Having a tiny yard doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your share of ornamental trees! Plenty of trees can be contained in a small yard with good pruning habits, and there are also plenty of trees that stay on the small side throughout their lives. Plus, adding a tree to your tiny yard space will draw the eye upward and make your space feel larger than it is. 

Hibiscus trees can be kept to the scale of a small yard with some regular pruning. You can let them grow into a shrub shape, or you can prune them into a traditional tree shape with a strong central stem and a canopy of blossoms at the top. Hibiscus is available in many gorgeous colors including red, yellow, orange, pink, or peach. A braided hibiscus adds a special touch to a tiny space without any extra effort. A braided hibiscus tree is grown by braiding several young hibiscus stems together as they mature. They’re topped with a cloud of lovely dark green leaves and stunning, showy blossoms. Hibiscus trees will grow up to about 6’ tall in a good location. They have the added bonus of being pollinator-friendly and attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to our yards. 

Prune your hibiscus in the spring. While pruning, you can remove up to ⅓ of the canopy to allow more air movement and light to promote better blooming.

Duranta Sapphire Showers tree has dainty green foliage with gorgeous white-edged purple blossoms. It will bloom from spring all the way until fall, keeping your hummingbirds and butterflies happy. It can reach heights of up to 20’ tall but can be kept shorter to suit a mini space with pruning. 

Speaking of pruning, Sapphire Showers is a fast grower, so you’ll need to keep on top of it. It’s best to prune it in the late winter or early spring before or after their prime flowering season. You can remove up to ⅓ of its canopy at once. It’s a good idea to remove some branches in the center of the canopy so that air and sunlight can penetrate through to promote healthy growth and prevent disease. Click here to find out our top tropical flowering plants.

Esperanza Yellow Honeysuckle is a truly striking specimen! With its bright yellow blossoms and dark green foliage, Esperanza makes a flashy addition to your landscape. It can be grown as a shrub or pruned as a mini tree with a strong central stem and canopy of blooms and leaves. The more sun Esperanza gets, the more it blooms—all summer long. Also popular with pollinators, it is drought tolerant and an easy keeper. It can grow up to 20’ tall, but can easily be pruned to a smaller size. Esperanza is tough enough to handle pruning at any time of the year.

Braided Shrimp Plant can be grown as a small indoor tree, or kept outdoors. It’s also popular with pollinators when covered in its signature bright red shrimp-shaped blooms. This is a truly tiny tree, only reaching up to 4’ tall. This is a plant that prefers its canopy to be quite dense to encourage blooming. Shrimp plants bloom for a few months and then take a short rest period. It’s best to prune the tree during those rest periods. Shrimp plants are resilient, so you can cut it back quite a bit. Just remember to leave the canopy quite dense by pruning from the tips back to maintain the desired shape. 

Are you ready to find the perfect mini tree for your mini Florida garden space? Whether that’s a yard, balcony, or indoor pot, you’ll find a perfectly tiny tree to suit your style. Make sure to explore all of the tiny trees in stock now!

Climbing plants tumbling over archways and trellises add both structure and softness to your garden. It’s also fun to train your plants around unique shapes and see how it looks once it’s filled with blossoms and greenery. If you’d like to show off your vining and climbing plants, consider adding some interesting trellises to your landscape. Check out our trellis plant shopping guide to find beautiful climbers for your trellis designs.