Blue Whale Trees
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Common native trees and shrubs we do not grow

Our tools know 45 common native trees and shrubs that we do not grow. Each has a page with what the tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

SpeciesFormHeight, feetZones
American Cranberrybush Viburnum opulus var. americanumShrub6 to 162 to 7
American Sycamore Platanus occidentalisLarge tree59 to 1214 to 9
Bigtooth Aspen Populus grandidentataMedium tree50 to 803 to 6
Black Ash Fraxinus nigraMedium tree30 to 702 to 9
Black Spruce Picea marianaMedium tree25 to 752 to 6
Black Willow Salix nigraMedium tree10 to 804 to 9
Boxelder Acer negundoMedium tree30 to 752 to 10
Carolina Rose Rosa carolinaShrub0.5 to 64 to 9
Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatusShrub2 to 62 to 7
Eastern Cottonwood Populus deltoidesLarge tree50 to 1002 to 9
Eastern White Pine Pinus strobusLarge tree50 to 1003 to 8
Green Ash Fraxinus pennsylvanicaMedium tree50 to 752 to 9
Highbush Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosumShrub5 to 153 to 8
Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthosLarge tree30 to 803 to 9
Loblolly Pine Pinus taedaLarge tree40 to 906 to 9
Lowbush Blueberry Vaccinium angustifoliumShrub0.5 to 22 to 8
Meadowsweet Spiraea albaShrub3 to 6.53 to 7
Northern Bush Honeysuckle Diervilla loniceraShrub2 to 43 to 7
Oakleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea quercifoliaShrub3 to 125 to 9
Osage-orange Maclura pomiferaMedium tree20 to 704 to 9
Paper Birch Betula papyriferaMedium tree50 to 752 to 7
Pitch Pine Pinus rigidaMedium tree40 to 804 to 7
Pumpkin Ash Fraxinus profundaLarge tree60 to 855 to 9
Pussy Willow Salix discolorShrub6 to 302 to 8
Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloidesMedium tree20 to 822 to 6
Red Maple Acer rubrumLarge tree40 to 902 to 9
Scarlet Oak Quercus coccineaLarge tree40 to 804 to 9
Shortleaf Pine Pinus echinataLarge tree50 to 1006 to 9
Silver Maple Acer saccharinumLarge tree50 to 1203 to 9
Slash Pine Pinus elliottiiLarge tree75 to 1007 to 10
Smooth Sumac Rhus glabraShrub2 to 203 to 9
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albusShrub2 to 63 to 7
Speckled Alder Alnus incana subsp. rugosaShrub15 to 332 to 6
Steeplebush Spiraea tomentosaShrub2 to 53 to 8
Sugar Maple Acer saccharumLarge tree40 to 1213 to 8
Swamp Rose Rosa palustrisShrub1 to 104 to 9
Sweetfern Comptonia peregrinaShrub1 to 52 to 6
Sweetgum Liquidambar styracifluaLarge tree60 to 1315 to 9
Tuliptree Liriodendron tulipiferaLarge tree60 to 1504 to 9
Virginia Pine Pinus virginianaMedium tree15 to 804 to 8
Water Oak Quercus nigraLarge tree50 to 1006 to 9
Wax Myrtle Morella ceriferaShrub6 to 407 to 10
White Ash Fraxinus americanaLarge tree50 to 1203 to 9
White Spruce Picea glaucaLarge tree40 to 802 to 6
Winged Sumac Rhus copallinumShrub7 to 354 to 9

The table as a file

Download the table as CSV or JSON: 45 rows, one for one common native tree or shrub the nursery does not grow, with the columns below. The figures are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license: use them with a credit to bluewhaletrees.com and a link to this page. Updated 2026-10-25.

What each column means

  • slug: the species page's address word: the page is https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/ followed by the slug and a slash
  • name: the common name the page uses
  • botanical: the botanical name
  • page: the species page's full address
  • form: shrub, small-tree, medium-tree or large-tree, the page's size class
  • height_min_ft: the low end of the mature height the page gives, in feet
  • height_max_ft: the high end of the mature height, in feet
  • spread_ft: the widest mature crown of one plant the page gives, in feet
  • zone_min: the coldest hardiness zone the page gives
  • zone_max: the warmest hardiness zone the page gives
  • sun: full, part or shade, every exposure the page gives, separated by semicolons
  • moisture: dry, average or wet, every soil moisture the page gives, separated by semicolons
  • growth: slow, medium or fast, the page's growth class
  • leaves: evergreen or deciduous
  • bloom_first: the first month in flower, 1 to 12; for a conifer, which has no flowers, the first month it sheds pollen
  • bloom_last: the last month in flower or shedding pollen, 1 to 12; a number below the first means the months run past December
  • fruit_first: the first month the fruit, nuts, seed or cones ripen, 1 to 12
  • fruit_last: the last month, 1 to 12; a number below the first means the months run past December
  • pollen: true for a conifer, whose bloom months are when it sheds pollen
  • pollination_need: what a crop takes: dioecious, partner, improves or single, or unknown where no source states it. Dioecious means separate male and female plants, partner a second unrelated plant, improves one bears and a second helps, single one plant bears alone
  • first_crop: the years from planting to the first crop, as the sources give them
  • juglone: the Morton Arboretum's word on black walnut: sensitive or tolerant where one of its two lists names the species or its genus, not listed where neither does
  • habitats: the habitat codes of the ground it grows on in the wild, separated by semicolons: bottomland, swamp, streambank, mesic-slope, upland-dry, sandy, rocky, old-field, understory, mountain, coastal
  • traits: the record's trait words, such as wildlife, fall-color, edible or drought, separated by semicolons; the page says evergreen, drought, wet-tolerant and shade in its rows rather than in its Traits row
  • lifespan_typical_yr: the typical lifespan the sources give, in years, as a range where they give one
  • lifespan_oldest_yr: the oldest age the sources give, in years: the most a source says the species reaches, or an older tree on record
  • lifespan_dated_yr: the age of the oldest dated tree, by its rings or its planting record, where it is younger than the oldest age, which it stands beside and does not replace
  • transplanting: Yes, No or Moderate: the Morton Arboretum profile's own field on whether the species transplants well, where it has one
  • planting_season: when the page says to plant it: spring, fall, or any for either season
  • toxic_to: the people and animals the page names it as poisonous to, separated by semicolons; empty where no source names any, which is not the same as safe
  • native_states_n: how many states its native range takes in, as the page's Native in row counts them; the District of Columbia is not counted
  • native_states: the two-letter codes of the states of its native range, separated by spaces, as the page names them; the District of Columbia counts as DC
  • naturalized_states: the codes of the states where the USDA PLANTS Database records it growing wild beyond its native range, as the page names them
  • introduced_states: the codes of the states where PLANTS marks it introduced, as the page names them

How the table is made

Each row is read from the record its species page is drawn from, so the file and the page give the same facts. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer, as each page says. A dated age below the oldest age stands beside it and does not replace it, since only a tiny share of trees has ever had its age measured. The files are written from the records and checked at every release.

Cite this page

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A link, as HTML

<a href="https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/">Common natives we do not grow: the facts on their pages</a>, Blue Whale Trees, updated October 25, 2026.

A reference, in APA style

Blue Whale Trees. (2026, October 25). Common natives we do not grow: the facts on their pages. https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/