet with a slight acidity (dual)
    • Incredibly easy to grow
    • Eat fresh, puree or press for juice
    • Harvest from August (keeps for two months)

    5 options available

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  • Avalon Pride Peach Tree Fruit Trees
    From £55
    From £55

    'Avalon Pride' Peach Tree

    A fantastic American variety

    • Juicy, sweet and refreshing
    • Resistant to leaf curl
    • Make a tall glass of peach iced tea!
    • Harvest in August

    2 options available

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  • Peregrine Peach Tree Fruit Trees
    From £40
    From £40

    'Peregrine' Peach Tree

    A hardy and reliable cropper

    • Rich, luxurious flavour
    • Freestone (flesh falls easily away)
    • Create a peach and chilli chutney
    • Harvest in August

    2 options available

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  • Growers' Talk

    10 best fruit trees for pots

  • Gala Apple Tree Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    'Gala' Apple Tree

    Makes a wonderful apple sauce

    • Crisp with a mild, sweet flavour (eating)
    • Very disease resistant and easy to grow
    • A delicious, mid-morning pick-me-up
    • Harvest in September (keeps for months)

    2 options available

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  • Patio Orange Tree | Sweet Orange Trained Fruit Trees
    £40
    £60 £40

    Patio Orange Tree | Sweet Orange

    Scented blossoms, juicy fruits

    • Sumptuously sweet and juicy
    • Wonderfully fragrant flowers
    • Eat fresh, juice or slice and candy in sugar
    • Glossy evergreen foliage

    1 option available

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  • Tomcot Apricot Tree Fruit Trees
    From £50
    From £50

    'Tomcot'® Apricot Tree

    New, heavy-cropping variety

    • Bold apricot flavour and juicy flesh
    • Produces large fruits (and is reliable)
    • Bake a chocolate and apricot cheesecake
    • Harvest in August

    2 options available

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  • 'Egremont Russet' Apple Tree Dwarfing Rootstock Fruit Trees
    From £37
    From £37

    'Egremont Russet' Apple Tree

    Apple enthusiasts love this tree

    • Soft flesh with a nutty flavour (eating)
    • World-renowned heritage apple
    • Serve with cheese and walnuts!
    • Harvest from late September (stores well)

    2 options available

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  • Patio Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus 'Kiku-shidare-zakura' Ornamental Trees
    From £40
    From £40

    Patio Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus 'Kiku-shidare-zakura'

    Cherry blossoms on the patio?!

    • Patio tree with pendulous, weeping branches
    • Small tree - grows up to 1.5m
    • Bronze to green foliage, double pink blossoms
    • Low-maintenance and fully hardy

    2 options available

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  • Rouge De Bordeaux Fig Tree Soft Fruit
    From £25
    From £25

    'Rouge De Bordeaux' Fig Tree

    A gourmet, heritage French fig

    • Jammy and sweet with full-bodied flavour
    • Vigorous but still suitable for pot growing
    • Whip up a sticky fig and caramel pudding
    • Your figs will be ready to pick in August

    2 options available

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  • 'Little Miss Figgy' Patio Fig Tree Soft Fruit
    From £25
    From £25

    'Little Miss Figgy' Patio Fig Tree

    Brilliantly compact fig tree

    • Classic fig taste with a moreish sweetness
    • Often produces two crops per year
    • Rustle up a batch of homemade fig rolls
    • Pick your crop in August and September

    3 options available

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  • Black Elderberry Tree | Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty' Ornamental Trees
    £18
    £25 £18

    Black Elderberry Tree | Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty'

    A rich purple stunner

    • Bushy, shrubby tree
    • Medium tree - grows up to 4m
    • Deep purple foliage, small pink flowers
    • Dark purple berries in autumn

    1 option available

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  • The 3 Top Performing Fruit Trees to Grow in the UK | Apple, Pear & Plum Fruit Trees
    From £70
    £97 From £70

    The 3 Top Performing Fruit Trees to Grow in the UK | Apple, Pear & Plum

    Three trees our growers swear by

    • Bumper-cropping varieties
    • Easy to grow and full of flavour
    • Neat and compact trees for any garden
    • Harvest from August to November

    1 option available

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  • Single Pink Weeping Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus Pendula Rubra Ornamental Trees
    From £36
    From £36

    Single Pink Weeping Cherry Blossom Tree | Prunus pendula 'Pendula Rubra'

    Candyfloss flower statement

    • Elegant weeping tree
    • Can grow to 2.2m (depending on form)
    • Rose pink single flowers
    • Blossoms in March-April

    3 options available

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  • Patio Olive Tree | Olea europaea Fruit Trees
    From £30
    From £30

    Patio Olive Tree | Olea europaea

    Bring the Med to your back door

    • Charming, bushy patio tree
    • Small tree - fits every patio
    • Lanceolate, evergreen, silver-sheened foliage
    • Boasts good drought tolerance

    4 options available

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  • 'Tahiti' Patio Lime Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    £50
    £65 £50

    Tahiti Patio Lime Tree

    Zesty limes from your own patio!

    • Punchy acidity with subtle citrus flavour
    • Glorious, glossy foliage and fragrant flowers
    • Use in G&Ts and key lime pie!
    • Known to fruit throughout the year

    1 option available

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Roots' Cotswolds Valley Nursery

Meet Mike

Tree-growing skills honed right across the globe

Having started out in Australia, studied in Northern Ireland and volunteered at an organic farm in Sweden, it’s fair to say Mike’s done his fair share of travel on his horticultural journey, so far! Having happily laid down roots here at Roots, Mike is the don behind our tree-growing operation, imparting each and every one of his globally-honed skills to benefit your garden. Grown in our purpose-built nursery, in the ideal climatic conditions of the fertile Vale of Evesham, we’re proud to supply only the happiest, healthiest and hardiest trees.

Need help picking?

Which trees are best for small gardens?

Which trees are best for small gardens?

There are lots of trees well-suited to growing in small gardens, from naturally diminutive species to the stouter dwarf siblings of larger cultivars. Our first suggestion is always a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). These low-growing, spreading trees often grow to just a couple of metres tall and wide, making them ideal for smaller spaces. Many can be grown in containers, too, making them a viable option for patio gardens. Other options include dwarf (and columnar) cherry blossom trees, patio-trained fruit trees and compact willow varieties (like flamingo and 'Kilmarnock’ weeping).

How do you care for trees for small gardens?

How do you care for trees for small gardens?

Care for small trees grown in the open ground is similar to that of larger specimens; typically, moist but well-drained soil is preferred with nice levels of fertility. Pruning can vary from species to species but many will only need a light trim each year, while an application of general-purpose fertiliser at the start of spring can be beneficial. The differences come for those smaller trees grown in pots. Container-grown plants dry out more quickly than those grown in the open ground and have less readily-available access to nutrients in the way that ground-grown plants do. That means more regular watering (and often a more frequent feeding schedule) is needed for trees grown in pots.

Planting schemes involving trees for small gardens

Planting schemes involving trees for small gardens

Just because you’ve not got much room to deal with doesn’t mean you can’t curate your own garden planting scheme with the odd small tree or two. Using acers, for instance, you can create a Japanese-style dry garden with gravel. If you want to be whisked away to the Tuscan hillsides, then a citrus, fig or olive tree offers just the ticket, helping contribute to a Mediterranean planting scheme. The addition of a pair of laurel trees flanking the doorway can help bolster your space’s elegance and give it a more formal feel. The world, as they say, is your oyster.

Trees for Small Gardens FAQs

What is the best tree to have in a small garden?

That’s a bit like asking a parent who their favourite child is! We can’t pick just one, but any of the following make excellent trees for small gardens:

  • Japanese maple trees
  • Dwarf and weeping cherry blossom trees
  • Patio-trained trees (both fruiting and flowering)
  • Magnolia trees
  • Cornus (dogwood) trees
  • Amelanchier (serviceberry) trees
  • Many crabapple trees
  • Fruit trees grown on dwarfing rootstocks (e.g. apples grafted onto an M27 rootstock)

What are the best small flowering trees?

Some of our favourite small flowering trees include ‘Kiku-shidare-zakura’ cherry blossom, ‘Susan’ magnolia and ‘Scarlett’ crabapple. There are so many to choose from, however, so it’s well worth taking a dive through our range!

How do you create height in a small garden?

If you’ve only got a small space, then there are a couple of ways you can add some verticality: plant a climber or plant a tree. For the latter, you want to be looking for something that grows to around the three metre mark; this is large enough to give that sense of height without threatening to loom over and shade out the rest of the space.

Are acers good for small gardens?

Yes, acers are absolutely good for small gardens! Most are both low- and slow-growing, with weeping or spreading habits that are well-suited to smaller spots. Many grow well in large containers, too.

What is the best evergreen tree for a small garden?

There are a few good evergreen options for smaller gardens, including the holly, laurel, olive and strawberry tree – the latter of which produces amazing funky berries!

Happy plants make happy customers

Trustpilot
Ornamental Colour Collection Pond Plants
five star rating on Trustpilot

Plants arrived in great condition and very promptly. Well established - much better than the ones I got at my local garden centre.

Monica Spence

| 24 May
Star Jasmine | Trachelospermum jasminoides Climbing Plants
five star rating on Trustpilot

Yet again this company delivered good healthy plants, exactly as shown in photos, well packaged and within delivery time quoted. Recommend!

Jacqueline Burgess

| 2 Jun
five star rating on Trustpilot

I continue to be so impressed with Roots. Their customer care, knowledge of their subject: from planting hedges to pruning roses and more, has been a great support.

Judy Lane

| 23 Oct
E 'Black Hamburgh' Indoor Grape Vine Soft Fruit
five star rating on Trustpilot

The plant arrived looking vigorously healthy, which brings a smile to your face, extremely well protected in its packaging.

Martyn Hill

| 5 Jul
E 'Braeburn Hillwell' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
five star rating on Trustpilot

As a non-gardener, I found my whole experience brilliant. Great information & advice available on the website, great range of products & prices are brilliant.

John-Paul

| 22 May
five star rating on Trustpilot

Wonderful plants and great customer service... really surprised to find that the plants are better than those you would get at your local garden centre.

Gavin Wilcock

| 8 Nov

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