You don't need a lot of space for a rock garden - a small garden corner is completely sufficient. In addition to various ground cover plants, grasses and low perennials, small trees complement the interesting landscape.
Which trees are suitable for a rock garden?
Evergreen and hardy trees such as boxwood, dwarf hemlock 'Nana', ball pine 'Mops', girl's pine, false cypresses, dwarf birch 'Nana' and sea buckthorn are ideal for rock gardens. They fit harmoniously with typical rock garden plants such as carnations, gentian and lavender.
These trees are suitable for the rock garden
Preferably evergreen and hardy conifers thrive in a rock garden, which together with carnations, gentians, lavender, blue cushions, stonecrops and other typical rock garden plants create a harmonious overall picture. The following suggestions fit particularly well into the planned design.
Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
The boxwood is very undemanding, easy to care for and extremely long-lasting. The evergreen deciduous tree grows densely branched and can develop into a small tree up to eight meters high as it ages. Boxwood is easy to prune and is particularly suitable for topiary cuts.
Dwarf hemlock 'Nana' (Tsuga canadensis)
The Canadian hemlock is one of the most beautiful coniferous trees with its moderate growth, loosely structured, picturesque crown and overhanging branch tips. Its hemispherical dwarf variant 'Nana' grows to a maximum height of one meter.
Spherical pine 'Mops' (Pinus mugo)
This dwarf variant of the mountain or Krummholz pine grows spherical to slightly cushion-shaped and reaches a height of up to 150 centimeters. The very dense, short branches point upwards and have long, stiff, dark green needles. The species is robust and very adaptable.
Girl pine (Pinus parviflora)
In particular, the blue-needle form of the girl's pine native to Japan, with its loose, irregular structure, is one of the most beautiful pine species in the rock garden. In addition to the 'Glauca' variety, the attractive 'Negishii' variety is also very suitable. It grows irregularly and bizarrely. It will only grow to about a man's height within 15 years.
Cypress (Chamaecyparis)
The Hinoki false cypress 'Nana gracilis' is particularly suitable for rock gardens, as it initially grows irregularly spherical and later broadly conical. This variety grows up to three meters high and about one and a half meters wide. The slightly smaller and narrower 'Nana Aurea' also scores points with its golden-yellow colored needles. The species Lawson's false cypress also offers many varieties suitable for the rock garden with green, blue or golden yellow needles. for example 'Minima Aurea' or 'Minima Glauca'.
Dwarf birch 'Nana' (Betula nana)
The dwarf birch is widespread from northern Europe to Siberia. It occurs primarily in raised and intermediate bogs as well as in dwarf shrub communities on nutrient-poor soils. The delicate species, with its often prostrate branches, only grows to a height of 0.5 to one meter. In the garden, the dwarf birch finds an appropriate place in rock gardens, but also in heather and water gardens.
Tip
If you like fruits rich in vitamin C, you can also cultivate the local sea buckthorn (Hipphophae rhamnoides) in the rock or gravel garden. This is a deciduous shrub or small tree up to ten meters high that can develop numerous runners.
