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Thursday - March 17, 2011
From: Calgary, AB
Region: Canada
Topic: Trees
Title: Small trees for Alberta
Answered by: Anne Bossart
QUESTION:
I would like to know if there is a short, 15 feet and under, deciduous tree that can be grown outside in Calgary, ABANSWER:
Most of the deciduous trees that are native to your area will ultimately attain a size greater than 15 feet, although most forest trees grown in a suburban setting do not ever get as big as they do in nature.
So you could try:
Betula occidentalis (Mountain birch)
Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry)
But you will likely have better luck looking for a large shrub instead of a small tree as they are usually multi-stemmed and more versatile in a garden setting. If you visit our Native Plant Database and do a Combination Search selecting "Alberta" and "Shrub" it will generate a list of 81 shrubs you could use. The plant names on the list are linked to pages where you will find images and detailed infrmation about size and cultural requirements.
Here are a few suggestions from that list:
Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata (Mountain alder)
Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon serviceberry)
Lonicera involucrata (Bear berry honeysuckle)
Viburnum opulus var. americanum (American cranberry bush)
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