# What to plant: choosing native trees and shrubs for a site

> Articles on choosing what to plant: native trees for wet spots, bees, wildlife and yards, the trees to keep away from a house, and how range maps mislead.

30 of 67 articles tagged What to plant. By Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant/. Each article links to its own Markdown page; each tag at the end has a page of its own.

The catalog behind these choices is [everything we grow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md), all of it from seed. The [tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md) narrows it by zone, size, sun, soil and purpose, and the [planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md) gives a verdict for one spot.

## Articles tagged What to plant

- [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): What the dark stripes on beech leaves mean, how far beech leaf disease has spread and what treatment can do for a yard tree, and whether to plant beech now. Published 2026-10-08; tags: Decay & damage, What to plant.
- [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): Which native trees suit Great Lakes clay, dune sand, prairie and river bottoms, how the lakes shift the zones, when to plant, and which pests change the choice. Published 2026-10-08; tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat, Planting.
- [Native street trees: which ones take pavement, salt and drought, and how to fit one to the strip and the wires](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-street-trees/index.html.md): Which native trees take road salt, drought and compacted soil, how wide a tree lawn must be, what can grow under power lines, and who must approve planting. Published 2026-10-05; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [How fast native trees grow: a year's growth by species, soil and sun](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/how-fast-native-trees-grow/index.html.md): How many feet a year native trees grow, how soil, sun, weeds and deer speed or slow them, why fast-growing trees die younger, and how to read growth off a twig. Published 2026-09-28; tags: Growth & age, What to plant.
- [Native hedges, screens and windbreaks: which trees to use and how far apart to set them](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-hedges-screens-and-windbreaks/index.html.md): Natives for a clipped hedge, a year-round screen, a bird hedgerow or a windbreak: the spacing for each, how many rows a windbreak needs and which grow fastest. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [Native replacements for burning bush, barberry, privet, Bradford pear and boxwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-replacements-for-burning-bush-and-bradford-pear/index.html.md): Which native to plant instead of burning bush, barberry, privet, Bradford pear or boxwood, why each is being replaced, and which states have banned the sale. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat.
- [Native shrubs and trees deer usually leave alone, and why the lists disagree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-shrubs-and-trees-deer-leave-alone/index.html.md): Which native shrubs and trees deer usually pass by, why deer-resistant lists contradict each other, and which natives need a cage because deer favor them. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Protection & care.
- [Native trees and shrubs for dry, sandy soil: the plants of barrens and dunes, and how to grow them](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-and-shrubs-for-dry-sandy-soil/index.html.md): Which native trees and shrubs thrive in dry, sandy soil and full sun, which take salt spray, and how to plant, mulch and water them through the first summer. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [Native trees and shrubs for heavy clay: which take it wet, which take it dry, and how to plant them](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-and-shrubs-for-heavy-clay/index.html.md): Which native trees and shrubs grow in heavy clay, why floodplain trees cope best, how to test your drainage with a bucket, and how to plant them in clay. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [What to plant under a big tree: native shrubs for shade, and how to plant without hurting the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant-under-a-big-tree/index.html.md): Why little grows under maples and beech, how to plant beneath a tree without harming its roots, and which native shrubs still flower in dry or moist shade. Published 2026-09-28; tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat.
- [Why a tree flowers but bears no fruit: it may be a male, lack a partner nearby, or be too young](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-a-tree-flowers-but-never-fruits/index.html.md): Why a holly has no berries or a persimmon bears nothing, how to tell male flowers from female, how many seedlings to plant, and when frost or shade is to blame. Published 2026-09-28; tags: How trees work, What to plant.
- [Juglone: which plants a black walnut poisons, how far its reach goes, and what to plant beneath it](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/juglone-what-to-plant-under-a-black-walnut/index.html.md): Why a black walnut kills tomatoes and azaleas, how far and how long its juglone reaches, what to do with leaves and hulls, and which natives thrive under it. Published 2026-09-26; tags: What to plant, Protection & care.
- [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): What a USDA hardiness zone measures, why a tree rated for yours can still fail in summer heat, wet ground or a late frost, and how to choose the spot and seed. Published 2026-09-24; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [Why leaves turn red and yellow in fall, and which native trees give each color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-leaves-turn-red-and-yellow-in-fall/index.html.md): Why fall leaves turn yellow, orange or red, what the red protects, how frost, drought and a warm fall change the show, and which native trees give each color. Published 2026-09-24, updated 2026-10-08; tags: How trees work, What to plant.
- [Why native trees become rare, and ten rare eastern species worth growing](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-native-trees-become-rare/index.html.md): Why native trees become rare, from ice-age relicts and scarce soils to blight and lost fire, what G-ranks mean, and ten rare eastern trees and shrubs to grow. Published 2026-09-24; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees and shrubs for deer and wild turkey: acorns, fruit, cover and a planting plan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-deer-and-turkey/index.html.md): What deer and wild turkeys eat, how many years each oak, hickory and fruit tree takes to bear, where cover and openings go, and what a food plot cannot do. Published 2026-09-22; tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat.
- [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): A Mid-Atlantic guide to the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont and the mountains: which native trees suit wet ground, sand, clay and cold, and which pests to expect. Published 2026-09-22; tags: What to plant, Forests & habitat, Planting.
- [Small native trees and large shrubs for a small yard, and how to place them](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-native-trees-for-small-yards/index.html.md): Which native trees fit a small yard, how far to set one from the house, the wires and the septic field, and three plants to put where one lawn tree stood. Published 2026-09-22, updated 2026-09-25; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [How floodplain trees survive high water](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/how-floodplain-trees-survive-high-water/index.html.md): Why standing water kills roots, how bottomland trees get air to theirs, what cypress knees do, why fill kills an upland tree, and what to plant in a wet spot. Published 2026-09-20, updated 2026-10-06; tags: How trees work, Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees and shrubs for bees: pollen, nectar, nesting and a bloom calendar from willow to witch hazel](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-bees/index.html.md): A bloom calendar of the native trees and shrubs that feed native bees and honey bees, month by month from willow to witch hazel, and the bees tied to one plant. Published 2026-09-17, updated 2026-09-20; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md): Which native trees and shrubs feed and shelter birds in every month, why native fruit and native insects beat ornamentals, and how to plant a yard for birds. Published 2026-09-17, updated 2026-09-20; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md): A caterpillar eats only the plants its species evolved with. Here are the native trees and shrubs of the East that feed the most butterflies and moths, ranked. Published 2026-09-17, updated 2026-09-29; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees and shrubs for wildlife: what deer, squirrels, bears, bats and turtles get from a planting](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-wildlife/index.html.md): Which native trees and shrubs feed and shelter mammals, reptiles and amphibians, month by month, and how to plant a yard or woodlot so the animals show up. Published 2026-09-17, updated 2026-09-20; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Native trees for insects: the beetles, wasps, cicadas and fireflies that everything else eats](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-insects/index.html.md): Insects are the base of the food web. These are the native trees and shrubs that feed the most of them, and what dead wood, leaf litter and dark nights do. Published 2026-09-17, updated 2026-09-29; tags: Forests & habitat, What to plant.
- [Chinese chestnut: size, growth rate, bark, and how it differs from the American chestnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/chinese-chestnut/index.html.md): How big a Chinese chestnut gets and how fast, what its bark, leaves and nuts look like, and the differences from the American chestnut it stands in for. Published 2026-09-16, updated 2026-10-08; tags: What to plant, Growth & age.
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md): Vines and shrubs topple canopy trees and stop a forest from regenerating. Free the trees first, then the shrubs, then keep after the seedlings for years. Published 2026-09-15, updated 2026-09-25; tags: Forests & habitat, Protection & care, What to plant.
- [Red oaks and white oaks, and where each belongs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/red-oaks-and-white-oaks/index.html.md): How to tell red oaks from white oaks by the leaf, why the groups differ in acorns, oak wilt and lifespan, and which species fit wet flats, dry ridges or a lawn. Published 2026-09-15, updated 2026-10-06; tags: Oaks, What to plant, Planting.
- [Six trees not to plant near a house, and what to plant instead](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/trees-not-to-plant-near-a-house/index.html.md): White mulberry, lacebark elm, willow, silver maple, tuliptree and Callery pear each have a specific problem near a home. A native alternative for each one. Published 2026-09-15, updated 2026-09-20; tags: What to plant, Planting.
- [What grows back when a field is left alone](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/old-field-succession/index.html.md): An abandoned field in the East goes from goldenrod to redcedar, sweetgum, tuliptree and black locust in a decade, and to oaks in a century. How to steer it. Published 2026-09-15, updated 2026-09-20; tags: Forests & habitat, Growth & age, What to plant.
- [Why the range maps are wrong](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/range-maps-are-wrong/index.html.md): Most native range maps are hand-drawn 1970s outlines, copied ever since. Why they are coarse, the kinds of errors they carry, and what to trust instead. Published 2026-09-15, updated 2026-09-20; tags: What to plant, Planting, Forests & habitat.

## Tags

- [Growth & age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-and-age/index.html.md): 10 articles
- [Measuring trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/measuring-trees/index.html.md): 3 articles
- [Planting](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting/index.html.md): 22 articles
- [Protection & care](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protection-and-care/index.html.md): 21 articles
- [Decay & damage](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/decay-and-damage/index.html.md): 11 articles
- [How trees work](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/how-trees-work/index.html.md): 25 articles
- [Oaks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/oaks/index.html.md): 8 articles
- [Forests & habitat](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/forests-and-habitat/index.html.md): 24 articles
- [What to plant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant/index.html.md): 30 articles