A pavement is a hard place to grow up. Street trees need roots that cope with tight pits, crowns that keep clear of windows and buses, and a little generosity: blossom, berries or a good autumn. Here are some of the small trees streets often plant, with a planting calendar for the year. Every street is different. Species, sites and timing are always decided with the council, its tree officers and, where needed, a qualified arborist.

Small trees for narrow streets.

SPECIES & SEASONS

Cherry trees in full pink blossom along a quiet residential street of red-brick housesSee the planting calendar

Six small trees we love.

A general guide, not a planting plan. Ask your council which species suit your street, its soil and its overhead wires.

Rowan

Sorbus aucuparia. White flowers in spring, scarlet berries for the birds in autumn and a tidy, upright shape.

Clusters of bright red rowan berries among green leaves
Field maple

Acer campestre. A tough native maple with small lobed leaves that turn butter yellow in autumn.

Field maple leaves and pairs of winged green seeds
Crab apple

Malus varieties. A cloud of blossom in April and small bright apples that often hang on into winter.

Small red crab apples hanging among green and yellowing leaves
Hawthorn

Crataegus. Creamy May blossom, dark red haws and dense, thorny branches that small birds love.

Clusters of small white hawthorn flowers among green leaves
Ginkgo

Ginkgo biloba. Fan-shaped leaves that turn clear gold. Streets choose male trees, as female trees drop smelly fruit.

A branch of golden ginkgo leaves lit by low autumn sunlight
Silver birch

Betula pendula. Pale bark, light shade and a fast start, best where there is a little more room.

Two silver birch trunks with white, black-marked bark rising into a blue sky

A rough comparison to start a conversation with your council. Mature size depends on the variety, the soil and the space a tree is given.

Which tree for which street?

SIDE BY SIDE

A rough comparison to start a conversation with your council. Mature size depends on the variety, the soil and the space a tree is given.

What to expect

Spring blossom

Fruit for birds

Autumn colour

Size when grown

Native to Britain

Rowan

Field maple

Crab apple

A planting calendar.

The first trees arrive once the leaves have fallen. Bare-root and container trees go in, and planting days fill most November weekends.

Late autumn

While the ground is workable, planting carries on between frosts. Carers can rest the watering can until spring.

Midwinter

Check every tie and stake after the winter winds, and top up the mulch before the soil begins to warm.

Early spring

Leaves open and rain becomes less reliable. The weekly bucket starts, and the rota goes up on the noticeboard.

Late spring

The thirsty months. Water slowly in the cool of the evening, and a little more in a heatwave if your council advises it.

High summer

Sweep, bag and mulch. The register’s yearly measuring day falls on the last Sunday in September.

Early autumn

Bark, leaf and blossom.

Small details from street trees through the year, for anyone who likes to look closely. Photographs are illustrative.

Close-up of deeply furrowed grey tree barkWhite blossom on a bare branch against a blue skyFallen yellow ginkgo leaves heaped around a tree trunk and along a kerbDeeply ridged tree bark patched with green moss

Plant small, water often, wait patiently. Then wait a little longer.

Every great avenue was once a row of sticks on a wet November morning.

A street tree is a conversation between neighbours who may never meet.

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is this Saturday, at about half past nine.