Trees That Grow in the Southeast U.S. & Stay Under 20 Feet Tall

Evergreen Trees

• Use the Southern magnolia small-growing cultivar "Little Gem" (Magnolia grandiflora "Little Gem") for a free-flowering evergreen tree that grows from 15 to 20 feet tall with an 8- to 10-foot spread. It has fragrant white flowers from spring into fall and begins blooming at a younger age than the larger tree of the same species. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 8, "Little Gem" grows in either full sun or partial shade. Get edible fruits in April through June by adding a loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica). Large leathery dark green leaves flower from November through January, providing fragrance at a time when not much else is blooming. Loquat grows from 10 to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide in USDA zones 7 through 10.

Deciduous Trees

• Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) produces white, pink, or red flowers in spring, depending on the cultivar. Native to the eastern United States, trees are usually 15 to 20 feet in height, but taller cultivars can reach 25 to 30 feet tall. Butterflies visit the flowers and red fall fruits attract birds. When leaves fall, the reddish bark is revealed. Flowering dogwood is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. Flowering crabapple (Malus spp.) comes in many cultivars with many small trees included. Trees flower with white, pink or red blooms before or just as leaves emerge, and red to yellow apples under 2 inches wide grace the branches in fall and winter, attracting birds and other wildlife. Crabapples are generally hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, but this may vary depending on the cultivar.

Flowering Trees

• Native to the southeastern United States, white fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) has abundant, slightly fragrant white flowers in spring on 15- to 20-foot-tall trees. Birds come in September to harvest the dark blue berries. This deciduous tree grows in USDA zones 4 through 9. For abundant, showy early blooms in January and February, choose Japanese apricot (Prunus mume). Red, white or pink flowers cloak the leafless branches of the 15- to 20-feet-tall trees. Many cultivars of this slow-growing tree are available that grow in USDA zones 6 through 9.

Trees for Fall Color

• Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), depending on the cultivar, produces not only bright red, orange or purple fall color but bright spring leaf color as well. Hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8, trees have a graceful growth form and lacy foliage, growing from 15 to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. For a combination of bright fall color in red, orange, yellow and purple plus abundant summer flowers, choose from the many cultivars of crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). Deciduous multi-stemmed trees leaf out in April with glossy green leaves that contrast well with large clusters of white, pink, red or purple flowers. Dormant trees show off the reddish-gray mottled bark. Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9, choose cultivars based on mature height since cultivars range from 6 to 30 feet tall, fall leaf color and the flower color you prefer.