Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Thursday - March 17, 2011

From: Calgary, AB
Region: Canada
Topic: Trees
Title: Small trees for Alberta
Answered by: Anne Bossart

QUESTION:

I would like to know if there is a short, 15 feet and under, deciduous tree that can be grown outside in Calgary, AB

ANSWER:

Most of the deciduous trees that are native to your area will ultimately attain a size greater than 15 feet, although most forest trees grown in a suburban setting do not ever get as big as they do in nature.

So you could try:

Alnus incana (Gray alder)

Betula occidentalis (Mountain birch)

Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry)

But you will likely have better luck looking for a large shrub instead of a small tree as they are usually multi-stemmed and more versatile in a garden setting. If you visit our Native Plant Database and do a Combination Search selecting "Alberta" and "Shrub" it will generate a list of 81 shrubs you could use. The plant names on the list are linked to pages where you will find images and detailed infrmation about size and cultural requirements.

Here are a few suggestions from that list:

Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata (Mountain alder)

Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon serviceberry)

Lonicera involucrata (Bear berry honeysuckle)

Myrica gale (Sweetgale)

Rhus glabra (Smooth sumac)

Viburnum opulus var. americanum (American cranberry bush)