[milan]

hubby and i have found that we need to remove two trees in our garden so we have had a company round to investigate removal and replacements, we are looking at a magnolia grandiflora - (anyone have one? any piccies?) and also either a Liquidambar styraciflua worplesdon OR Amelanchier Lamarckii (anyone have one? any piccies?)

we want the magnolia because it will be evergreen, the other two are deciduous but we arent quite sure which one to choose - to start with we went with the amelanchier but now we are thinking it might be too multistemmed and shrubby....

just wondering whether anyone else has any of these trees?

thanks 

[Yorkie]

Magnolia don't like being caught by early morning sun, so won't be overly happy if that is the position it will be in in the garden.

Don't have any piccies but google images will do.

[Kristen]

Liquidambar is a big tree (will grow to 60' ??) whereas the Amelanchier is smaller - 30' perhaps?

Dunno if space is important - but if it is that might be the deciding factor

[gillie]

I suspect that Magnolia Grandiflora does not flower much until it has grown quite big.

Since you are in Surrey, why not go to Wisley and have a look at the trees on your short list?  I bet they have all three and you can ask the staff where they are planted.

You can find pics of just about any garden tree or shrub by googling the name.

Cheers,

Gillie

[big green bloke]

have you ever getting a tree that will give some thing back to you like a fruit or nut tree some have very nice bark that looks wonderful  in winter and autumn

[milan]

all - thanks for the help 

we had thought about wisley but im struggling to walk very far at the moment

i have googled images but they arent really very good! mostly 'professional gardening websites/nurserys' nothing really for what i would call 'real' or not enough of them to know thats how they really grow!

we had a look at our garden yesterday (in the dark!) and concluded that as long as we keep the luquidambar under control it will probably be a better fit, a single trunk rather than multistemmed as its actually got to be planted in a border beside a 6 foot fence!

(we did think about fruit trees but that will hopefully come later)

[big green bloke]

if you get fruit trees you can train them along the fence that way the do not take up a lot of room so good luck for the future

[madcat]

magnolia grandiflora is a big tree and it takes a long while to flower ... plus one touch of frost and you lose the flowers for the year.  Have you thought about a magnolia stellata?  Smaller and less sensitive, also can be pink flowered I think.

[SG6]

Liquidambar produces good autumn colour, one of the best, but it needs an acid soil in which to grow to do so.

[sunshineband]

Liquidamber might grow big but the leaves smell divine -- the fresh ones are like balsam, and those on the ground smell more like caramel. Gorgeous autumn colours too, or gold and red 

[GilbertJessop]

...but then with Amelanchier you get the flowers in Spring...We couldn't find a decent picture of it either, by the way, but from what you've said the spread would be too much for the site anyway...