# Rare, hardy native trees for a changing climate.

> Native trees and shrubs for people who want the tree that will actually thrive: 144 rare species from seed of parent trees with proven form, vigor and hardiness.

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

Uncommon oaks, hickories, fruit trees, flowering trees and shrubs for birds and bees. Grown from seed collected off parent trees with proven form, vigor and hardiness.

- [364 species](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md)
- [144 rare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/rare/index.html.md)
- [Feb–May · Oct–Nov live plants ship](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md)
- [16 free tools](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md)
- [Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Acorns, nuts and seed ship year-round.](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md)
- [Local pickup is free.](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md#pickup)
- [A plant that arrives dead or damaged, or does not leaf out, is fully replaced, credited or refunded.](https://bluewhaletrees.com/terms/index.html.md#live-plants)

### Climate-ready genetics

Species with wide tolerance of heat, drought and flooding, and seed from parents that thrive at the warm edge of their range in a changing climate.

### [Rare species, kept alive by planting](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/rare/index.html.md)

[Oglethorpe oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/oglethorpe-oak/index.html.md), [blue ash](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/blue-ash/index.html.md), [leatherwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-leatherwood/index.html.md), [red mulberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-mulberry/index.html.md): the surest way to keep a rare tree in the world is to grow it in a thousand yards.

### Habitat, not just trees

Leaf litter, stick piles, exposed root flares and uncompacted soil are half of what makes a tree thrive. Every order ships with planting notes.

[How we grow, and why](https://bluewhaletrees.com/about/index.html.md#how-we-grow)

## Trees you will not find at the garden center

- [Rare & Uncommon Oaks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/rare-oaks/index.html.md): Scrub oaks, coastal-plain post oaks and southern white oaks you will not find at a garden center.
- [Classic Oaks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/classic-oaks/index.html.md): White, red, bur, pin and the other oaks every yard and woodland knows, grown from seed for shade and for the wildlife their acorns feed.
- [Superior Specimen Lines](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/specimens/index.html.md): Acorns and seedlings collected from named, proven parent trees.
- [Uncommon Yard Trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/yard-trees/index.html.md): Native shade and flowering trees that deserve far more use than they get.
- [Native Shrubs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/shrubs/index.html.md): Understory and hedgerow shrubs for birds, pollinators and privacy.
- [Nut & Fruit Trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/nuts-fruit/index.html.md): Pecan, hickory, walnut, pawpaw, persimmon and other native food trees.
- [Chestnuts & Chinquapins](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/chestnuts/index.html.md): Native chinquapins, the American chestnut and the blight-resistant Chinese chestnut, grown from seed for nuts, wildlife and a chestnut in the yard again.

## Decide with numbers, not guesses

- [Find my tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md): Your zone, sun and soil narrow every tree and shrub we grow to the ones that fit.
- [ZIP code to zone](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/zone/index.html.md): Your USDA hardiness zone from the 2023 map, with the winter low it stands for.
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): A plain verdict on whether a species will thrive, struggle or fail on your site.
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): When to chill, check and sow acorns, nuts and seed, and when seedlings come up.
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): A month grid of when every tree and shrub we grow flowers and fruits.
- [Native trees by state](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md): Which of our trees and shrubs the USDA records growing wild in your state.

## From proven parent trees

- [Post Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/post-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus stellata*): Medium tree, Zones 5–9, 35–50 ft, Price on request
- [White Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus alba*): Large tree, Zones 3–9, 50–80 ft, Price on request
- [Cherrybark Oak, Wye Island line](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cherrybark-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus pagoda*): Large tree, Zones 6–9, 80–120 ft, Price on request
- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*): Large tree, Zones 4–9, 40–70 ft, Price on request
- [Spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/spicebush/index.html.md) (*Lindera benzoin*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request
- [Red Mulberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-mulberry/index.html.md) (*Morus rubra*): Medium tree, Zones 4–9, 35–50 ft, Price on request
- [Allegheny Chinquapin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/index.html.md) (*Castanea pumila*): Small tree, Zones 5–9, 10–25 ft, Price on request
- [Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sweet-pepperbush/index.html.md) (*Clethra alnifolia*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 4–8 ft, Price on request

## The newest articles

- [Chinquapin or chestnut: telling the four we grow apart](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/chinquapin-or-chestnut/index.html.md): Oct 16, 2026 · 8 min read Chinquapin vs chestnut: how a bur, a nut and the underside of a leaf tell the two chinkapins from the chestnuts, what blight does to each, and which to plant.
- [How fast every tree and shrub we grow gets tall: growth rate, A to Z](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-rates/index.html.md): Oct 16, 2026 · 23 min read The growth rate of the 364 trees and shrubs we grow, all native but one, A to Z: slow, medium or fast, the feet each adds a year and its years to 20 feet.
- [Ice and snow on trees: what to do with a bent, split or broken tree after a storm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ice-and-snow-damage-on-trees/index.html.md): Oct 16, 2026 · 8 min read How much weight ice puts on a tree, whether a bent or split tree can be saved, which native trees hold up in ice storms, and what to cut or leave for spring.

Shipping windows, newly priced plants and new articles. Four to six emails a year, and nothing else.

## Plant the nectar flow

Black locust and basswood give two of the lightest, most sought-after honeys in the East, and black gum is a good honey tree in its own right. Sourwood, persimmon and summersweet fill the gaps in the season.

- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*)
- [American Basswood (Linden)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-basswood/index.html.md) (*Tilia americana*)
- [Black Locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-locust/index.html.md) (*Robinia pseudoacacia*)
- [Sourwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sourwood/index.html.md) (*Oxydendrum arboreum*)