# Dry Sandy Site Pack

> Six native shrubs for sand, gravel and drought: bear oak, dwarf chinquapin oak, beach plum, staghorn sumac, leadplant and huckleberry, full sun, zones 4 to 7.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/dry-sandy/

Pine-barrens and prairie toughness for sand, gravel and drought: two shrub oaks, two fruit plants, prairie leadplant and the best fall color on a dry bank.

## Plants in the set

- [Bear Oak (Scrub Oak)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bear-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus ilicifolia*): Shrub, zones 4 to 8, 6 to 20 ft, not yet priced online. The scrub oak of pine barrens and ridgetops: tough, fire-adapted and a powerhouse host for moths and butterflies.
- [Dwarf Chinquapin Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-chinquapin-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus prinoides*): Shrub, zones 4 to 8, 6 to 15 ft, not yet priced online. A true shrub oak that starts dropping sweet, low-tannin acorns within a few years of planting.
- [Beach Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/beach-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus maritima*): Shrub, zones 3 to 8, 4 to 8 ft, not yet priced online. The dune plum of the Atlantic coast: salt-proof, drought-proof and covered in white bloom each May.
- [Staghorn Sumac](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/staghorn-sumac/index.html.md) (*Rhus typhina*): Shrub, zones 3 to 8, 15 to 25 ft, not yet priced online. Fuzzy antler-like branches, fiery orange-red fall color and red fruit cones that feed birds through the winter.
- [Leadplant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/leadplant/index.html.md) (*Amorpha canescens*): Shrub, zones 2 to 8, 1 to 3 ft, not yet priced online. A prairie sub-shrub with silver leaves and purple summer spikes, rooted deep against drought.
- [Black Huckleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-huckleberry/index.html.md) (*Gaylussacia baccata*): Shrub, zones 3 to 7, 1 to 3 ft, not yet priced online. A low, colony-forming shrub of dry acid woods with sweet, seedy black berries and crimson fall leaves.

## Why these six go together

These are the plants of pine barrens, dunes and prairie, and they treat a dry sandy bank as home rather than hardship. Bear oak and dwarf chinquapin oak are true shrub oaks: bear oak is one of the great caterpillar hosts of the East, and dwarf chinquapin drops sweet, low-tannin acorns within a few years of planting. Beach plum is salt-proof and drought-proof and covers itself in white bloom each May. Staghorn sumac gives the best fall color on a dry bank and red fruit cones that birds work through the winter. Leadplant roots deep, fixes nitrogen and carries purple spikes in summer; black huckleberry fills the ground layer with sweet black berries and crimson fall leaves.

Nothing in the set needs fertilizer or irrigation once it is established, and all six feed the insects, birds and mammals of dry country.

## Where it fits

Full sun and sharp drainage: sand, gravel, a south-facing bank, the strip along a driveway. All six take drought; dwarf chinquapin oak, sumac and huckleberry also accept average soil. Together they are hardy in zones 4 through 7 (huckleberry is the one that stops at 7; the rest go to 8, and leadplant and beach plum are hardy far to the north).

Heights: leadplant and huckleberry 1 to 3 feet, beach plum 4 to 8, the two oaks 6 to 20, staghorn sumac 15 to 25. Sumac spreads by root suckers into a colony, so give it the far end where it can run.

## Planting the pack

Plant small and dormant; the oaks and leadplant put their first years into a deep root and resent moving later. Water weekly through the first summer only. Cage the oaks and plum against deer for two or three years, and keep mulch thin: these plants want their crowns dry.

The shrub oaks and huckleberry are slow. Beach plum and sumac are quick, and sumac can be cut to the ground in late winter wherever the colony has gone too far.

Order the plants individually from their pages, or email captain@bluewhaletrees.com to have the whole set put together at the sizes on hand.

## Other bundles

- [Honey Tree Trio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/honey-trio/index.html.md): Three of the finest nectar trees in eastern North America. Black locust and basswood give the lightest, most sought-after honeys; black gum flowers between them and colors scarlet in fall. 3 plants.
- [Shade Understory Pack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/shade-understory/index.html.md): Five plants that are happiest under a canopy of oaks: flowers from March to November, fruit for thrushes, and the host plants of two swallowtails. 5 plants.
- [Wet Spot Pack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/wet-spot/index.html.md): For the corner where the lawn drowns every spring. Every plant here tolerates standing water, and together they give fragrance, winter berries and year-round structure. 6 plants.
- [Native Edible Orchard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/edible-orchard/index.html.md): A food forest from native species only: fruit from June to October, nuts in the fall, and no spray program. 6 plants.
- [Bird & Berry Hedgerow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/bird-hedgerow/index.html.md): A mixed native hedge that fruits from June through the following March, with dense cover for nesting and thorns at the edges. 7 plants.
- [Rare Oak Collection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/rare-oak-collection/index.html.md): Five oaks almost nobody grows, from two-foot scrub oaks to an eighty-foot bottomland giant. A living collection for a large property or a conservation planting. 5 plants.