Ball trees are perfect for small gardens or front gardens because their crown usually remains compact and they are also rather small in stature - tall specimens can reach ten meters, but most varieties remain at a final size of between three and four meters. Evergreen ball trees even set accents in winter as they remain green all year round - perfect if you want wind and privacy protection to be maintained even in the cold season.
Which evergreen ball trees are there?
Evergreen spherical trees include spherical cork fir 'Green Globe', dwarf arborvitae 'Tiny Tim', dwarf spherical arborvitae 'Danica', spherical pine 'Mops' and spherical hooked or mountain pine 'Heideperle' and 'Winter sun'. They stay green all year round and require little care.
Spherical conifers
If you're looking for an evergreen ball tree, the easy-care and robust conifers are of course an obvious idea - with the exception of the native larch (which also doesn't grow in a spherical shape), the needles stay on the tree for several years and don't grow like they do Deciduous trees dropped in autumn. There are two forms of spherical coniferous trees: false cypresses (such as Lawson's false cypress), the native yew, the Sugarloaf spruce or the Korean fir can often be cut into a spherical shape, but do not grow that way naturally. For this reason, regular trimming is necessary. Other varieties have been specifically bred with a spherical crown and can be used either as a ground-covering shrub or as a semi- or semi-vertical shrub. Planted on a standard tree. We have summarized the most beautiful varieties for you in the table below.
| Type of tree | Variety name | Latin name | Location | Growth height | Growth width | Special features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball cork fir | ‘Green Globe’ | Abies lasiocarpa | Sun to partial shade | up to two meters | up to one and a half meters | perfect for rock gardens |
| Dwarf Tree of Life | ‘Tiny Tim’ | Thuja occidentalis | Sun to partial shade | up to 100 centimeters | up to 150 centimeters | broad, spherical growth |
| Dwarf Ball Tree of Life | ‘Danica’ | Thuja occidentalis | Sun to partial shade | up to 80 centimeters | up to 100 centimeters | ideal for pot culture |
| Ball Pine | ‘Pug’ | Pinus mugo | Sun to partial shade | up to 150 centimeters | up to 150 centimeters | ground-covering, spherical shape |
| Spherical hooked or mountain pine | ‘Heideperle’ | Pinus mugo | Sun | up to 80 centimeters | up to 60 centimeters | bushy, small tree |
| Spherical hooked or mountain pine | ‘Winter sun’ | Pinus mugo | Sun to partial shade | up to 50 centimeters | up to 50 centimeters | yellow needles, ideal for keeping in containers |
Evergreen deciduous trees with a spherical crown
If you want it to be an evergreen, spherical deciduous tree, you have the choice between different types and varieties of
- Holly (Ilex), such as the European holly (Ilex aquifolium) or the species Ilex meserveae and Ilex mutchagara
- Common Box (Buxus sempervirens)
- Privet, for example the glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum)
- Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
- Portuguese cherry laurel (Prunus lusitanica)
- Spice laurel (Laurus nobilis)
- and the wintergreen olive willow (Elaeagnus ebbingei)
Apart from boxwood, holly, privet and cherry laurel, these are not winter-hardy species and must be grown in pots if possible and kept frost-free over the winter. Furthermore, these evergreen trees do not naturally grow in a spherical shape, but must be cut into shape accordingly. Such a ball looks particularly striking on a standard tree, for example.
Tip
The ball ginkgo 'Mariken' is also very easy to cut, but is not evergreen. It only grows up to one meter high and is therefore ideal for growing in containers.
