It is not unusual for some landscape shrubs to outgrow their
allocated area. So we’re faced
with a problem.

Solutions to the overgrown-shrub dilemma include moving,
replacing and reinventing. The
latter refers to changing a plant from the shrub form to a tree
form.

Making trees out of shrubs isn’t hard and can add an exciting
new dimension to the
landscape. Imagine their curiosity when people see this strange
new tree in your garden.

Here are some possibilities.

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Grows eight to
12 feet tall and generally has a tree
form but is very upright. Prune it to create lateral branches
and a canopy worthy of a tree.
It’s deciduous, but has attractive foliage and fantastic blooms
from midsummer until fall.
Its many flower shades range from whites to pinks to purples and
even bicolor. The plant
tolerates a range of soils but prefers sunny sites.

Sasanqua camellia (Camellia sasanqua). It’s the
same genus as the well-known Japanese
camellia. But this form spreads slightly more than its cousin.
It has darker green, smaller
leaves and blooms in fall. As with its close cousin, it grows
taller than you would expect
(10-15 feet in a good place).

Cleyera (Cleyera japonica) is one of the many
culprits of the overgrown-shrub dilemma.
If you let it, it will grow to 20 feet tall. This plant is often
pruned year after year in an
attempt to keep it small. Remove a few of the bottom branches
and use it as a vertical
element in your landscape. New foliage is reddish and
attractive.

Burford holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordi’ and Ilex
cornuta ‘Burfordi Nana’). The regular
Burford holly grows 15-20 feet tall and is certainly not suited
as a foundation plant. But
did you know the “dwarf” form may get 10 feet tall? Burford
hollies are versatile plants
equally well-suited as shrubs or trees. The standard form makes
an impressive plant as a
specimen, laden with red berries in fall, while the dwarf is
good as a tree form closer to the
house. Simply remove lower branches and tip the ends in spring
to create a pleasing
round-headed tree. You’ll need both a male and female plant for
berries, but a number of
other species and varieties will perform this task.

Ligustrum (Ligustrum japonicum, L. lucidum and
L. vulgare) make striking tree forms
with differing textures and forms. The wax-leaf ligustrum (L.
japonicum), probably the
smallest, grows 12 feet at most. It has very coarse-textured,
shiny green leaves. A
variegated form also exists. Prune the bottom branches, then
prune lateral buds to create
an attractive overhanging canopy.

Common privet hedge (L. sinense) is often used as
a hedge. Allowed to grow up as a
specimen plant, it will resemble L. lucidum with flowers
and fruit but with a smaller, more
flexible leaf. Pruned with care, it can become a weeping tree.

Southern wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) is an
outstanding native plant finding its way into
Georgia landscapes. Although it’s often used as a hedge, its
genetic variability gives each
plant character and a form all its own. So the hedge often looks
misproportioned or
lumpy. Why not use this plant as a tree? Its attractive, bright
green foliage is aromatic if
crushed. It produces abundant berries along new stems as the
fruit develops in fall.

Fragrant tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans) forms a
nice specimen plant where it has room
to grow. But its size (20-30 feet tall) excludes its use close
to the home. If it’s already
there, though, try pruning up the bottom branches and tipping
off the new growth in
spring.