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Small shade trees for patio


7 Best Patio Trees for Shade

Here’s a list of ornamental trees in a variety of sizes to create shade for any patio.

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Patio Shade Trees

Whether your patio is right next to your house or a little farther away, planting a tree can be an easy way to provide some shade. Close patios may need a smaller tree, like a Japanese maple, or even a man-made solution like a pergola or shade sail. Patios set away from the house can handle something larger, like a tulip tree.

Here are some ornamental patio trees for shade that also add color to your patio landscaping.

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Crape Myrtle

Crape myrtle trees are all over the Southern United States. These pretty, flowering trees are a landscaping stalwart. Large clusters of delicate, long-lasting blossoms fill yards with bursts of pink, red or purple all summer.

For purple flowers, the Purple Magic Crape Myrtle Tree is a good option. It reaches a mature height of ten feet, making it the perfect size patio tree for shade.

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Japanese Maple

Japanese maple trees offer the same dazzling fall foliage and five-point leaves as other maple trees, but their size, shape and summer color set them apart from the rest.

Some of these fantastic patio trees, such as the Bloodgood Red Japanese Maple Tree, display deep red leaves from spring to fall, while others only turn red as winter approaches. They’re also popular for their slender leaves and smaller size. The Bloodgood reaches a mature height of 15 to 20 feet.

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Ornamental Crabapple

Crabapple trees are popular landscaping plants due to their hardiness. They can even grow in areas with temperatures below zero. Of course, the beautiful crabapple flowers are another perk of planting this tree near your patio.

Ornamental crabapple trees come in various colors, including white, pink and deep red, like this Profusion Crabapple. It reaches a mature height of 20 to 25 feet.

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Southern Magnolia

Southern magnolia’s enormous, fragrant flowers are dazzling on or off the tree. And the tree’s leaves are a glossy green.

The Little Gem Magnolia takes two or three years to flower. But once it does, the blooms last from May through October. It’s a slow-growing patio tree with a mature height of 20 to 25 feet, and it’s hardy to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7.

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Tulip Tree

Here’s a less common but equally gorgeous patio tree: the tulip tree. The state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, these beauties are especially popular in the eastern United States. Mature trees feature tulip-like orange and green blossoms. These fast-growing patio trees can benefit from pruning.

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Redbud

Redbud trees have a distinctive spring look. Tiny flowers cover their branches before any leaves sprout, giving the appearance of an all-pink tree. Redbud trees fill out with green leaves once their flowers are spent.

This Eastern Redbud Tree grows up to 30 feet tall and provides spring color and summer shade to patios in Zones 4 through 9.

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Japanese Magnolia

Japanese magnolia trees can handle lower temperatures than southern magnolias, which makes them a better patio tree for shade in Northern regions.

Unlike the southern magnolia, these hardy trees bloom only in the spring, and their flowers are much smaller. The Japanese Magnolia Alexandrina has eye-catching pink blooms that start dark at the base and lighten toward the edge.

Originally Published: July 28, 2021

Mikayla Borchert

Mikayla is an assistant editor for Family Handyman, specializing in indoor and outdoor gardening, organization and décor. She has one cat and holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, she likes running, skiing, hiking and tending her balcony garden.

13 Best Small Trees for Patios

By

Lisa Hallett Taylor

Lisa Hallett Taylor

Lisa Hallett Taylor is an expert in architecture and landscape design who has written more than 1,000 articles about pool, patio, garden, and home improvement over 12 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Design and is certified in fine and decorative arts appraisal.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 09/02/21

Reviewed by

Kathleen Miller

Reviewed by Kathleen Miller

Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column. She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.

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Small trees on patios or decks can serve as natural focal points, add privacy, frame views, provide shade, and even bear fruit. Many of these trees can grow well in containers or raised beds. Some have special features, including flowers, attractive bark, and vivid fall colors. However, the features of certain trees might be too messy for your taste, dropping seeds, flowers, fruits, and more. So it's important to know all of a tree's traits, as well as whether it thrives in your climate, before committing. Here are 13 of the best small trees to grow around a patio or deck.

Tip

To find the right tree for your space, first consider its mature height and width. Also, note whether its roots tend to crack or lift up pavement, which wouldn't be ideal right next to a patio. And if you plan to grow your tree in a container, make sure you'll be able to repot it whenever the roots need more space.

25 Popular Small Trees for Landscaping

Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Queen Palm Problems. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

  2. Disease and Insect Resistant Ornamental Plants. Cornell Cooperative Extension.

  3. Fire Blight of Ornamental Pear. University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Research and Extension.

Shady trees for your site - WikiStroy

Shady trees for your yard A site with no trees at all will look bare and the landscaping will look unfinished. There are many benefits from trees, but it is important to choose what exactly is best to plant. The RMNT website will tell you which trees provide the most shade, grow fast enough, and are great for planting. https://www.wikistroi.ru/story/landscapedesign/tienistyie-dierievia-dlia-vashiegho-uchastka https://www.wikistroi.ru/story/landscapedesign/tienistyie-dierievia-dlia-vashiegho-uchastka/@@download/image/tsjKOzas.jpg

An area with no trees at all will look bare and the landscaping will look unfinished. There are many benefits from trees, but it is important to choose what exactly is best to plant. The RMNT website will tell you which trees provide the most shade, grow fast enough, and are great for planting.


Shady, shady trees are a popular choice. Their crown is spreading, looks like a cloud and casts a shadow over a large area. Such trees have both aesthetic and practical purposes. They are beautiful in themselves, you can put a table and a bench under the crown to relax in the shade, the microclimate in the area is improving, there is more oxygen. But shady trees can take up quite a lot of space. And according to standards , from a tall tree to buildings should be at least 4 meters, from a medium-sized tree - at least 2 meters. This point must be taken into account.

If there were no trees on the site initially or you failed to save them during construction and landscaping, you can go in two ways:

  1. Buy large-sized, for questions about which portal Rmnt. ru replied . Get a ready-made adult tree that immediately gives shade. This, of course, is more expensive, but you don’t have to wait until the seedling grows.
  2. Buy a young tree, a seedling at the age of a year or two, about a meter high. We'll have to wait, in this case, the growth rate is of great importance. There are fairly fast-growing breeds and varieties that will give shade in three to four years.

If you want to get a triple benefit - and shade, and beauty, and harvest - plant fruit trees. Residents of the southern regions, of course, have much more choice. They can plant quince, apricot, cherry, tall cherries. All these trees bloom beautifully in spring, bear fruit, give shade. Mulberries with a spreading crown are unpopular among southern gardeners - there is too much debris from falling berries. Apples and pears can be planted in many Russian regions, you only need to choose varieties that are best suited for the local climate.

Important! An excellent thick shadow gives a walnut. But, firstly, because of the powerful root system, it must be planted away from any buildings, and secondly, even the ubiquitous weeds . Therefore, you will get a fairly large vacant plot of land.

In addition to fruit trees, for the sake of shade, beauty and aesthetics, you can plant on the site:

Before choosing a tree for your site, learn as much as you can about it. Think about whether it will interfere in the future when it reaches adult size. Shade in the yard can be provided with the help of a canopy, and the tree should first of all please the owners with its appearance, useful properties, aromas and, possibly, fruits.

Best shade and low root trees for the garden

Bauhinia monander

Do you have a small garden that gets too much sunlight? Then, you urgently need shade trees and small root , some kind of plants under whose branches you can enjoy outdoor recreation while reading a good book or celebrating a party with your loved ones.

If you want us to help you choose the best ones, rest assured, we will do it 😉. Because we love it. Find out which species are most recommended palm-shaped maple , el Acer rubrum o el white maple . Any of these are ideal for providing good shade, but if you have a fairly small garden you may want to opt for smaller species such as Acer Campestre (10 meters), Pennsylvania Maple (5-10 meters) or Acer Negundo (12-15 meters).

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Japanese maple

In order for them to develop well, it is very important that they are in places with a temperate climate. , whose seasons are well differentiated. In winter, the temperature should drop below 0 degrees.

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Purchase Japanese maple seeds. here.

Baoxuan

Bauhinia Blakeana
Bauhinia variegata var. Candida

Las Baoxuan, known as orchid tree, camel's foot or cow's foot, deciduous trees growing in Asia, reaching a height of about 6-7 meters. . They have a dense crown with more or less umbrella support, so over the years they cast an interesting shade. In addition, its flowers are a real miracle, as you can see in the images 😉.

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Cameltoe or Bauhinia, the tree with the most decorative flowers

Plant them in direct sun and enjoy them all year round. Withstands frost down to -7ºС. .

Buy seeds.

European crimson

european crimson

Commonly known as the Love Tree, Judas Tree, Judea Tree, Redbud or Crazy Algarrobo is one of the most commonly grown species in parks and streets. Native to Southern Europe and Western Asia, only grows to 6-12 meters tall , making it ideal for small gardens.

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Cercis, the tree of love

Its leaves are deciduous and its lilac flowers are amazing. They appear in the spring earlier than the leaves. The most interesting thing is that not only does it provide good shade, but it can also be pruned in autumn or late winter. What if, it is also resistant to cold: down to -18ºC . Do you want seeds? Click .

citrus

Citrus reticulates

We don't usually think of citrus fruits as shade trees, which is a mistake. Yes, it is true that they are usually only used as fruit trees, but with a little pruning can produce a specimen that produces a very nice shade of . Limonero is especially recommended, but really any will do.

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Lemon tree care

These trees are evergreen and have very beautiful fragrant flowers. So in your garden, in addition to being a very cozy place, dessert will be ready during the fruit season 😉. The only thing is that you have to pay them from spring to autumn and protect them from severe frosts. Maintain temperatures down to -7ºC. but while they are young, they need a little protection from the cold.

Would you like a potted lemon tree? .

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Selection of ornamental citrus fruits

Ligustrum lucidum

Ligustrum lucidum

El wood privet You've probably seen this in parking lots. This evergreen tree, native to China and Japan, reaches a height of 12-15 meters. . It has a fast growth so if you are in a hurry to get that precious shade, this tree will be one of the best choices as its flowers that sprout in the spring exude a pleasant fragrance.

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Use of privet

The only drawback is that its fruits pollute the ground when it falls, but it adapts to all types of soil. And if that's not enough, I'll tell you that is pruning and frost resistant down to -12ºC .

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Prunus

Prunus Mahaleb
cherry serrated

Prune ... This is one of the most beautiful trees that exists and one of those that can give interesting shade to small gardens. There are many types, as you can see in this article, but if you only want them to protect you from the sun and be decorative, take one of the ones you see in the images above.

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Prunus trees with lush flowers

Both Prunus cerasifera var. Pissardi , known as Pissar plum or Japanese plum (among other names), as P. mahaleb o Santa Lucia cherry, as serrated cherry or Japanese cherry - deciduous plants reaching a height of 6 to 12 meters. In addition, they are very resistant: well tolerate frosts down to -15ºС .

Tree care tips

Do you already know what tree you are going to plant? If yes, then first of all I invite you to read these tips . Unfortunately, we often see trees that, although they do not have invasive roots, are too close to a wall, asphalt or tile ground, and over the years their root system causes problems. The person in these cases always ends up blaming the tree when the only person responsible is the one who planted it there.

To avoid unpleasant surprises both in the medium and long term, you should leave room for the plant and move it at least 50–1 m away from any structure. . Of course, nothing will happen in the early years due to planting it a few centimeters from the ground, but it is expected that measures will need to be taken in the future so that the situation does not worsen.

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Types of water for watering plants

Another topic I'm going to talk to you about is maintenance.

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