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Amellanchier & Cornus Kousa Trees for a small garden Advice on planting?

#1 · 23rd April 2025, 8:36 pm

Hello! Not quite a first time gardener, but I have never planted a tree before and am quite frankly terrified! I have recently reclaimed a bit of lawn space to make a new bed in our garden. The new bed is 3metres by 3 metres and is in the back right hand quarter of the garden. Determined to put a tree in the space, I got carried away and bought two! an amelanchier lamarckii and a cornus kousa chinensis. Now regretting my silly rash purchase!

Do I actually have enough room for both of these? I had hoped to put the amelanchier by the fence and the cornus kousa towards the front / centre of the bed. Is there a way to keep the cornus kousa small, say pruning or even keeping it in a pot? All advice gratefully received, many thanks!

#2 · 24th April 2025, 8:21 am

Hi @slondongardener

Thank you for your comment on small garden trees, which I've covered in this detailed post on trees for smaller gardens.

The quick answer is yes, you should have the space for both of those, but you may need to prune them both in the first few years to formatively train them for the space.

Both Amelanchier and Cornus kousa are relatively slow-growing, which is why so many small and urban courtyard gardens favour them, so you've made wise choices!

The trick is not to squish them together and even consider planting the Cornus at the front of the flower bed, yes, you heard me correctly! Consider underplanting them with shade-loving plants as well to maximise the space, which always works really well in my experience.

As for pruning, I'd slowly crown lift the Amellanchier (depending on how big your specimen is) by clearing the lower branches, which will create more room and light for other plants. Amellanchier or Snowberry respond really well to formative pruning.

Do let me know how you get on with some photos!

All the best

Lee Garden Ninja