American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Western Hemlock
Tsuga heterophylla. Large tree, 60 to 100 feet where planted, zones 5 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; average or wet ground.
We do not grow western hemlock, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Pacific hemlock, west coast hemlock, coast hemlock, Alaska pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 60 to 100 where planted; up to 273 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 5 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | April to June |
| Fruit | Cones, September to October |
| First crop | 25 to 30 years (first flowers from about 10) |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 400 to 500 years, and the oldest dated one reached 1,238. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks, floodplain forests, rich moist slopes and the forest understory |
| Native in | 6 states |
Western hemlock is native in 6 states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Jepson eFlora.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of western hemlock's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Balsam Poplar
Populus balsamifera Large tree Zones 2–5 30–100 ft
Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants and the Gymnosperm Database.