10 Low Maintenance Trees for a Beautiful Landscape
Published: July 17, 2023 | Updated: August 4, 2026
Kousa dogwood (#3 on this list) is a beautiful low maintenance tree with year-round interest. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
A beautiful landscape doesn't have to mean constant pruning, watering, and cleanup. The right tree can provide flowers, shade, fall color, or interesting bark while asking very little in return.
Here are my favorite low maintenance trees that perform beautifully in home landscapes, whether you're looking for a flowering accent tree, reliable shade, or year-round interest.
Keep in mind that low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance. Like all newly planted trees, these selections will need regular watering during their first two to three years and supplemental watering during extended dry periods.
As a landscape designer, I’ve used my own photography throughout this guide so you can see how these trees look in real landscapes throughout the seasons.
Magnolia Jane
Magnolia Jane. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Magnolia ‘Jane’
Zones: 3b-8
Mature size: 10-15 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide
Light requirements: Full sun
Why I Recommend It: Magnolia Jane opens the spring season with an abundance of showy, tulip-like flowers in rich shades of pink, bringing bold color to the landscape before its leaves emerge. Its compact, upright form makes it a wonderful fit for small yards, foundation plantings, or the corners of the house.
Tip: Magnolia Jane is part of the 'Little Girl' series, a group of hybrid magnolias bred to bloom later in spring and avoid the frost damage that often affects earlier-flowering magnolia varieties.
Want to learn more? Read my complete guide to The Little Girl Magnolias for growing tips, care, and landscaping ideas.
2. Eastern Redbud
Eastern redbud tree. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Cercis canadensis
Zones: 4-9
Mature size: 20-30 feet high and 25-35 feet wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: Eastern redbud welcomes spring with masses of lavender-pink flowers that bloom along its bare branches before the heart-shaped leaves emerge. As a North American native, it also supports early pollinators and birds while bringing graceful beauty to the landscape throughout the growing season.
Tip: Eastern redbud is native to much of the eastern United States, making it well adapted to many home landscapes. Choose a planting location that's visible from your front walk, patio, or favorite window so you can enjoy Eastern redbud's spectacular spring blooms each year.
Want to learn more? Read my complete guide to Eastern redbud trees for growing tips, landscaping ideas, and everything you need to know before planting one.
3. Kousa Dogwood
Kousa dogwood trees in full spring bloom. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Cornus kousa
Zones: 5-8
Mature size: 20-30 feet high and 15-30 feet wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: Kousa dogwood puts on a spectacular spring display of creamy white flower-like bracts, followed by unique pink fruits that attract birds. Beautiful burgundy to deep purple fall foliage and attractive exfoliating bark keep it looking beautiful long after the flowers have faded.
Tip: Unlike many flowering dogwoods, Kousa dogwood blooms after the leaves emerge, making its flowers less vulnerable to late spring frosts. It's also more resistant to diseases like dogwood anthracnose, making it an excellent low maintenance choice.
4. Okame Cherry
Okame cherry tree. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Prunus x incam ‘Okame’
Zones: 5-9
Mature size: 15-25 feet high and 15-20 feet wide
Light requirements: Full sun
Why I Recommend It: Okame cherry welcomes spring with masses of fragrant, hot pink flowers before the leaves emerge. Its glossy dark green foliage turns vibrant shades of red, orange, and bronze in fall, and it's one of the few ornamental cherries with improved resistance to many common diseases and pests.
Tip: Although it belongs to the cherry family, Okame cherry is grown for its ornamental beauty, not edible fruit. Its leaves, stems, blossoms, and fruit pits are toxic if ingested.
Want to learn more? Read my complete guide to the Okame cherry tree for growing tips, care, and landscaping ideas.
5. Hybrid Witchhazel
Hybrid witchhazel tree. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Hamamelis x intermedia
Zones: 4-9
Mature size: 15-20 feet high and wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: Hybrid witchhazel brightens the winter landscape with fragrant, ribbon-like flowers when little else is blooming. Its graceful branching habit and brilliant fall foliage in shades of yellow, orange, and red make it a standout tree in every season.
Tip: Hybrid witchhazels are available in a wide range of flower colors, from bright yellow to copper, orange, and deep red. Choose a cultivar that complements the rest of your landscape and extends seasonal interest through the winter months.
Want to learn more? Read my complete guide to hybrid witchhazels for growing tips, care, and landscaping ideas.
6. White Fringetree (Grancy Graybeard)
White fringetree (grancy graybeard). Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Chionanthus virginicus
Zones: 4-9
Mature size: 12-20 feet tall and wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: White fringetree (also called grancy graybeard) is covered in airy, lightly fragrant white flowers each spring, giving the tree a soft, cloud-like appearance. As a North American native, it also supports pollinators and other wildlife while bringing delicate beauty to the landscape.
Tip: White fringetree develops a graceful, well-balanced form that rarely needs pruning. Give it enough room to reach its mature size, and let it show off its naturally elegant branching habit.
Want to learn more? Read my complete guide to white fringetree for growing tips, care, and landscaping ideas.
7. Red Maple
Red maple tree. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Acer rubrum
Zones: 3-9
Mature size: 40-60 feet tall and 30-50 feet wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: Red maple is a dependable North American native that adapts to a wide range of growing conditions, including clay soil. It grows quickly into a beautiful shade tree and puts on a spectacular display of brilliant red fall color.
Tip: Red maple develops shallow surface roots as it matures, so it's best planted in open lawn areas rather than next to patios, sidewalks, or driveways where roots may eventually lift pavement.
8. Serviceberry (Shadbush)
A multi-stemmed serviceberry tree. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Amelanchier species
Zones: 4-9
Mature size: 15-25 feet high and wide
Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Why I Recommend It: Serviceberry is a graceful North American native that welcomes spring with delicate white flowers, followed by edible berries that birds love. It also supports native pollinators and finishes the season with beautiful fall color, making it one of my favorite four-season trees.
Tip: Serviceberry is available as either a single-stem tree or a multi-stemmed form. The multi-stemmed variety has a naturalistic, shrub-like look, and the single-stem form works well as a small specimen tree in more formal landscapes.
9. Crape Myrtle
Muskogee crape myrtle. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Lagerstroemia
Zones: 6-9
Mature size: 3-20 feet high and wide
Light requirements: Full sun
Why I Recommend It: Crape myrtle brings spectacular summer flowers when few other trees are in bloom, followed by vibrant fall color and beautiful exfoliating bark for year-round interest. Its graceful form and long season of beauty make it one of the hardest-working trees in the landscape.
Tip: Don't buy a crape myrtle based on the flowers alone. Varieties range from compact shrubs to large, spreading trees, so always check the mature height and width on the plant tag before buying.
10. Japanese Maple
Japanese maple tree in fall. Image © Plant and Bloom Design Studio
Botanical name: Acer palmatum
Zones: 5-8
Mature size: 15-25 feet high and 10-25 feet wide
Light requirements: Partial shade
Why I Recommend It: Japanese maple brings elegance to the landscape with its beautifully shaped leaves, graceful branching habit, and rich red foliage that transforms into brilliant shades of crimson in autumn. Its compact size makes it an excellent choice for smaller yards, patios, and front yards.
Tip: Japanese maple is happiest in dappled shade or a location with morning sun and afternoon shade. While many plant tags say "part shade," too much hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaves, so choosing the right location is the key to keeping this tree healthy and low maintenance.
Helpful Resources for Choosing and Caring for Trees
Whether you're deciding which tree to plant or learning how to care for it after planting, these additional resources will help you get started.