Acer rubrum-Red Maple
Ht. 40-75’; Sun to light shade; Wet to dry soil but prefers moist ,
rich soils
It is mostly native to woods and swamps with red blooms in early
spring. It will grow just about anywhere so it is becoming the shade
tree of choice. It grows relatively quickly when young.
Acer saccharinum-Silver Maple
Ht. 60-75'; width 50-75'; Part sun/sun
Greenish yellow blooms in Spring. You can find silver maple along most
of the major rivers in the East. It has lacy-like leaves with a white
bloom on the underside. This is a very fast growing tree when young.
Maples are shallow-rooted which makes spring or fall transplanting
easy.
Amelanchier canadensis-Serviceberry, Shadbush (2 Gallon)
Ht. 1-20’; Sun; Dry, well drained soil; Native
Native swamps and low woods. White flowers bloom in early spring. Makes
an attractive smaller tree, taller than wide when some of the smaller
stems are removed. Bark is uniformly smooth and cool gray and the fruits
are small, dark purple, and edible. Used near foundations or in mixed
borders where height is desired.
Asimima triloba-Paw Paw
Ht. 8-25’; Light shade to sun; Moist, fertile soil
It is native to bottomlands and rich woods. This tree has maroon blooms
in Spring. It needs a fertile, loomy soil to thrive and in the open
it will create a pyramidal shape. It is recommended to plant two unrelated
individuals to get good cross-pollination but individual trees will
likely flower too. It is primarily used as a specimen plant, for screening
or naturalizing.
Celtis occidentalis-Hackberry
Ht. 30-70’; Sun to light shade; Wet to dry soils
The blooms are greenish white and appear in early Spring. This tree
is tolerant of a range of soils. It makes a good street or shade tree.
The fruits are eaten by birds and mammals and are red-orange to dark
blue when ripe. The leaves feed the larvae of a number of host-specific
butterflies, including the tan, brown and white hackberry butterfly.
The bark is light grey and ridged. In the open it develops wide, rounded
branches.
Cercis canadensis-Eastern Redbud
Ht. 12-25'; Width 10-20'; Sun; Drought tolerant
Eastern Redbud is one of the nicest small flowering trees that fit
nicely in small gardens and woodlands understories. The tree blooms
in early spring and are pea-like in shape. The blossoms are found in
little clusters all along the twigs, branches and even older trunks.
Drought tolerant and thrive in poor soil.
Chionanthus virginicus-Fringetree, Old Man’s Beard
Ht. 10-20’; Sun/Light Shade; Wet to Dry Soil; Native
Native to rich woods, streamsides, and swamp margins. Flowers are bright
white and blooms in late spring. The flowers grow in little clusters
on leafless branchlets from the lower buds of the previous season’s
wood. If you have males and females(occasionally the females pollinate
themselves), the latter will set a good crop of dark blue fruits.
Cornus florida- Flowering Dogwood
Ht. 12-30’; Sun/Light Shade; Moist Soil; Native
Native to woods. Flowering pink dogwood produces very showy, crimson
berries in small knobby clusters at the branch tips that ripen in the
fall. The leaves turn deep burgundy sometimes flushed with red, and
color develops early in the fall, coinciding with fruit ripening to
help attract the attention of birds. Blooms in spring with ivory white
streaked flowers with maroon or occasional pink.
Cornus sericea-Red Osier Dogwood
Ht. 3-10’; Sun/Light Shade; Wet to moderately dry; Native
Native to swamps, streambanks and thickets. The flowers are creamy
white and bloom in spring. In the wild, Red Osier is a suckering, layering
tangle of caney branches that form dense thickets in wet soils. It
has white fruits and twigs that are greenish in summerbut develop a
dark red, maroon, or blood red color, which can be stunning poking
through the snow.
Diospyros virginiana-Common Persimmon
Ht. 30-50’; Sun/Part Sun; Moist to dry soil; Native
Blooms in late spring with white and yellow flowers. Native to thickets,
forests margins and hedge rows. The small fruits are delicious when
fully ripe. Persimmons are lovely trees with clean, glossy leaves,
dark green in summer and rich reddish purple in fall. They have beautiful
bark and a well-mannered habit. Good for naturalizing along forest
margins and fencerows.
Franklinia alatamaha-Franklin-tree
Ht. 12-15’; Sun to part shade; Moist, acidic, well drained soil
This is a rare hard-to-find species of tree and is small and mutli-stemmed.
It produces long, tapered leaves are dark green. Flowers are white
in fall with orange-gold stamens. This tree does well once it is established.
It will grow reasonably fast, 8-18” per year. This tree has a certain
mystery to it. It is hard to find if not extinct in the wild today.
John Bartram, a plant explorer was thought to have discovered it in
Georgia and brought to his home in Pennsylvania.
Ilex opaca-American Holly
Ht. 15-40’; Sun to light shade; Moist, acidic soil
It is native to woods and hedgegrows. Greenish white blooms in Spring.
The leaves are spiny-toothed and evergreen. The leaves are matte green
in summer and yellow in winter. Best fruit production is in the sun.
This tree will tend to take on a pyramidal shape if grown in the open.
This tree is good for screening, specimen, massing, hedging and foundation
plantings.
Liriodendron tulipifera-Tulip Poplar
Ht. 70-120'; width 30-60'; Sun/Part Sun; Moist soil; Blooms in Spring
Tulip Poplar is the largest native magnolia relative and is the tallest
tree in North America. The blooms are orange and lime green. Given
sun and a fertile, moist soil, tulip poplar will grow quickly into
a broad pyramid with a straight central trunk.
Magnolia virginiana-Sweetbay Magnolia
Ht. 20-60'; width 8-20'; Sun/Part sun
Creamy white blooms in spring and early summer. These trees like moist,
fertile soils. Shade tolerant. A good understory species.
Oxydendron arboretum-Sorrel Tree
Ht. 15-30’; Sun to light shade; Moist to moderately dry soil
It is native to woods and fencerows. The flowers are creamy white and
bloom in summer. It is a favorite of bees especially since it blooms
in mid-summer when most flowering is in a lull. The tree is mycorrhizal
so you can feed the fungi with rotted bark or leaves. It makes a good
small specimen tree for a front lawn area or woodland edge.
Pinus rigida v. nana- Pigmy Pine (2 gallon)
Ht. 30-50’; Sun/Part Sun; Well drained, acidic soil; Native
Native to sandy soils of uplands, barrens and less often, bottomlands.
Cones are yellow and blooms in Spring. This is a scruffy species of
poor, sandy, and salty soils in the Northeast. It is fire resistant.
Used in shade, screening, windbreak and specimen reforestation.
Platanus occidentalis-Sycamore
Ht. 70-100’; Sun/Part Sun; Moist Soil, Native
Native to floodplain forests, bottomlands, and occasionally uplands.
Blooms are green in late spring. All sycamores slough off their bark
like unwanted skin, revealing beautiful underbark that is at first
white or light green, then olive, then dark green and finally brown
before it falls off in irregular jigsaw puzzle patches.
Quercus rubra-Northern Red Oak
Ht. 60-80’; Sun to part sun; Moist soil
Native to moist woodlands and slopes. The flowers are yellow-green
and bloom in Spring. Useful as shade tree or for restoration projects.
It is a good species for ground feeding animals and there are quite
a few species of butterflies that feed on the leaves. Fall color is
a rich mahogany.
Rhus typhina-Staghorn Sumac
Ht. 8-18’; Sun/Part Sun; Moist to dry soil; Native
Produces yellow-green blooms in summer. Useful for massing, reclamation
and soild stabilization. Named for the honey-colored bristrly hair
theat coats year-old stems the way fuzz coats developing antlers. The
red berries on females are effective well into winter. Has a spectacular
orange fall color.
Sassafras albidum (2 gallon)
Ht. 30-60’; Sun/Part Sun; Moist to moderately dry; Native
Native to woodland margins, fencerows, old fields, rocky or sandy places;
Blooms in Spring. Female Sassafras trees, should they set a crop of
oil-rich fruit, are much appreciated by migrating birds. Used primarily
as specimen, grouped or massed along boundaries.
