View full sizePineapple guavaIt's a constant battle to balance my passion for sun-hungry edible plants with those that tolerate or even prefer shade. Many more edibles fall into the first category than the second. When selecting trees or shrubs, I stick to small trees and shrubs because their footprint is smaller. They cast less shade and have smaller root systems than larger trees. Small trees are also easier to harvest, spray and prune.
The choices are more numerous than you might think. Below you'll find a diverse group of trees and shrubs that will easily fit into most small gardens.
NOTE:
(NP) indicates a pollinator is needed or improves yield. Where some cultivars of a given fruit need a pollinator and others don't, I list a self-pollinating cultivar to save garden space.
Small trees and shrubs that can be grown in large containers (such as half whiskey barrels):
Apples or pears on dwarf rootstock, citrus, figs, loquat, pineapple guava and serviceberry.
Container plants will need to be root-pruned and repotted with new soil every two to three years. Using slow-acting organic fertilizers or time-release synthetic fertilizer along with timed drip irrigation can make growing in containers easier and more productive.
Trees and shrubs that mature to 12 feet tall or less:
Apples and pears on dwarf rootstock; goumi; weeping or contorted mulberry; 'Arbequina' olive; high-bush cranberry; many pie cherries, such as 'Montmorency' and 'North Star' reaches just 6-8 feet; 'Regent' and 'Smokey' serviceberries.
Mature size of 10 to 15 feet tall:
Cornelian cherry (NP), filbert (NP), loquat, quince, among others.
Mature size up to 20 feet:
Asian pears, Chinese hawthorn, figs, Japanese raisin tree. Allowing a raisin tree to grow as a multistemmed clump will hold down its height.
For vertical interest in filtered or half shade:
elderberry (NP), high-bush cranberry, filbert (NP), pawpaw (NP), pie cherry, yellowhorn (
Xanthoceras sorbifolium
).
Trees and shrubs that need no spraying for pests or diseases:
Elderberry (NP), figs, high-bush cranberry, jujube, 'Arbequina' olive, 'Coolidge' pineapple guava, Asian persimmon, pawpaw (NP), Japanese raisin tree.
Trees for espaliers:
Apples or pears on dwarf rootstock (not semidwarf, which usually produces too large a tree), figs and persimmons.
Resist the temptation to espalier cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, apriums, apricots and other stone fruit. They are very difficult to keep healthy, productive and looking good as espaliers.
-- Vern Nelson
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