# Companion species > Natives to grow with black willow: 8 from its wild ground, 6 to plant under it and 6 beside it. Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/?species=black-willow Try [black walnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=black-walnut), [flowering dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=flowering-dogwood) or [spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=spicebush). A native tree or shrub has companions, in the wild and in a yard. Pick one native tree or shrub and see what grows with it. The matches come in three groups. Some species share its ground in the wild, and others live under its canopy or are the trees it can be planted beneath. The rest suit the same yard because they want the same sun, soil and climate. Every match is explained on the page, so you can see why a species is listed. Black Willow is not a tree or shrub we grow, so it has no sign-up here; [its page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/black-willow/index.html.md) gathers what our tools say about it. Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual and the USDA PLANTS Database. ## Black Willow grows in stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care. - [Buttonbush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/buttonbush/index.html.md) (*Cephalanthus occidentalis*): Shrub, 5–12 ft - [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): Large tree, 60–80 ft - [Missouri River Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/missouri-river-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix eriocephala*): Shrub, 6–20 ft - [Pin Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pin-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus palustris*): Large tree, 50–70 ft - [Swamp Cottonwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-cottonwood/index.html.md) (*Populus heterophylla*): Large tree, 70–90 ft - [Carolina Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix caroliniana*): Small tree, 15–30 ft - [Willow Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/willow-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus phellos*): Large tree, 40–75 ft - [Green Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/green-hawthorn/index.html.md) (*Crataegus viridis*): Small tree, 20–35 ft How far apart: the [planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=black-willow&near=tree) gives the gap between Black Willow and any tree you name as the next one, by their pages' spacing or half of each crown, added. ## Under its canopy Shrubs that take the shade a black willow casts and like the same soil. - [Virginia Sweetspire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/virginia-sweetspire/index.html.md) (*Itea virginica*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 3–6 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 5 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Florida Anise](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-anise/index.html.md) (*Illicium floridanum*): Shrub, Zones 6–10, 6–10 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Needle Palm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/needle-palm/index.html.md) (*Rhapidophyllum hystrix*): Shrub, Zones 6–10, 3–6 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Dwarf Palmetto](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-palmetto/index.html.md) (*Sabal minor*): Shrub, Zones 7–10, 4–10 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 7 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Wild Black Currant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/wild-black-currant/index.html.md) (*Ribes americanum*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 3–6 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 7 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/spicebush/index.html.md) (*Lindera benzoin*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild. Ask what is ready: [put these 6 on my request list](https://bluewhaletrees.com/list/#items=virginia-sweetspire:1,florida-anise:1,needle-palm:1,dwarf-palmetto:1,wild-black-currant:1,spicebush:1). Want one of these? Email me when it is ready to order. ## Beside it Plants that want the same sun and soil, for a bed, a hedge or a grove, with the same size class first. - [River Birch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/river-birch/index.html.md) (*Betula nigra*): Medium tree, Zones 3–9, 40–70 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. - [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): Medium tree, Zones 2–8, 35–60 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 8 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Water Locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/water-locust/index.html.md) (*Gleditsia aquatica*): Medium tree, Zones 6–10, 40–60 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Ogeechee Tupelo](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/ogeechee-tupelo/index.html.md) (*Nyssa ogeche*): Medium tree, Zones 6–9, 25–45 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Swamp White Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-white-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus bicolor*): Medium tree, Zones 3–8, 50–60 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 8 of the black willow's 4 to 9. - [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus rubra*): Medium tree, Zones 3–9, 40–70 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild. - [When these flower and fruit](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=black-willow,virginia-sweetspire,florida-anise,needle-palm,dwarf-palmetto,wild-black-currant,spicebush,river-birch,peachleaf-willow,water-locust,ogeechee-tupelo,swamp-white-oak,slippery-elm), in the bloom and fruit calendar. - [What to plant under a big tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant-under-a-big-tree/index.html.md), and how to plant without harming its roots. - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md): what keeps its roots alive. ## Email me when one of these companions is ready to order Limited time Sign up now and get **10% off** when it is ready. One email per plant you tick, when it is priced, and nothing else. Each carries a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax. Or ask, and we reply with what is ready now. ## How the matches are made - **Natural communities.** Every species we grow is tagged with the communities it lives in: floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats, stream banks, rich moist slopes, dry uplands, sandy barrens, rocky ground, old fields and edges, the forest understory, the Appalachians and the coast. - **In the wild.** Up to eight natives that share one of those communities with it and grow wild in one of its states. The most communities in common come first, then the native range most like its own. A species in a yard list is not repeated here. - **Under its canopy, or trees to plant it under.** Up to six species at least two sizes apart, the smaller one taking part shade or shade: shrubs under a medium tree, shrubs and small trees under a large one. - **Beside it.** Up to six that share a sun with it, the same size first. - **The order of a yard list.** Every yard pick shares a zone, a soil and a state of native range with it. A shared community counts two points, and a shared sun or soil one. Under a canopy, a species of the forest understory counts two more, and one that takes full shade one more. Of equal scores, the one hardy in more of its zones comes first. - **How far apart.** Each yard card links the planting-distance tool with both trees named. The tool gives the gap between them: each one's own spacing from its page, or half of each crown added, unless a page gives a larger distance from other trees. The wild list links the same tool with the chosen tree set, for any next tree you name. - **Your zone.** With a zone chosen, the yard lists keep only species rated hardy in it. - **Black walnut.** The 45 species we grow that the Morton Arboretum lists as sensitive to its juglone are left out of its answer, and it is left out of theirs. Under a walnut, the species on Morton's tolerant lists come first and are marked. - **Eastern red cedar.** The 28 crabapples, hawthorns, serviceberries, chokeberries and mountain ash we grow are left out of its answer, and it is left out of theirs: the cedar-apple, hawthorn, quince and juniper broom rusts live on both, and the University of Minnesota Extension says to keep them a few hundred yards apart. - **A tree or shrub we do not grow.** The 45 common natives under their own group in the menu take the same tests, with their ground, zones, sun, soil and states of native range from their sources (Silvics of North America, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the Fire Effects Information System and extension and botanical garden pages). The answer says so, links the species' own page, and offers the sign-up for the companions only. ## Common questions ### What can I plant under a black walnut tree? Under a black walnut, the tool puts first the species on the Morton Arboretum's tolerant lists, such as [pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/index.html.md), [spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/spicebush/index.html.md) and [flowering dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/flowering-dogwood/index.html.md). It leaves out those Morton lists as sensitive to the walnut's juglone, and Morton warns that any such list is incomplete. ### What should you not plant near a black walnut? Of the trees and shrubs we grow, the Morton Arboretum lists crabapples, hackberries, lindens, rhododendrons, blueberries, larch, yew and red chokeberry as sensitive to black walnut's juglone. Azaleas count among the rhododendrons, and the tool keeps all of them out of a walnut's answer. ### What can I plant under a big tree? Under a large tree, the tool lists up to six shrubs and small trees that take part shade or shade, and species of the forest understory rank higher. Our article on [what to plant under a big tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant-under-a-big-tree/index.html.md) covers planting without hurting the tree. ### Which native trees and shrubs grow together in the wild? The tool lists up to eight natives that share a natural community with your species and grow wild in one of its states, by the USDA PLANTS Database. The communities are our own tags, and sharing one does not mean two species always grow side by side. ### Can eastern red cedar be planted near crabapples? The University of Minnesota Extension says not to plant [eastern red cedar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-red-cedar/index.html.md) within a few hundred yards of crabapples, hawthorns, serviceberries, chokeberries or mountain ash, since cedar-apple and related rusts live on both. The tool keeps them out of each other's answers. The communities are our own tags. Every species we grow, with its communities, is in the [habitats table, A to Z](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/plant-habitats/index.html.md). The states of native range are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, read between 2026-09-23 and 2026-10-22 (2026-10-13 for the common natives we do not grow), as the [native trees by state](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md) tool reads them. Zones, sun and soil are each species' own page, or its record for a common native we do not grow. The juglone lists are the Morton Arboretum's, read on 2026-10-05, which warns that "any list regarding this topic is incomplete and some of the information may be anecdotal." The rusts' hosts are the University of Minnesota Extension's, read on 2026-10-06. [What to plant under a big tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-to-plant-under-a-big-tree/index.html.md) and [the article on juglone](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/juglone-what-to-plant-under-a-black-walnut/index.html.md) cover the subject. Sharing a habitat tag does not mean two species always grow side by side, and a tag says nothing about how far apart to plant them. Use the [planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md) for the spot itself, and the [growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md) for how much room each one will want in twenty years. The address carries the companion species tool's inputs, so a link opens it filled in, and Copy link on a result writes one: species (a plant's slug, the last part of its page's address, such as white-oak), zone (a whole number from 2 to 10, to keep the companions to it), sort (featured, name, price-asc, price-desc, height, hardy or fast). For example, [/tools/companions/?species=white-oak&zone=6](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=white-oak&zone=6).