Wolcott Garden Treasures
Your Subtitle text
Shrubs vs. Trees
What makes a shrub a shrub, and a tree a tree, and which one do I want?
Technically speaking, a shrub is a woody plant that consists of several stems growing up from the base, whereas a tree has one trunk with branches growing outward some distance above the base.
Here's how we loosely classify the sizes here at the garden center: mature shrubs are usually 1-6 feet tall, mature trees are 30-40 feet tall and mature dwarf trees are 10-20 feet tall. Of course there are probably many exceptions, but that's our general rule of thumb. Keep in mind when you're looking at product tags that the mature height and width indicated on any tree or shrub generally assumes an age of 30 years.
Now, which one do you want? Well, that depends. Are you looking for a taller centerpiece for your yard or garden that can be flanked by smaller plants or stand alone? Then a tree is probably what you want. If you don't have the room for a large tree, or you're worried about a long root system growing into your foundation, there are dozens of varieties of dwarf trees that give you the same beautiful effect of a decorative tree, just in a smaller package.
If you're looking for something to create a border, fill in along a foundation, or accent other plants in a garden, then a shrub is probably a better choice (although smaller evergreen trees like arborvitae make fantastic visual and physical borders).
Bottom line, come in and see what you like and go from there. The care on trees & shrubs is similar, so choosing is really a matter of size and asthetic preference.
Technically speaking, a shrub is a woody plant that consists of several stems growing up from the base, whereas a tree has one trunk with branches growing outward some distance above the base.
Here's how we loosely classify the sizes here at the garden center: mature shrubs are usually 1-6 feet tall, mature trees are 30-40 feet tall and mature dwarf trees are 10-20 feet tall. Of course there are probably many exceptions, but that's our general rule of thumb. Keep in mind when you're looking at product tags that the mature height and width indicated on any tree or shrub generally assumes an age of 30 years.
Now, which one do you want? Well, that depends. Are you looking for a taller centerpiece for your yard or garden that can be flanked by smaller plants or stand alone? Then a tree is probably what you want. If you don't have the room for a large tree, or you're worried about a long root system growing into your foundation, there are dozens of varieties of dwarf trees that give you the same beautiful effect of a decorative tree, just in a smaller package.
If you're looking for something to create a border, fill in along a foundation, or accent other plants in a garden, then a shrub is probably a better choice (although smaller evergreen trees like arborvitae make fantastic visual and physical borders).
Bottom line, come in and see what you like and go from there. The care on trees & shrubs is similar, so choosing is really a matter of size and asthetic preference.
Sign our GuestbookSpecial thanks to Stefan Hermans for the butterfly photo used in our header.
Copyright 2008-2010 Wolcott Garden Treasures and A Public Flower & Garden Center. All rights reserved.
