Greater Respect for Natives
For some reason I've been more drawn to native species over the last couple years.
When I first started gardening it was all about ornamentals but now I consistently find myself admiring natives. It seems they are full of wisdom with a story to tell. They seemingly grow without our help in their native setting. I've planted more native species then ever before.
American Beech, White Oak, Red Oak, Chinkapin Oak, Burr Oak, Sugar Maple, Shagbark Hickory, American Linden, Musclewood and Ironwood is all I really need to be happy. To most folk's dismay White Ash has lost its battle but I have a new found respect for Hackberry.
What natives strike your fancy and why?
This is not a US only thread by the way!
(36) kommentarer
Mollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysart
5 år sidenI like American Hornbeam for its bark and fall color. Same with beech. I like Shagbark Hickories and Chestnuts to feed the critters. I like sugar maples for their fall color and sap. I like moosewood/striped maple for its big leaves and because it thrives under the canopy, like the sugar maple and American Hornbeam. I like sweet birch because its uncommon where I live and its wood is so valuable, burning hot and making beautiful furniture. I like Paperbark Maples for their cinnamon and salmon-colored exfoliating bark. I like Elms for their branching. I like Scarlet Oaks for their late season color. I like Red Pines because they have the stature of white pines, but different needles. I like Tulip Poplar for the shape of its leaves. Those of some of my favorites that I've planted.
whaas_5a thanked Mollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysart
User
5 år sidenAnd let's not forget Picea glauca (white spruce). Beautiful dark green fall and winter, with light, blue-grey new growth color in spring and early summer. I like the form and how easily they grow here, sturdy, wind resistant, showing many cones near the tops now.
I live far enough north that I can't grow all the trees listed by whaas but since I moved to this new treeless yard 6 years ago, I've planted at least one of each Red oak, paper birch, Bur oak, white spruce, balsam fir, red maple, sugar maple, black ash, green ash, red pine, white pine and canadian hemlock. All trees that are native to this area, well, maybe not the hemlock. ;-)
And that statement is so true whaas, trees that are native to a certain area, grow wonderfully.whaas_5a thanked User
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
5 år sidenI love my escarpment Black Cherry , Madrone tree, Texas Mountain Laurel, Spanish Oak, Lote tree, Carolina Buckthorn, Eve's Necklace, Arroya sweet wood, Various wild mimosa trees, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum, and Live Oaks.
whaas_5a thanked wantonamara Z8 CenTexMollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysart
5 år sidenMara, your list made me laugh! It's so different than mine. When I visit my mom in Florida, I'm entranced by the trees there. I don't know their names and my mom doesn't also, but I wanna.
whaas_5a thanked Mollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysart- whaas_5a thanked wantonamara Z8 CenTex
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 år sidenIt matters a lot on location as to how desirable including native trees in your planting mix may be :-) Here, most native trees are just not appropriate to a garden setting - they get far too big: Doug firs, western red cedars, bigleaf maples, various PNW true firs. Or they just struggle in a cultivated garden situation: Pacific madrone, dogwood. Or they are trash trees, like red alder, cottonwoods or the scores of native willows. About the only native trees found intentionally planted in PNW gardens is the vine maple and the Alaska cedar. Or named culitvars of a few other natives that are compact forms or dwarfed in size.
btw, paperbark maple, Acer griseum, is NOT native to anywhere in the US!
whaas_5a thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
maackia
5 år sidenI have a strong preference to replant my woods with indigenous trees, but it makes little sense to plant Northern Pin Oak and Black Cherry when both are highly susceptible to disease. I'm of the belief that oak wilt and black knot are prime reasons why pests like buckthorn, amur honeysuckle, and burning bush have proliferated where these natives have perished or been removed.
My approach is to select those trees that are culturally compatible, wildlife friendly, and unlikely to become a pest. Quite simply, the goal is to have a healthy woods, and non-natives will be part of it.
whaas_5a thanked maackia
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
5 år sidenA couple not already mentioned would be serviceberry and an old growth yellow birch is something to behold.
tj
whaas_5a thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱Mollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysart
5 år sidenClearly I didn't know that gardengal. BTW, I was born in Tacoma. How about you?
maackia, I have also been planting non-native species, but they are near natives, like sweet birch, which thrives just south of me. As the world warms, I want trees that will thrive in the new climate and the trees that would likely arrive soon enough anyway, by their own means.whaas_5a thanked Mollydowneastmaine Zone 5b Dysarttreebarb Z5 Denver
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenI'm on a similar path, whaas, but in a very different environment. Juniperus scopulorum, pinus edulis, ponderosa and strobiformis, quercus gambelii, acer grandidentatum, amelanchier, ribes and rhus have all earned space here. I'm envisioning readers saying "ick!"
We've been in drought with roughly 10" annual precip. for the last 2 years. What survives wins my affection. I do still plant some ornamentals and oak that I water, but over time the natives are winning me over.
Barb
whaas_5a thanked treebarb Z5 Denverwantonamara Z8 CenTex
5 år sidenI wouldn't say ick. My Catclaw mimosa is prized for its fragrant puff balls and all my trees are tough as nails and have withstood 10". The Catcalw mimosa does live up to its name and claws me if I don't watch out. They did not like 2011's 5.5" but they survived. I had no water to water them with. Treebarb, It sounds like the high desert or New Mexico.
whaas_5a thanked wantonamara Z8 CenTex
Skip1909
5 år sidenIm up to 68" of rain this year, we need some swamp plants over here. I am planning on Asimina triloba and Ilex opaca this year. Thinking of planting holly cuttings in large grow bags in near full sun for a few years then moving them to a shadier area for screening.
whaas_5a thanked Skip1909treebarb Z5 Denver
5 år sidenwantonamara, my zone used to be with my screen name. I'll fix that. I'm 30 miles north of Denver Colorado, high desert prairie.
mntreegrower
5 år sidenI think 3 underappreciated native trees (at least in Minnesota) are bitternut hickory, yellow birch, and white oak. Very little to no call for these from what I see in the nursery business. I've heard they may be difficult to transplant but that hasn't stopped other tree types from being regularly used. Bitternut hickory is tough, looks like an ash, and has nuts smaller than many oaks in heavy planting. The ones near me always turn a nice yellow in the fall even when surrounding green ash are ruddy and drab. I became intrigued by yellow birch when I went to the Upper Peninsula's Porcupine Mountains state park. I had no idea that a birch could get so big! (...or a Canadian hemlock for that matter. Which is what inspired me to plant 2 hemlock in east-central Minnesota.) What's not to like about a tree that can start on a rotting log or mossy rock and end up with "stilts?" And white oak can get a wonderful reddish fall color compared to the drab yellows and browns of the more frequently planted bur oak.
Up to this point, I have only been planting native sugar maples north of the Twin Cities. The available cultivars today too often don't seem to turn color in the fall early enough before the cold weather sets in here. I am also skeptical of hardiness claims. Especially when I see the parent tree/seed source is Oklahoma or Ohio. That said...I am trying Inferno sugar maple. Released by a nursery in Manitoba. Fingers crossed.whaas_5a thanked mntreegrowerwhaas_5a
Forfatter5 år sidenYes yellow birch is a good one. If you have a larger property with a cool spot it is a site to behold as TJ mentioned. Tony35 was kind of enough to spare some local White Oak acorns so I'm hopeful they will adapt to the neutral/slightly alkaline soil I have. Otherwise its one of the more challenging oaks to grow. Bitternut hickory is certainly underrated as well.
As Maackia stated I think its important to include the indigenous species that you wouldn't otherwise typically consider and then find other natives and non-natives to fill the gaps.mntreegrower
5 år sidenI can see that with white oak. Plant a row of the them and they can be all different sizes after 5 years with some being very runty still. I have one small crop full of specimens and another that is really struggling. I collected a dozen acorns off of them this fall but the ground froze before I could give them a proper planting in my garden.
Where does one even find a single, yellow birch seedling or whip for sale? Of course, where do I even have the room to put one?gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 år siden"Where does one even find a single, yellow birch seedling or whip for sale? "
Typically, whoever monitors any reforestation projects in your area. Here, the regional/local office of the Department of Natural Resources conducts native plant sales every spring where you can get tiny seedlings or whips of various types of native trees. But usually sold in groups of 5, 10 or 20 or more.......hard to find solos :-) Share with friends or neighbors?
whaas_5a thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)Skip1909
5 år sidenTry Cold Stream Farm in Michigan for mailorder bareroot trees and shrubs if you are in the north.
whaas_5a thanked Skip1909drrich2
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenI consider a large, open-grown, healthy sugar maple perhaps the most beautiful form, expecially those with beautiful yellow-orange fall color. But I haven't planted any. Red maple is a decent, smaller, faster growth runner up, I suppose; I planted an October Glory where we used to live.
But for size, pleasing form, wildlife food production, decently fast growth, longevity of some species, and in some (not all!) decent fall color...it's hard to beat the oaks taken as a group. If you're particular about your species.
For an intermittently very wet area, I planted a swamp while oak (love the leaves; crappy fall color) and a nutall oak (nice pyramidal form like a smaller pin oak, without the miserable hassle sending the lower limbs angling for the ground, or reputation for chlorosis that I've noticed). The 2 pin (we think) oaks that were already here, well, one may well outgrow its site, and both send limbs angling down; it's an evolving project to find out how far up the trucks they'll have to be limbed to provide head room under the canopy.
I planted a 'Wildfire' (I believe; looks like a red-tipped photinia spring and much of summer; grows fast!) black gum; black gum have nice, glossy green leaves, can gave good fall color (mine not great), tolerate wet areas but don't seem to require them, big but not enormous, and not as 'over-planted' as some maples and oaks.
I planted 2 pecan trees; not sure the power line people will tolerate one's presence for the long haul. Squirrels like pecans, and I like squirrels.
Richard.
whaas_5a thanked drrich2
bengz6westmd
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenCherry birch is another never-planted native that would prb'ly do reasonably well in an avg lawn setting. Rarely bothered by the bronze birch borer. Very common here in the cool mountain regions.
Bitternut hickory spreads its crown when open grown (unlike the other hickories) & can look somewhat like Amer elm, tho (relatively small) nuts can be an annoyance.
Black gum as others have mentioned.
Others: Alternate-leaf dogwood (needs some shade), yellowwood, umbrella magnolia (more cold hardy than you think), and cucumbertree (magnolia). Yellow birch as mentioned above, but not for hot or southern areas. Spicebush for areas w/some shade. Chalk maple (close to sugar maple), shortleaf, pitch and Table Mountain pines if you could find these.
Edit: To add more, the northern basswood (& white basswood in southern areas) almost never are planted & are decent trees. And also yellow buckeye of the southern Appalachians can grow well outside its native area.whaas_5a thanked bengz6westmdmidwest_dave
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenA previous landowner harvested all the oaks from our woods on the near side of the creek. Around that time EAB arrived and started to wipe out the ash trees. Honeysuckle took advantage of the new sunlight and spread like fire. Fast forward 10-15 years and after we bought the property, I've cleared 4 acres of honeysuckle and found little regeneration or seedling trees. I'm hoping to see some in the next couple years, squirrel activity has been crazy this fall but deer browse is a serious problem, luckily they're delicious. The current mix on this side of the creek is mostly hackberry and bitternut, with some walnut, black cherry, shagbark and elm(?) mixed in. The back side of the creek is accessible only by a small bridge, hasn't had any timber harvested and is the model for what I hope to achieve in other parts of the property. Bur, Shingle, Chinkapin, Red oaks, Basswood, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Shagbark, Sycamore, Cottonwood, Sugar Maple, Walnut, Hackberry, Bitternut, Black Cherry, and probably a few others I'm forgetting.
We're adding a tree line to close off the grassland cove where the house is. Picking any of those species from the woods, adding them to the new tree line, planted at the right time and appropriate size: they're bullet proof, don't need much/any water, establish and grow fast.
We've experimented with adding some other species as well. Ironwood, musclewood, beech, more oak variety, etc, have all done pretty well for us. The yellow birch looks interesting, I may need to add some this spring in the bottomlands by the creek.whaas_5a thanked midwest_davewantonamara Z8 CenTex
5 år sidenThat Chalk maple is being planted in Lawns in Texas. It does well in alkaline soils and deals with heat. I see it in Nurseries down here all the time.
whaas_5a thanked wantonamara Z8 CenTexwhaas_5a
Forfatter5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenDoesn’t quite have as nice of fall color as chaulk maple but for the north an equivalent extremely under rated tree that can take hotter/dryer sites vs straight species sugar maple is a subspecies black maple
mntreegrower
5 år siden"Here, the regional/local office of the Department of Natural Resources conducts native plant sales every spring where you can get tiny seedlings or whips of various types of native trees. But usually sold in groups of 5, 10 or 20 or more.......hard to find solos :-) Share with friends or neighbors?"
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/nursery/pricelist.html
Not the options I had hoped to see but better than they used to, I think. No hickory, white oak, any birches, American linden, black walnut, hackberry... I wouldn't mind planting a couple northern white cedar though. Maybe Bill will split an order with me in 2020 and take the other 98. :P
I remembered my dad buying trees 30 years ago through the DNR. Back then he only had to buy 25, not 100. So he went with Colorado spruce which, of course, are looking thin and sorta ratty the older they get. Not meant for places that can get extremely dry, cold winter air. My dad's still a little salty that the DNR would promote a non-native tree. He had wanted eastern white pine but they weren't selling any. Probably due to blister rust, I would guess.whaas_5a thanked mntreegrowerUser
5 år sidenmntreegrower,
I've got Thuja occidentalis seeds I'll be starting this winter and permission to a tree for cuttings. So if any of that works out, I can send you a couple of seedlings. Remind me if I forget.
And I have more seeds than I need if you're interested in that.
whaas_5a thanked UserUser
5 år siden" the thread-starter award "
I think that's been given out already for 2018.Better luck next year. ;-)
whaas_5a thanked Userbengz6westmd
5 år sidenJeff, good to hear your hemlocks doing OK. Central ME might be too cold for the adelgid. Even here the adelgid seems to have lost some of its unstoppable virulence and "disappears" at times. Some of the remaining hemlocks are managing to hang on, but continued attacks will prb'ly kill most of them. Thanks for showing the "fern" -- rarely seen them on cool, forested slopes & wondered what they were....
whaas_5a thanked bengz6westmd
PROGreenTec Nursery
5 år sidenGood thread! We specialize in uncommon native trees, so the top of our list would be:
Yellow Birch - the Appalachian form is the prettiest, with bronze bark. The form in Northern Indiana isn't as pretty, with brownish platy bark that doesn't peel in curls.
Red Oak - Somewhat clichè, but it is one of the most important trees in our area. Very fast-growing, too, and usually has decent fall color.
Fraser Magnolia - This is our most requested tree, but we've had a tough time getting seedlings established lately. Very stately form, with huge tropical-looking leaves. We've got these growing in Indiana, and they're really vigorous.
Table Mountain Pine - Fairly uncommon, but important for fire-prone areas of the Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic - This is our second most popular "unusual" species.
American Beech - Common in our area, but not as young, newly planted trees. Should be used more, with its pretty gray bark and amber fall color.
Basswood - For a fast-growing native tree, this is a nice choice. The flowers are good for pollinators - the whole tree buzzes when they're in bloom!
The list could go on and on- There are so many native trees in Eastern North America that are worth growing, there's really no excuses for landscapes that aren't biodiverse!whaas_5a thanked GreenTec Nursery
Jeff Singleton
5 år sidenI've got a beautiful mature yellow birch somewhere out there that I will try and get a picture of.
mntreegrower
5 år siden"And let's not forget Picea glauca (white spruce). Beautiful dark green fall and winter, with light, blue-grey new growth color in spring and early summer. I like the form and how easily they grow here, sturdy, wind resistant, showing many cones near the tops now."
Bill - I don't have quite the affection for white spruce that you have. Just like the Colorado spruce on my dad's land, many of the white spruce have become thin and raggedy with age. All his neighbor's trees look the same, regardless of partial shade or sun. Thin enough that red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa), green ash seedlings, and numerous vines easily establish and grow up through their branches. The older the trees get, the less shade tolerant they seem to be. Maybe it's the soil in the area. It's high ground that drains well. Even many of the neighbors' silver maples aren't very big for trees that are over 40 years old. Interestingly, the Norway spruce (Picea abies) people have planted look significantly better than all the other spruce. Go figure.
If you are successful and end up with extra Thuja occidentalis, I would be more than happy to take a couple off your hands. Thank you for the offer.User
5 år siden" Maybe it's the soil in the area. "
Yes, makes big difference. I've noticed the ones around me like a consistently moist location but good drainage. I was also told that they like iron in the soil so when I planted my wind break on my old place in the country, I dug the holes extra deep then threw in a couple of old roles of rusty barb-wire, then covered them up with dirt up, before I planted. Those are still the best looking trees on the property.
I'll be starting seeds by March so I'll let you know how things turn out.
Embothrium
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenWire in planting holes = roots being cut into later, once they get thick enough.
Parameters of white spruce are discussed in detail here:
https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/silvics_vol1.pdf
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 år siden" I was also told that they like iron in the soil so when I planted my wind break on my old place in the country, I dug the holes extra deep then threw in a couple of old roles of rusty barb-wire, then covered them up with dirt up, before I planted. "
I hate to tell you this but adding chunks of scrap iron, old wire or even rusty nails to a planting hole to increase iron availability is a gardening myth :-) The iron produced by this method - essentially rust - is iron oxide, an insoluble compound. And being insoluble, it cannot be accessed by any plant roots. Ergo, it does nothing....except possibly what Embo described above.
User
5 år sidenSidst ændret: {last_modified_time}5 år sidenEmbo.
The rusty wire I'm talking about was so far gone rusty/brittle that in a few/several years would've completely disintegrated. They ended up being the nicest trees on the place so apparently no harm was done. :-) But it's good you mentioned this in case others contemplate doing this with Iron wire less disintegrated or placing it just below the surface.
Just a FYI: The holes dug were initially at least 2 feet deep so the barb wire (4-5 foot diameter with the actual bundle of wire in the role less than 6" diameter) ended up in pure sand, below the top soil level, with a covering of dirt/sand, before the trees were planted. And these trees were small, maybe 12"-16" high.
GG:
I didn't know that this type of iron was useless to the tree altogether. Thanks for that information! Doing it the way I did was a lot of work so I won't waste my time doing that anymore. (I didn't do this procedure with the trees I planted on my new place).
My only joy now, is that, at that time, was a good way to get rid of bunch or worthless junk, laying around the wild land I had just bought, out in the country) :-))
Reload the page to not see this specific ad anymore
Jeff Singleton