Ornamental trees are grown for their shape, and shape is the first thing lost to crowding. A dogwood or Japanese maple is bought for a silhouette that only develops if the crown can spread evenly — planted tight against a neighbour, it grows one-sided within a few years and does not straighten out afterwards.
Plant library · Spacing charts
Ornamental and flowering tree spacing chart
Center-to-center spacing for 45 ornamental and flowering trees, with mature height and spread, bloom season, and sun needs.
Spacing across this chart runs from 8 ft (2.4 m) to 40 ft (12.2 m). Click any column heading to sort.
| Plant | Spacing | Mature size | USDA zones | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
American HollyIlex opaca
|
12 ft3.7 m | 30 ft tall, 15 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
American HornbeamCarpinus caroliniana
|
15 ft4.6 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 3–9 | Partial Shade |
Amur MapleAcer ginnala
|
15 ft4.6 m | 20 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 2–8 | Full Sun |
Carolina SilverbellHalesia carolina
|
30 ft9.1 m | 40 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 4–8 | Partial Shade |
Chaste TreeVitex agnus-castus
|
15 ft4.6 m | 15 ft tall, 15 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
ChitalpaChitalpa tashkentensis
|
20 ft6.1 m | 30 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
Cornelian Cherry DogwoodCornus mas
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 4–8 | Partial Sun |
Crape MyrtleLagerstroemia indica
|
15 ft4.6 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
Desert Museum Palo VerdeParkinsonia spp.
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
Desert WillowChilopsis linearis
|
18 ft5.5 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 7–11 | Full Sun |
Eastern HophornbeamOstrya virginiana
|
20 ft6.1 m | 30 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 3–9 | Partial Shade |
Eastern RedbudCercis canadensis
|
25 ft7.6 m | 25 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Empress TreePaulownia tomentosa
|
30 ft9.1 m | 40 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Flowering CrabappleMalus spp.
|
15 ft4.6 m | 20 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Flowering DogwoodCornus florida
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–9 | Partial Shade |
Flowering PearPyrus calleryana
|
20 ft6.1 m | 35 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Fringe TreeChionanthus virginicus
|
12 ft3.7 m | 15 ft tall, 15 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Golden Chain TreeLaburnum x watereri
|
15 ft4.6 m | 20 ft tall, 15 ft wide | 5–7 | Full Sun |
Golden Rain TreeKoelreuteria paniculata
|
30 ft9.1 m | 35 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Horse ChestnutAesculus hippocastanum
|
40 ft12.2 m | 60 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
JacarandaJacaranda mimosifolia
|
35 ft10.7 m | 40 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 9–11 | Full Sun |
Jane MagnoliaMagnolia x 'Jane'
|
12 ft3.7 m | 15 ft tall, 10 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Japanese Pagoda TreeStyphnolobium japonicum
|
40 ft12.2 m | 50 ft tall, 50 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Japanese SnowbellStyrax japonicus
|
25 ft7.6 m | 30 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 5–9 | Partial Sun |
Japanese StewartiaStewartia pseudocamellia
|
20 ft6.1 m | 35 ft tall, 22 ft wide | 5–8 | Partial Shade |
Japanese Tree LilacSyringa reticulata
|
15 ft4.6 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 3–7 | Full Sun |
Katsura TreeCercidiphyllum japonicum
|
30 ft9.1 m | 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Kousa DogwoodCornus kousa
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–8 | Partial Shade |
Kwanza CherryPrunus serrulata
|
25 ft7.6 m | 35 ft tall, 30 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
Mimosa TreeAlbizia julibrissin
|
30 ft9.1 m | 30 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
Paperbark MapleAcer grisium
|
25 ft7.6 m | 30 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Persian IronwoodParrotia persica
|
18 ft5.5 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
Purple Leaf PlumPrunus cerasifera
|
18 ft5.5 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
Royal Raindrops CrabappleMalus 'JFS-KW5'
|
15 ft4.6 m | 20 ft tall, 15 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Saucer MagnoliaMagnolia x soulangeana
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Seven-Son FlowerHeptacodium miconioides
|
12 ft3.7 m | 20 ft tall, 10 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Smoke TreeCotinus coggygria
|
10 ft3 m | 15 ft tall, 12 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
SourwoodOxydendrum arboreum
|
20 ft6.1 m | 30 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Star MagnoliaMagnolia stellata
|
10 ft3 m | 15 ft tall, 12 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Sweetbay MagnoliaMagnolia virginiana
|
18 ft5.5 m | 30 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Texas Mountain LaurelDermatophyllum secundiflorum
|
8 ft2.4 m | 15 ft tall, 10 ft wide | 7–10 | Full Sun |
Washington HawthornCrataegus phaenopyrum
|
15 ft4.6 m | 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide | 3–8 | Full Sun |
Weeping CherryPrunus subhirtella
|
20 ft6.1 m | 25 ft tall, 25 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
YellowwoodCladrastis kentukea
|
30 ft9.1 m | 40 ft tall, 40 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Yoshino CherryPrunus x yedoensis
|
30 ft9.1 m | 40 ft tall, 35 ft wide | 5–8 | Full Sun |
Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.
How to use this chart
Many of these are understory trees in the wild and are happier sited with that in mind: near the edge of a larger canopy rather than in the open, where afternoon shade and shelter suit them better than full exposure. That affects placement more than it affects the distance between plants.
For a flowering group or a matched pair framing an entrance, plan the spacing off the mature spread and accept that it looks sparse for the first several years. Groups planted to look right on day one grow into a single shapeless mass.