4 Designer Trees That Provide Winter Interest

With flowers dying off and trees turning bare, gardens can end up looking pretty dull in the winter months. If you can relate, take a look at these four designer trees – not only do they provide interest throughout the winter, but some offer up delicious fruits too!

 

The Tahitian Lime Tree

Many citrus trees don’t handle cold temperatures well, but the Tahitian Lime Tree is the most cold-tolerant of them all. It boasts beautiful glossy leaves that really stand out in a winter garden, and is also one of those rare trees that is able to produce fruit throughout the year.

With its lush foliage, fragrant white flowers that are at their best in the winter, and round fruits that start off green and then ripen to a vibrant yellow, this is a tree that has so much to offer during the colder seasons.

 

The Queensland Bottle Tree

Although it’s a semi-deciduous tree, the Queensland Bottle Tree keeps its leaves throughout the winter – it loses them in the spring instead, and only for a very short period of time. However, it isn’t its foliage that makes this tree stand out…

The Queensland Bottle Tree is an iconic native tree, simply due to the shape of its trunk. As you can guess from the tree’s name, the trunk is shaped like a bottle – it’s quite bulbous at the base, but this tapers up in a gentle curve, giving the tree such an elegant appearance. While it retains this gorgeous shape when grown in a pot, the tree really comes into its own when given plenty of space in the ground.

 

The Pomegranate Tree

When it comes to winter fruits, nothing quite beats the sweet and juicy pomegranate. While the tree itself may lose its leaves in the winter, this is when its fruits ripen, meaning that the bare tree looks as though it is literally dripping with smooth, jewel-coloured spheres.

Aside from its fruits, the tree itself is also a beauty, even when it doesn’t have any leaves. It grows quite tall, with its bark taking on a vivid grey tone as it matures. The trunk can also turn quite twisted and knotted as the tree grows, resulting in an exquisite texture, and its low branches give the space around it an added sense of depth.

 

The Dragon Tree

Evergreen trees are fantastic for providing winter interest, and the Dragon Tree is one that really adds a focal point to a garden. The tall trunk is topped with pom-poms of narrow, sword-shaped leaves, resulting in a statement-making tropical look, even in the midst of winter. As an added bonus, the Dragon Tree starts flowering towards the end of winter, usually before many other garden trees have started to show signs of life.

If you can be generous with the amount of space you give to your Dragon Tree, consider going for a multi-stemmed specimen. These have an extravagant, architectural appeal that ensures your eye is always drawn to the tree whenever you look at your garden. If you’re short on space, the Dragon Tree could still work for you, as it usually does very well when grown in pots.

 

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