Globe trees for your garden
Globe trees do not take up much space and still look really good. However, these small trees require some care. You can find out how to prune and care for globe trees here.
What are globe trees?
Globe trees look fantastic in public parks and also in your garden. The trees and their crowns are specially shaped and they stay quite small.
The most common are globe maple trees, robinia and catalpa. However, there are many more variants of globe trees. In the autumn, field maple, sweetgum and pin oaks with their globe shaped crowns and colourful leaves are particularly attractive. The classic red haw is being more and more frequently rediscovered in recent times. The tree has beautiful, red leaves in May. However, it does not bear any fruit. This tree grows up to 6 m tall. The more heavily you prune it back, the fewer leaves it will grow.
Which globe trees are worthwhile?
As referred to above, you should keep these species in mind if you are thinking about getting a globe tree:
- Globe pin oak
- Globe maple
- Globe robinia
- Red haw
- Catalpa
- Japanese maple
- Oleaster
Globe trees are suitable for small gardens and even front gardens thanks to their small stature. The manageable dimensions of the trees also makes long-term garden planning easier, as they do not gradually take over more and more space.
Globe trees even work in small beds. Syringa and laurustine are suitable examples of this. Find out about the flowers and the expected autumn colouring before buying. Then you can choose the ideal tree for your garden.
The two groups of globe trees
Globe trees can be divided into two groups. One of these includes the trees which tolerate pruning. Their crowns can be shaped into a globe with garden shears, a cordless garden saw or a cordless telescopic hedge trimmer, depending on the thickness of the branches. The EasyPrune garden shears are suitable for thinner branches, for example. They are reinforced and therefore give a particularly comfortable, clean cut. The KEO cordless garden saw from Bosch is also suitable for thicker branches with a diameter of up to 80 mm. Difficult to reach branches higher up on the crown can be shortened with the UniversalChainPole 18, for example. The telescopic hedge trimmer takes care of work on the globe tree particularly safely and comfortably.
Globe trees which tolerate pruning include beech, pussy willow, false cypress and wisteria. You can keep the tree crown in a globe shape with pruning. Pruning is also necessary every year, in the same way you also prune other trees in the garden each year. Prune and shape globe trees at the end of June. If you want them to look particularly precise, you can prune the crown again in late winter.
Rather special varieties belong to the second group of globe trees. They form globe shaped crowns predominantly of their own accord. These trees include:
- Globe cherry ‘Globosa’
- Sweet gum ‘Gum Ball’
- Maidenhair tree ‘Mariken’
Unlike the original tree species, these trees do not form a proper trunk. Instead they have shrub-like growth. Therefore, these trees are grafted to base trees with various trunk heights. The crowns do gradually grow, however they do not get taller.
An occasional pruning makes sense here, as some crowns transform from a globe shape into a flatter, ovate shape with age.
How do I keep a globe tree in shape?
Trees look particularly pretty if they are allowed to grow undisturbed. Therefore, you should not prune them too often and stick to important tips, for example, when you are pruning your apple tree.
In contrast, globe trees need to be strictly kept in shape using garden shears, cordless garden saws, cordless bush trimmers or cordless telescopic hedge shears. Otherwise, the globe maple and globe catalpa will reach widths of up to six meters.
You should also use this equipment to keep the globe shape of pussy willow, globe ash and robinia. You can prune back into the old wood.
Due to the dense growth shape, the crowns of globe trees tend to go bare over time. Pruning ensures fresh vitality in the plants. It is best to prune the trees on a winter’s day without frost. Then the trees will not grow new shoots again.
Regular pruning is particularly important for larger, shaped trees. Otherwise they will lose the desired contours. You should regularly prune box shaped lindens and table top trees.
If you want to find out more about the proper way to prune your plants, you can find lots of tips on tree cutting and plant pruning here.
Handling typical problems with globe trees
- No tools needed
- No utilities needed
- No materials needed
Trees can no longer be easily moved to a different location after a few years. So it is best to find out when selecting your globe tree what its expected final height will be. You should also find out how wide the tree will roughly be and what its natural growth shape is.
Breeds such as the Japanese flowering cherry tree ‘Amanogawa’ do not belong in the front garden bed. Even though it grows a narrow crown. The tree must be a sufficient distance from the house. Also observe the boundary distances to neighbours. The size of this distance varies from county to county. Local district offices can provide direct information about this. Plan your planting position for the globe tree accordingly.
You should also remember that trees grow underneath the soil as well. Willows, robinias, poplars and sycamores spread their roots really far. This means they can damage paved areas, foundations and pipelines.
Winter protection for globe trees
Younger globe trees do not yet have a protective bark. Their bark is smooth and thin and therefore particularly sensitive in the winter. Protect it against frost splitting. This is damage to the trunk which results from the extreme fluctuations between the temperatures during the day and at night. This damage often spells the end for the tree. Remember to also make the other areas of your garden winter ready and you may also find some inspiration as to how you can add color to your garden in the winter.
Protect the globe tree with a coat of white paint. This should also be done for fruit trees. It protects against dangerous splitting. Alternatively, you can also wrap the trunk in warming mats made from reeds, willow, coconut, hessian or bamboo. So it doesn’t warm up as much during the day. This also protects the globe tree against game browsing.
If you want to know more about when you should do what kind of work in the garden, you can find out the best times for all the important tasks in our Gardening Calendar.
Underplanting for globe trees
The area around the tree trunk offers poor conditions for other plants. This applies in particular to trees with a dense rootwork growing just under the soil surface. These include Norway maple, horse chestnut and linden.
However, you can still underplant these trees. Choose shrubs which tolerate dryness and shade well. These include purple gromwell, mock strawberry, wintergreen bishop’s hat and comfrey. Alternatively, you can also plant dwarf bushes or robust grasses here. Examples of these are carex umbrosa, fortune’s spindle and Japanese spurge.
It is easier to underplant catalpa, sweet gum, maidenhair tree, crab apple and ornamental cherry. They form cordate roots so that other planting partners are an option. You could plant Chinese astilbe, brunnera, barren strawberry, crane’s-bill or foamflowers under these trees.
Water the plants for underplanting beneath the tree thoroughly at first and measure the tree ring generously. Once the plants have grown in well, they generally cope well with the somewhat drier conditions under the trees.