How multi-stem trees bring sculpture to your garden
Photograph coming soon
Suggested lead photograph: how multi-stem trees bring sculpture to your garden
Multi-stem trees combine height, movement and beautiful bark in one plant. To make the most of them, place them where they can be seen in the round, lift the lower branches to reveal the stems, light them at night and keep the planting beneath simple.
Part tree, part sculpture
A single-stemmed tree draws the eye upwards. A multi-stem draws it in. The stems create a framework of lines and spaces, a little like a sculpture, that changes as you walk around it and as the light moves through the day. In winter, with the leaves gone, that framework becomes the star.
Photograph coming soon
Suggested photograph: where to place one
Where to place one
Because a multi-stem rewards being looked at from every side, placement matters. As a focal point, it works beautifully at the end of a path or view, or in the centre of a courtyard. Beside a terrace, it gives dappled shade and a sense of enclosure without blocking the view. Planted in groups of three or five, multi-stems create the feeling of a small woodland. And set against a plain backdrop, such as a dark yew hedge or a pale wall, the stems stand out clearly and show off their form.
Reveal the stems
Gently removing the lowest branches over time, known as crown lifting, opens up the base and shows off the stems and bark. Do this in late winter and take a little at a time, so the tree keeps its natural shape.
Photograph coming soon
Suggested photograph: choose for bark and form
Choose for bark and form
If bark is your priority, look at Betula nigra with its peeling cinnamon layers, Parrotia persica with its patchwork of greys and creams, and Heptacodium miconioides with its pale, papery strips. If shape matters most, Zelkova serrata gives an elegant vase, while Cornus kousa var. chinensis has a tiered, layered habit.
Light and underplanting
An uplighter at the base turns a multi-stem into a night-time sculpture. Underneath, keep the planting simple so the stems stay the focus. A carpet of ferns, grasses or low evergreen domes such as Ilex crenata contrasts beautifully with the open lines above.
Find your sculpture
Every multi-stem we grow is unique, which is why it pays to see them in person. Come and compare them side by side at our Row Town showroom and choose the one that speaks to you.