Best Full Sun Outdoor Trees of 2025

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For those who want to add some natural beauty to their outdoor space, full sun outdoor trees are a great option. These trees are specifically chosen for their ability to thrive in direct sunlight, making them a great choice for gardens, patios, or any other outdoor area that receives plenty of sunshine. With a variety of sizes and colours to choose from, these trees can provide shade, privacy, or simply add a decorative touch to any space. Whether you're an experienced gardener or just starting out, full sun outdoor trees are a great way to enhance your outdoor environment.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Full Sun Outdoor Trees
YouGarden Established Italian Cypress Trees for Gardens
The YouGarden Cypress Trees are a wonderful addition to your outdoor space, bringing Mediterranean elegance to your garden. Their stylish height and slender shape create dramatic borders and stunning displays in pots. These trees are incredibly low maintenance, requiring just light clipping to maintain their beautiful form. Completely hardy and evergreen, they thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, making them easy to grow and perfect for any garden enthusiast.
YouGarden Hardy Phoenix Palm Trees for Gardens
The YouGarden Palm Trees bring a tropical look to your outdoor space, creating a holiday feel that lasts for years. Their dramatic fan-shaped foliage adds a striking element to any garden, while you can enjoy creamy-yellow flowers during hot summers. Despite their exotic origins, these palms are winter hardy down to -6C, making them suitable for the UK climate. Placing them in a sunny position ensures they thrive, providing you with a vibrant addition to your patio or garden.
Ginkgo Biloba Maidenhair Tree in 20cm Pot
The Ginkgo Biloba Tree is a stunning outdoor hedge plant that stands 85-95cm tall, including its pot. Its leaves transform into a beautiful yellow in autumn, providing a vibrant display in your garden before shedding in winter. Come spring, you can expect fresh green foliage to emerge once again. This tree is highly decorative with its unique shape, making it an eye-catching addition to any outdoor space. For the best display of its striking autumn colours, ensure it receives plenty of sunlight.
YouGarden Eucalyptus Tree 'gunnii' Standard 60-100cm
The YouGarden Eucalyptus Standard Tree is a stunning evergreen that brings a touch of elegance to your outdoor space. Its attractive foliage starts as grey-green leaves, which transform to a beautiful blue shade in spring and summer. Ideal for container planting, this tree thrives in a large pot, making it a perfect addition to your patio. Furthermore, it is a hardy plant that can withstand harsh weather, preferring full sun with some shelter from strong winds when young, ensuring you can enjoy its beauty with minimal worry.
Ilex Golden King Potted Evergreen Tree
The Golden King Tree is a stunning Ilex 'Golden King' that enhances any small garden or patio with its lush, evergreen foliage. Its beautiful green leaves, edged in bright yellow, are complemented by small flowers that can yield vibrant brownish-red berries. You will find it thrives in well-drained, moist soil, making it easy to care for when planted in full sun. Once established, this low-maintenance tree requires little pruning, allowing you to enjoy its striking appearance without much effort.
Acer Metamorphosa Japanese Maple Tree in Pot
The Acer Metamorphosa Maple is a stunning deciduous tree that showcases hand-shaped foliage, transforming from light yellow with pink hues to a striking red-violet during the growing season. With an ultimate height of 1.5m and a spread of 1m, it fits well in various outdoor spaces. This tree thrives in sheltered spots with full sun or partial shade, ensuring you can enjoy its beauty in your garden. Regular watering during dry spells keeps the soil moist, making it easier for you to maintain this gorgeous plant.
Acer palmatum Sumi Nagashi Japanese Maple Tree
The Sumi Nagashi Maple is a stunning deciduous shrub that can also be grown as a small tree. Its unique vase shape and striking foliage add beauty to your garden, transitioning from purple-red in spring to bright red in autumn. This variety thrives in partial shade, making it perfect for various garden settings. With a height and spread of up to 4m, it offers a substantial presence. Additionally, the small flowers in spring and potential winged fruit in autumn provide further interest throughout the seasons.
Forsythia Nimbus Show Off Sugar Baby Tree
The Forsythia Nimbus Tree is an elegant choice for your garden, boasting a compact and wide-spreading habit. Its fragrant flowers and lush green leaves add beauty to any small garden or patio. This hardy tree thrives in well-drained soil and is tolerant of both partial shade and full sun, ensuring you can place it in various locations. Minimal maintenance is required, making it perfect for busy gardeners. A simple pruning in July encourages vibrant growth for the following season.
Acer palmatum Katsura Japanese Maple Tree
The Acer palmatum Katsura is a beautiful slow-growing shrub that can also be shaped into a small tree, perfect for adding character to your garden. Its leaves transition from a pale green in Spring to a stunning red in Autumn, offering visual interest throughout the year. With an expected height of 2.5 - 4 metres over 10-20 years, it makes a lovely addition without overpowering your space. This tree thrives in partial shade and adapts well to various soil types, ensuring you can cultivate it with ease.
Acer palmatum Wilson's Pink Dwarf Tree
The Wilson's Pink Dwarf Tree is a stunning deciduous shrub that will enhance your garden. In spring, its bright pink foliage adds a burst of colour, creating an eye-catching display. As summer arrives, the leaves transform to a vibrant green, providing a lush backdrop. In autumn, the tree’s foliage changes to a beautiful mix of red, orange, and yellow, ensuring year-round interest. This tree prefers partial shade, making it ideal for those sunny spots in your garden without direct exposure to harsh sunlight.
During our full sun outdoor tree research, we found 28 full sun outdoor tree products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 18,299 customer reviews through our big data system to write the full sun outdoor trees list. We found that most customers choose full sun outdoor trees with an average price of £23.70.
The full sun outdoor trees are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of full sun outdoor trees, including YouGarden, Easy Plants, GardenersDream. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 3,550 consumers with an average rating of 4.6.

Toby Butcher is a Horticulturist, and he earned his title as a Master Gardener in 2016. Toby has acquired a 25-year experience as a home gardener planting, designing, grooming vegetables and flowers. He is the leader of a plant group in Durham. Toby owns a blog where he publishes articles on growing and growing your flowers at home, in a vase, or in a garden.