English Yew

Amur maple (Acer ginnala, accepted by Kew's Plants of the World Online as Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala) is a small, fast-growing deciduous tree or large multi-stemmed shrub from northeastern Asia - the Russian Far East, northeastern China, and Korea. At 15 to 20 feet it fits where a full-size maple cannot, and it earns that place with three seasons of interest: fragrant greenish-yellow flowers in spring, which is an unusual scent for a maple and an early nectar source for bees; small glossy three-lobed leaves through summer; and reliable, often brilliant red-to-orange fall color that arrives early. It is also one of the hardiest maples, tolerant of cold, wind, dry soil, and a wide range of pH. The honest catch, and it is a serious one for North American gardeners, is that it self-sows prolifically and has escaped cultivation to become invasive across parts of the US Midwest and Northeast, where its shade-tolerant seedlings crowd native shrubs and understory trees in open woods, savannas, and prairies. Several states list it as invasive or a noxious weed. Check your local invasive-species list before planting, and be prepared to remove seedlings if you do.

Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) is a slow-growing evergreen conifer native to southern Japan, southern and eastern China, Taiwan, and northern Myanmar, long prized in East Asian gardens and feng shui traditions. In mild climates it makes a handsome, dense column of strap-like dark-green foliage suitable for hedging, topiary, or a statement specimen; it also tolerates container culture well. The honest catch is its frost-tenderness: plants are reliable only from zone 7b (about 10°F) southward, and a late cold snap in zone 7 can kill established specimens to the ground. Layered on that is its pace - growth is genuinely slow, so a screening hedge planted today may take 15-20 years to reach useful height.

Cordyline australis is a dramatic, palm-like evergreen tree native to New Zealand, where it ranges from North Cape to the southern South Island. In warm-temperate gardens (USDA zones 8-11) it makes an unmistakable structural focal point with its stout trunk, arching sword-leaf crown, and spectacular fragrant flower panicles in late spring. The honest catch is its scale and tenderness: it can exceed 33 feet in mild climates, its fibrous roots are expansive and difficult to remove, a single hard frost below about 23°F can kill or badly damage an established specimen, and the saponin-bearing foliage is toxic to cats and dogs - making it a gamble outside sheltered coastal or urban sites in colder zone-8 gardens.

Trident maple is a small to medium deciduous tree native to eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan, grown for its distinctive three-lobed glossy leaves, exfoliating orange-brown bark on mature specimens, and reliable orange-red autumn colour. It adapts well to urban conditions - pollution, compacted soil, restricted root space - and is a premier bonsai subject. The honest catch is its shallow, spreading root system: surface roots can buckle pavements and lift lawn edges within a few decades, so site it well clear of hard surfacing or install root barriers from the outset.

A large tropical evergreen tree from Asia and northern Australia, where it can reach 30 feet or more with a broad, rounded crown of arching, weeping branches clothed in glossy, pointed, 2-4 inch leaves. Across most of the world, though, it is grown as one of the most popular indoor trees, kept to 5 to 10 feet in a pot and valued for its graceful weeping form and dense, shiny foliage. It is hardy outdoors only in frost-free climates (USDA 10a-12b); everywhere colder it is a houseplant. Its single most famous trait is dropping its leaves dramatically whenever it is moved, drafted, over- or under-watered, or otherwise stressed - a habit new owners often mistake for death. The milky white latex in its stems and leaves is mildly toxic if eaten and is a well-known skin and airborne allergen.

Trachycarpus fortunei is an evergreen fan palm whose wild native range spans central and southern China, northern Myanmar, and northern India (with populations in southern Japan often regarded as an ancient introduction); it is prized as one of the hardiest palms in cultivation - mature specimens tolerating down to about -4°F. Its slender, fiber-clad trunk and bold palmate fronds deliver instant tropical drama in temperate gardens, and it performs well in cool, moist climates where other palms fail. The honest catch is twofold: the palm is dioecious (you need both a male and a female plant to set the blue-black fruits birds then carry far and wide), and in mild-winter regions of Europe it has escaped cultivation - documented as invasive in southern Switzerland and northern Italy and self-seeding in Atlantic Europe - so it can become a problem near natural areas. The persistent fibrous trunk sheaths also shed continually, creating litter that needs regular clean-up.