# Native trees for New England and New York: from the coast to the North Woods

> Which native trees suit Cape Cod sand, rocky hills, Champlain Valley clay and the cold north, why spring planting is safer up north, and which pests to watch.

Published 2026-10-18. Tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat, Planting. By Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york/

Beach plum and northern bayberry stand salt spray on the coast's sand, and bear oak holds the pine barrens. On the stony glacial till of the hills, plant white oak, northern red oak, shagbark hickory and sweet birch. Bur oak suits the clay and limestone of the Champlain and Hudson valleys, and swamp white oak their wettest clay. The North Woods run through Maine, northern New Hampshire, Vermont and the Adirondacks. There, plant yellow birch, northern white cedar, tamarack and red spruce. Plant while the trees are dormant, and in the north, in spring.

![A mossy stone wall running through green hardwood forest, with ferns covering the ground beside it](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york-1-1000.jpg?v=63ea55e1 "A stone wall in hardwood forest at New Boston, New Hampshire, on September 19, 2022. Much of New England's hill country lies on acid, stony glacial till.")
*Photo: Kaitlin Castillo, U.S. Space Force, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANew_Boston-_The_history_hidden_within_(7491887).jpeg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANew_Boston-_The_history_hidden_within_(7491887).jpeg))*

## Zones, cold and when to plant

On the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map the seven states run from zone 3b to 7b:

| State | Zones on the 2023 USDA map |
| --- | --- |
| New Hampshire | 3b to 6b |
| Maine | 3b to 7a |
| Vermont | 4a to 6a |
| New York | 4a to 7b |
| Massachusetts | 5a to 7b |
| Connecticut | 6a to 7b |
| Rhode Island | 6b to 7b |

The coldest ground, 3b, lies in northern Maine and on the summits of New Hampshire's Presidential Range, and the Adirondacks reach 4a. The warmest, 7b, covers New York City and most of Long Island, Block Island, Nantucket, the outer Cape and parts of the Connecticut shore. Maine's 7a is only a few outer islands. The [ZIP code lookup](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/zone/index.html.md) gives yours.

In Massachusetts, fall planting runs from mid-August to mid-October, at least six weeks before the ground freezes, but broadleaved evergreens such as rhododendron wait for spring. Farther north the fall window grows unreliable:

> "Fall planting is risky in much of Maine because fall growing conditions are not predictably favorable for good root development before the ground freezes." (University of Maine Cooperative Extension, *Selecting, Planting, and Caring for Trees and Shrubs in the Maine Landscape*)

There, most trees go in after the ground thaws and dries in spring, before they leaf out. In northern New Hampshire, seedlings go in from late April to mid-May. [When to plant a tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/when-to-plant-a-tree/index.html.md) weighs the two seasons. Blue Whale Trees ships live plants from February to May and in October and November, and in the cold north the spring window is the safer one.

## The coast and the sand barrens

Pine barrens grow on glacial sand on Long Island, around Albany, on Cape Cod and Nantucket, and inland from Connecticut to New Hampshire. Pitch pine, which we do not grow, stands over a thicket of scrub oak, lowbush blueberry and black huckleberry. On the dwarf pine plains of eastern Long Island, the pines and oaks stand only 4 to 8 feet tall. Fire returns every 6 to 15 years and keeps the barrens open:

> "As a fire-dependent natural community, the primary threat to pitch pine-scrub oak barrens is the suppression of fire." (New York Natural Heritage Program, *Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens Guide*)

![Pitch pines standing over a dense, low shrub thicket under a clear blue summer sky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york-2-1000.jpg?v=b0a78d22 "Pitch pine over a scrub thicket in the Albany Pine Bush, New York, on August 19, 2015. New York's pitch pine barrens grow only on glacial sand, in three areas of the state.")
*Photo: Daniel Case, [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAlbany_Pine_Bush_landscape.jpg))*

For sand, salt spray and salted roads:

- [Beach plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/beach-plum/index.html.md), which grows in pure sand and needs a second, unrelated seedling to set fruit. Zones 3 to 8, 4 to 8 feet.
- [Northern bayberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-bayberry/index.html.md), which fixes nitrogen, holds dunes and stands beside a salted road. Zones 3 to 7, 5 to 10 feet.
- [Eastern red cedar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-red-cedar/index.html.md), which resists drought better than any other conifer native to the East. Zones 2 to 9, 30 to 50 feet.
- [Sand cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sand-cherry/index.html.md), a low shrub of dunes and pine barrens, listed as threatened in Vermont and Massachusetts. Zones 3 to 6, 1 to 8 feet.
- [Bear oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bear-oak/index.html.md), the scrub oak of the barrens, which resprouts from the root crown after fire. Zones 4 to 8, 6 to 20 feet.
- [Dwarf chinquapin oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-chinquapin-oak/index.html.md), the barrens' other shrub oak, with some of the least bitter acorns of any eastern oak. Zones 4 to 8, 6 to 15 feet.
- [Black huckleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-huckleberry/index.html.md), which fruits every July on the poorest, driest acid soil. Zones 3 to 7, 1 to 3 feet.

The first four take salt, and more that do are in the [salt-tolerant group](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/salt-tolerant/index.html.md). [Native trees and shrubs for dry sandy soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-and-shrubs-for-dry-sandy-soil/index.html.md) covers planting in sand.

## The hills and their stony till

The hills of southern New England and eastern New York are glaciated uplands with soils formed in till. Paxton, the state soil of Massachusetts and a soil of large extent, is an acid loam with gravel and stones through it, over a very firm, brittle layer 20 to 40 inches down. Water may perch on that layer from late fall through early spring. Where ledge comes close, as in Hollis soils, bedrock lies within 10 to 20 inches.

Sugar maple and [American beech](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-beech/index.html.md) hold the moist, well-drained, usually acid soils. Witch hazel and hobblebush grow beneath them. Oaks and hickories hold the ridgetops, upper slopes and south- and west-facing slopes, over [mapleleaf viburnum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mapleleaf-viburnum/index.html.md). We do not grow sugar maple or red maple.

For a yard on the till:

- [White oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-oak/index.html.md), for a lawn with room to spread for centuries. Zones 3 to 9, 50 to 80 feet.
- [Northern red oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-red-oak/index.html.md), a fast grower and the only native oak that reaches Nova Scotia. Zones 3 to 8, 50 to 75 feet.
- [Shagbark hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/shagbark-hickory/index.html.md), whose long taproot means planting it small and young. Zones 4 to 8, 60 to 90 feet.
- [Sweet birch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sweet-birch/index.html.md), the black birch, whose twigs smell of wintergreen, for a north or east slope. Zones 3 to 8, 40 to 70 feet.
- [Chestnut oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chestnut-oak/index.html.md), the white oak of dry ridgetops and rocky outcrops. Zones 4 to 8, 50 to 70 feet.
- [Hop hornbeam](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hop-hornbeam/index.html.md), which takes drought, shade and rocky soil. Zones 3 to 9, 25 to 40 feet.
- [Witch hazel](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/witch-hazel/index.html.md), which blooms in late autumn, sometimes into December. Zones 3 to 8, 12 to 20 feet.
- [Mountain laurel](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-laurel/index.html.md), an evergreen of acid, rocky soil that fails in clay, wet soil and lime. Zones 4 to 9, 5 to 12 feet.

## The Champlain and Hudson valleys

Much of the Champlain Valley's floor is clay, laid down when a freshwater lake and then the sea flooded it after the glaciers. These deep, fertile, stone-free soils were cleared for farms, and only 12 percent of the clay in the southern valley still carries forest. Trees on the dense, seasonally wet clay root shallowly and blow over in heavy winds.

White oak and shagbark hickory grow on the better-drained clay. Swamp white oak and bur oak take the wettest. Limestone underlies parts of the Champlain and central Hudson valleys, where the woods hold bur oak, chinquapin oak, basswood and hackberry, or northern white cedar.

On valley clay and limestone:

- [Bur oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bur-oak/index.html.md), which reaches farther north than any other American oak. Zones 3 to 8, 60 to 80 feet.
- [Swamp white oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-white-oak/index.html.md), the white oak of wet ground, for a lawn that floods in spring but not for alkaline soil. Zones 3 to 8, 50 to 60 feet.
- [Chinquapin oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chinquapin-oak/index.html.md), the white oak of limestone, for limy or rocky ground. Zones 3 to 8, 40 to 60 feet.
- [Common hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md), a tough shade tree for a dry bank or a limy lot. Zones 3 to 9, 40 to 60 feet.
- [American basswood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-basswood/index.html.md), the honey tree of the northern forest, which tolerates cold, shade and clay. Zones 3 to 8, 60 to 90 feet.
- [American hornbeam](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hornbeam/index.html.md), which tolerates flooding and deep shade in stream bottoms. Zones 3 to 9, 20 to 35 feet.

[Black locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-locust/index.html.md) is not native here. Its native range stops at Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts prohibits its sale and import. New York's heritage program counts it among the invasive species that threaten some pine barrens. Along the larger rivers, silver maple, sycamore and eastern cottonwood usually fill the floodplain canopy, and we grow none of them.

## The cold north

On the lower slopes of the Adirondacks, one of the commonest forests grows on glacial till: red spruce, sugar maple, American beech, yellow birch and red maple. Balsam fir is scattered through it. Striped maple and [mountain maple](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-maple/index.html.md) fill the understory, over hobblebush. We do not grow balsam fir.

For cold, snowy ground:

- [Yellow birch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/yellow-birch/index.html.md), the largest eastern birch, for a cool, moist lawn or stream bank. Zones 3 to 7, 60 to 75 feet.
- [Red spruce](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-spruce/index.html.md), an evergreen screen and nesting cover where summers stay cool. Zones 2 to 6, 60 to 75 feet.
- [Northern white cedar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-white-cedar/index.html.md), the wild parent of garden arborvitae and a favorite winter food of deer. Zones 2 to 7, 40 to 60 feet.
- [Tamarack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/tamarack/index.html.md), a [deciduous conifer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/glossary/index.html.md#deciduous-conifer) and usually the first tree to invade a bog as a lake fills in. Zones 2 to 6, 50 to 75 feet.
- [American mountain ash](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-mountain-ash/index.html.md), a tree of bogs, ridges and cool coasts whose berries waxwings strip every winter. Zones 2 to 7, 15 to 30 feet.
- [Striped maple](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/striped-maple/index.html.md), the moosewood, for cool shade under tall hardwoods. Zones 3 to 7, 15 to 35 feet.
- [Hobblebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hobblebush/index.html.md), a sprawling viburnum whose low branches root where they touch the ground. Zones 3 to 6, 3 to 12 feet.
- [Catberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/catberry/index.html.md), also called mountain holly, a deciduous holly of northern bogs and lakeshores. Zones 3 to 7, 3 to 10 feet.

All eight are hardy to zone 3, and four of them to zone 2.

![Tamaracks with golden autumn needles in front of dark green evergreens at the edge of a bog](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york-3-1000.jpg?v=00270129 "Tamaracks turning gold in a bog at Sand Lake, New York, on October 17, 2024. Tamarack is a deciduous conifer and a characteristic tree of peatlands.")
*Photo: Famartin, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2024-10-17_12_32_32_American_Larches-Tamaracks_changing_color_in_autumn_in_a_bog_near_Rensselaer_County_Route_42_(Taborton_Road)_in_Sand_Lake%2C_Rensselaer_County%2C_New_York.jpg))*

## Pests, disease, deer and snow

### Beech diseases

Beech bark disease, set off by a scale insect from Europe about 1890, has killed many big old beeches in the Northeast. Beech leaf disease, first found in Ohio in 2012, has spread through the Northeast and reached Vermont in 2023. Vermont strongly discourages moving any living beech, saplings included, since it could carry the disease to new areas. [Beech leaf disease](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/beech-leaf-disease/index.html.md) covers the signs and whether to plant a beech now.

### Hemlock woolly adelgid

Hemlock woolly adelgid was first found in New York in 1985, in the lower Hudson Valley and on Long Island. It has since spread to Maine and into the Adirondack Park. White wool at the base of the needles gives it away, and infested hemlocks usually die within 4 to 10 years. We do not grow eastern hemlock.

![White cottony tufts at the bases of short, flat hemlock needles on the underside of a twig](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york-4-1000.jpg?v=8eebe44a "The white wool of hemlock woolly adelgid under a hemlock twig on July 13, 2012. The insects themselves are only 1.5 mm long and hard to see.")
*Photo: USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHemlock_woolly_adelgid_identified_by_the_white_woolly_masses_on_branches_(51443736999).jpg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHemlock_woolly_adelgid_identified_by_the_white_woolly_masses_on_branches_(51443736999).jpg))*

### Ash borer and longhorned beetle

Emerald ash borer was first found in New York in 2009 and is now in every county but Hamilton and Lewis. Most infested ash die within two to four years. American mountain ash is not a true ash, and the borer leaves it alone. The Asian longhorned beetle kills maples and other hardwoods. It is still being eradicated in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and on central Long Island.

### Oak wilt

Oak wilt was first detected in New York in 2008, and its finds have stayed isolated, from Brooklyn and Long Island to the Finger Lakes and, in July 2026, the town of Greece. A northern red oak can die within a few weeks to six months, while white oaks often take years. Beetles carry the spores to fresh wounds:

> "Avoid pruning or wounding oak trees in March-September, when spore mats are present and beetles are the most active." (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, *Oak Wilt*)

### Spongy moth and lanternfly

Spongy moth, brought to the United States in 1869, set up its first population in Medford, Massachusetts, and it prefers oaks. Its numbers rise and fall in cycles of roughly 10 to 15 years. A stripped hardwood regrows its leaves by July and usually survives two or three years of it, though a stripped evergreen can die. By August 2025, spotted lanternfly had populations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.

### Snow and deer

[Ice and snow damage](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ice-and-snow-damage-on-trees/index.html.md) covers broken limbs, and [winter burn on evergreens](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/winter-burn-on-evergreens/index.html.md) the browning that late-winter sun brings. Deer browse northern white cedar, striped maple and mountain maple. [Protecting trees from animals](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) shows how to cage a young tree.

## Where to start

- **Your state's natives:** [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI) and [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY) each have a list.
- **A tree for the spot:** the [tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?zone=4&size=large-tree&sun=full&moisture=average&want=wildlife) is set here to zone 4, a large tree, full sun, average soil and wildlife.
- **Distance from the house:** the [site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=northern-red-oak&distance=40) tests a northern red oak 40 feet from a wall.
- **The first summer:** the [watering calculator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/watering/index.html.md?stock=bare-root&soil=sandy) gives the water for a bare-root sapling in sand.

## Common questions

### What native trees grow best in Massachusetts?

White oak, northern red oak and shagbark hickory suit the stony hills. Beach plum and northern bayberry suit the sand of Cape Cod.

### What hardiness zone is New England?

On the 2023 USDA map it runs from zone 3b in northern Maine to 7b on Nantucket, Block Island and parts of the Connecticut shore.

### When is the best time to plant trees in New England?

While they are dormant: in the north in spring, after the ground thaws and before leaf-out. In Massachusetts, fall planting works too if it is done by mid-October.

### What trees tolerate salt on Cape Cod?

Beach plum, northern bayberry, eastern red cedar and sand cherry all take salt and sand.

### Which native trees are the most cold hardy?

Northern white cedar, tamarack, red spruce and American mountain ash are hardy to zone 2. White oak, bur oak, yellow birch and striped maple are hardy to zone 3.

## Sources

- [Map Downloads](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/map-downloads): USDA Agricultural Research Service, 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the state maps of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York, each state's zone range, and the coldest and warmest ground on each.
- [Bulletin #2366, Selecting, Planting, and Caring for Trees and Shrubs in the Maine Landscape](https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2366e/): University of Maine Cooperative Extension: the quotation on fall planting, and spring planting after the ground thaws and before leaf-out.
- [May Woodlot Wanderings: Planting Tree Seedlings](https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2023/05/may-woodlot-wanderings-planting-tree-seedlings): University of New Hampshire Extension (2023): late April to mid-May as the best season for planting seedlings in northern New Hampshire.
- [Fall Planting for Trees & Shrubs](https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/home-lawn-garden/fact-sheets/fall-planting-for-trees-shrubs): UMass Extension: fall planting from mid-August to mid-October, six weeks before the ground freezes, and broadleaved evergreens such as rhododendron left for spring.
- [Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens Guide](https://guides.nynhp.org/pitch-pine-scrub-oak-barrens/): New York Natural Heritage Program, with its guides to dwarf pine plains, beech-maple mesic forest, Appalachian oak-hickory forest, spruce-northern hardwood forest, limestone woodland and floodplain forest: the quotation, where the barrens grow and what grows in them, fire every 6 to 15 years, black locust as an invader, the dwarf pines' height, the hill and mountain forests, the limestone woods of the Champlain and Hudson valleys, and the trees of river floodplains.
- [Paxton Series](https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PAXTON.html): USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Official Soil Series Descriptions: the glaciated uplands' acid soil formed in till, its stones and dense layer, water perched on that layer, ledge in Hollis soils, and Paxton as the state soil of Massachusetts.
- [Mesic Clayplain Forest](https://vtfishandwildlife.com/conserve/conservation-planning/natural-community-fact-sheets/mesic-clayplain-forest): Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department: the Champlain Valley's lake and marine clay, its clearing for farms and the 12 percent still forested, shallow roots and windthrow, and the oaks and hickories of the clay.
- [Tamarack](https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/tamarack): USDA Forest Service, Silvics of North America: tamarack as a deciduous conifer and a characteristic tree of peatlands.
- [Oak Wilt](https://dec.ny.gov/nature/forests-trees/forest-health/oak-wilt): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, with its pages on hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer and spongy moth: the quotation, oak wilt's first detection and finds in New York, red and white oaks' decline, beetles at fresh wounds, the adelgid's arrival, spread, sign and toll, the borer's arrival, reach and toll, and the moth's origin, hosts, cycles and recovery.
- [Beech Leaf Disease](https://fpr.vermont.gov/forest/forest-health/beech-leaf-disease): Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation: the disease's first find in Ohio in 2012, its spread through the Northeast, Vermont's first find in 2023, and the advice not to move living beech.
- [Asian Longhorned Beetle](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/alb): USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, with its spotted lanternfly page: the beetle's hosts and the eradication in Worcester County and central Long Island, and the lanternfly's states as of August 2025.
- [Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-prohibited-plant-list): Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, with the list as of May 2026: black locust among the plants whose sale, import and propagation the state prohibits.

## Related

- Next step: [Open the tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md)
- [Native trees for the Great Lakes and Midwest: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-great-lakes-and-midwest/index.html.md)
- [Native trees for the Mid-Atlantic: what to plant on the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont and the mountains](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-mid-atlantic/index.html.md)
- [What a hardiness zone tells you about a tree, and what it leaves out](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-a-hardiness-zone-tells-you/index.html.md)
- [Beech leaf disease: the striped leaves, how far it has spread, and whether to plant beech now](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/beech-leaf-disease/index.html.md)