The Best Small Trees

Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)

• 20-40 feet high and wide
• Zones (4) 5-7

Considering this lovely tree's four-season usefulness, it's a wonder that it's not better known. Magnificently hued bark dresses up the winter garden, white flowers appear in July when few other woody plants are blooming and fall foliage can be a soft reddish-purple, red and orange. A cousin, Korean stewartia (S. koreana), is a bit smaller, and its slightly larger flowers bloom for a longer period of time. Supply stewartias with acid, peaty soil and a little afternoon shade.

• 15-25 feet high and wide; the subgroup Dissectum is 6-12 feet high and wide
• Zones 5-8

Few trees enhance the landscape like the Japanese maple, and few species come in so many silhouettes--from the contorted, shrubby A. palmatum var. dissectum atropurpureum to 10- to 15-foot weeping forms to the full-sized species. No matter their size and shape, Japanese maples offer fine textural effects and outstanding fall color. Among the non-shrubby types, 'Ozakazuki' (15-20) has bright green leaves that turn crimson in fall; the leaves of 'Oshio beni' open fiery orange-red, age to reddish-green and turn bright red in fall.

Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)

• 25-30 feet high, 20 feet wide
• Zones 5-9

Gardeners of the Southeast may know this ridgetop native for its drooping, longlasting sprays of fragrant flowers in June and July and its luminescent, soft red, maroon and yellow foliage in autumn. Add the pyramidal shape, drooping branches, chunky bark, reddish new wood and shimmery spring leaves, and you have an exquisite four- season tree. Thrives in acidic, richly organic soil.