# Companion species

> Pick one native tree or shrub and see the species that share its ground in the wild, live under its canopy, or want the same sun, soil and climate in a yard.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/?species=carolina-bog-laurel

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.

## Carolina Bog Laurel grows in stream banks, sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats

These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.

- [Honeycup](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/honeycup/index.html.md) (*Zenobia pulverulenta*): Shrub, 3–6 ft · shares sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats
- [Long-stalked Holly](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/long-stalked-holly/index.html.md) (*Ilex collina*): Shrub, 10–13 ft · shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats
- [Georgia Indigobush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/georgia-indigobush/index.html.md) (*Amorpha georgiana*): Shrub, 1–3 ft · shares stream banks and sandy barrens
- [Mayhaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mayhaw/index.html.md) (*Crataegus aestivalis*): Small tree, 10–40 ft · shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats
- [Pondspice](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pondspice/index.html.md) (*Litsea aestivalis*): Shrub, 10–15 ft · shares sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats
- [Florida Leucothoe](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-leucothoe/index.html.md) (*Agarista populifolia*): Shrub, 8–12 ft · shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats
- [Elliott's Blueberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/elliott-blueberry/index.html.md) (*Vaccinium elliottii*): Shrub, 4–10 ft · shares stream banks and sandy barrens
- [Bog Spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bog-spicebush/index.html.md) (*Lindera subcoriacea*): Shrub, 6–13 ft · shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats

## Trees to plant it under

Carolina Bog Laurel takes some shade, so it can live beneath these.

- [Redbay](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/redbay/index.html.md) (*Persea borbonia*): Medium tree, Zones 7–10, 30–60 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 7 to 8 of the Carolina bog laurel's 5 to 8.
- [Pond Cypress](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pond-cypress/index.html.md) (*Taxodium ascendens*): Medium tree, Zones 5–10, 30–70 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Willow Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/willow-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus phellos*): Large tree, Zones 5–9, 40–75 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Atlantic White Cedar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/atlantic-white-cedar/index.html.md) (*Chamaecyparis thyoides*): Medium tree, Zones 3–9, 40–60 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [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, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Swamp Tupelo](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-tupelo/index.html.md) (*Nyssa biflora*): Large tree, Zones 6–9, 60–80 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 8 of the Carolina bog laurel's 5 to 8.

## Beside it

Plants that want the same sun and soil, for a bed, a hedge or a grove.

- [Maleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/maleberry/index.html.md) (*Lyonia ligustrina*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [White Wicky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-wicky/index.html.md) (*Kalmia cuneata*): Shrub, Zone 8, 2–5 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild. Hardy only in zone 8 of the Carolina bog laurel's 5 to 8.
- [Dwarf Witch Alder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-witch-alder/index.html.md) (*Fothergilla gardenii*): Shrub, Zones 5–8, 2–3 ft, Price on request. Shares sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Sweet Azalea](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sweet-azalea/index.html.md) (*Rhododendron arborescens*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 8–20 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Titi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/titi/index.html.md) (*Cyrilla racemiflora*): Shrub, Zones 5–10, 8–30 ft, Price on request. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Dangleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dangleberry/index.html.md) (*Gaylussacia frondosa*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 2–6 ft, Price on request. Shares sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [When these flower and fruit](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/#plants=carolina-bog-laurel,redbay,pond-cypress,willow-oak,atlantic-white-cedar,river-birch,swamp-tupelo,maleberry,white-wicky,dwarf-witch-alder,sweet-azalea,titi,dangleberry), in the bloom and fruit calendar.

## Email me when Carolina Bog Laurel or a companion is ready to order

For Carolina Bog Laurel, Redbay, Pond Cypress, Willow Oak, Atlantic White Cedar, River Birch, Swamp Tupelo, Maleberry, White Wicky, Dwarf Witch Alder, Sweet Azalea, Titi: one email per plant when it is priced or back in stock, and nothing else.

## 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.
- **Your zone.** With a zone chosen, the yard lists keep only species rated hardy in it.
- **Black walnut.** The 37 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 25 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 we do not grow.** The note under the menu names a relative we grow, in the words of its page.

The communities are our own tags. The states of native range are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, read on 2026-09-23, 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. 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 plants 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.