Companion species
Pick one plant and see what grows with it: the natives that share its ground in the wild, and the ones that pair with it in a yard because they want the same sun, soil and climate.
In the wild
Devil's Walking Stick grows in old fields and edges, rich moist slopes, floodplain forests, stream banks and rocky ground
These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.
Common HackberryCeltis occidentalis shares floodplain forests, stream banks, rocky ground and old fields and edges
Common Prickly Ash (Toothache Tree)Zanthoxylum americanum shares rocky ground, rich moist slopes, stream banks and old fields and edges
Gray DogwoodCornus racemosa shares old fields and edges, stream banks and rocky ground
Northern CatalpaCatalpa speciosa shares floodplain forests, stream banks and old fields and edges
American Hornbeam (Musclewood)Carpinus caroliniana shares stream banks and floodplain forests
American PersimmonDiospyros virginiana shares old fields and edges and floodplain forests
Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatum shares stream banks and rich moist slopes
Black ElderberrySambucus canadensis shares stream banks and old fields and edges
In the yard
Trees to plant it under
Devil's Walking Stick takes some shade, so it can live beneath these.
How the matches are made
Every species we grow is tagged with the natural communities it lives in: floodplain forests, swamps, stream banks, rich slopes, dry ridges, sandy barrens, rocky ground, old fields, the forest understory, the mountains and the coast. Wild neighbors are the species that share one or more of those tags, with the closest matches first. Yard pairings use the plant's own needs instead: overlapping hardiness zones and soil moisture, and for the shade pairings, a size difference of at least two classes and a smaller plant that tolerates part shade or shade.
Sharing a habitat tag does not mean two plants always grow side by side, and a tag says nothing about how far apart to plant them. Use the planting-site check for the spot itself, and the growth estimator for how much room each one will want in twenty years.