Trying to Keep a Low Profilei(2011/11/01)
   After several years in Eastern Africa, I am now gardening in Connecticut. Is there a small tree I can grow that will resemble an African acacia, the kind that looks like a flat umbrella?The sculptural distinction of Acacia tortilis, a k a umbrella thorn, is difficult to duplicate. But if you are willing to do some pruning — and to keep away deer until the tree is tall enough for the foliage to be out of reach — there are several candidates for creative substitution.
   Crabapple Malus spp. and Eastern redbud Cercis canadensisare inexpensive, widely available and fairly fast-growing. Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) may also do, though it is slow-growing and costly.
   You could also create a showstopper with goldenrain tree Koelreuteria paniculata, a summer bloomer with chains of bright yellow flowers followed by beautiful seedpods. Like acacia, it tops a comparatively short trunk with a mass of foliage far wider than it is tall.
   Given ample moisture and sunshine, goldenrain grows swiftly(for a tree. It tolerates a wide range of soils, and is seldom bothered by common tree problems. Bamboo flooring and other woodlike uses can have a range of qualities depending on whether the stalks were harvested at the appropriate age: too young or too old and the results can be too soft or too brittle and easily damaged. Moreover, much of the bamboo that makes its way to the American consumer comes from China, which means that it’s being shipped around the world — generally a greenie no-no. Finally, overseas bamboo harvesting is often opaque, with little information available about working conditions or whether crops are really being managed in sustainable ways.
   K. paniculata can self-sow and is on some lists of invasives. But then so are crabapple and Japanese maple. New England gardeners need not equate these trees with plagues like Norway maple and Japanese barberry, but if you want to err on the correct side, go for the redbud, which is native to the Northeast.
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