# Companion species

> Pick one native tree or shrub and see the plants that share its ground in the wild, live under its canopy, or pair with it in a yard.

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

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.

## Common Hoptree (Wafer Ash) grows in rocky ground, the forest understory, stream banks and sandy barrens

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

- [**Black Huckleberry** Gaylussacia baccata shares sandy barrens, rocky ground and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-huckleberry/)

- [**Deerberry** Vaccinium stamineum shares sandy barrens, rocky ground and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/deerberry/)

- [**Gray Dogwood** Cornus racemosa shares stream banks, rocky ground and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/gray-dogwood/)

- [**American Beautyberry** Callicarpa americana shares the forest understory and sandy barrens](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-beautyberry/)

- [**Arrowwood Viburnum** Viburnum dentatum shares stream banks and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/arrowwood-viburnum/)

- [**Carolina Buckthorn** Frangula caroliniana shares rocky ground and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-buckthorn/)

- [**Common Hackberry** Celtis occidentalis shares stream banks and rocky ground](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/)

- [**Dwarf Chinquapin Oak** Quercus prinoides shares sandy barrens and rocky ground](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-chinquapin-oak/)

## Trees to plant it under

Common Hoptree (Wafer Ash) takes some shade, so it can live beneath these.

[Drought tolerantEdible](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/)

### [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/)

Celtis occidentalis

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/)

[Drought tolerant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hop-hornbeam/)

### [Hop Hornbeam](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hop-hornbeam/)

Ostrya virginiana

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hop-hornbeam/)

[Evergreen](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-holly/)

### [American Holly, select line](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-holly/)

Ilex opaca

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-holly/)

[EdibleHoney tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/)

### [American Persimmon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/)

Diospyros virginiana

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/)

[Showy flowersDrought tolerant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-catalpa/)

### [Northern Catalpa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-catalpa/)

Catalpa speciosa

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-catalpa/)

[Fall colorDrought tolerant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sassafras/)

### [Sassafras](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sassafras/)

Sassafras albidum

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sassafras/)

## Beside it

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

[Fall colorTolerates wet soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hornbeam/)

### [American Hornbeam (Musclewood)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hornbeam/)

Carpinus caroliniana

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hornbeam/)

[Showy flowersDrought tolerant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-redbud/)

### [Eastern Redbud](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-redbud/)

Cercis canadensis

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-redbud/)

[EdibleShowy flowers](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/)

### [Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/)

Asimina triloba

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/)

[Showy flowersTolerates wet soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-fringetree/)

### [White Fringetree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-fringetree/)

Chionanthus virginicus

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-fringetree/)

[EdibleDrought tolerant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/)

### [Allegheny Chinquapin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/)

Castanea pumila

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/)

[Showy flowersEdible](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/)

### [American Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/)

Prunus americana

Price on request [See availability](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/)

## 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/) for the spot itself, and the [growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/) for how much room each one will want in twenty years.