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
Maleberry grows in swamps and wet flats, stream banks, sandy barrens, dry uplands, the Appalachians and the coast
These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.
Black ChokeberryAronia melanocarpa shares swamps and wet flats, dry uplands and sandy barrens
Northern BayberryMorella pensylvanica shares the coast, sandy barrens and swamps and wet flats
Pinxterbloom AzaleaRhododendron periclymenoides shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats and the Appalachians
Swamp DoghobbleEubotrys racemosa shares swamps and wet flats, stream banks and the coast
Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)Clethra alnifolia shares swamps and wet flats, stream banks and the coast
Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatum shares stream banks and the coast
Bald CypressTaxodium distichum shares swamps and wet flats and stream banks
Black Gum (Tupelo)Nyssa sylvatica shares swamps and wet flats and dry uplands
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.