# 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=pinxterbloom-azalea

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.

## Pinxterbloom Azalea grows in the forest understory, rich moist slopes, stream banks, swamps and wet flats and the Appalachians

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

- [**Mountain Camellia (Mountain Stewartia)** Stewartia ovata shares the Appalachians, stream banks, rich moist slopes and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-camellia/)

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

- [**Allegheny Serviceberry** Amelanchier laevis shares the forest understory, rich moist slopes and the Appalachians](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-serviceberry/)

- [**Bladdernut** Staphylea trifolia shares stream banks, rich moist slopes and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bladdernut/)

- [**Carolina Silverbell** Halesia tetraptera shares rich moist slopes, the Appalachians and stream banks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-silverbell/)

- [**Eastern Leatherwood** Dirca palustris shares rich moist slopes, the forest understory and stream banks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-leatherwood/)

- [**Red Elderberry** Sambucus racemosa shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-elderberry/)

- [**Rosebay Rhododendron** Rhododendron maximum shares the Appalachians, stream banks and the forest understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/rosebay-rhododendron/)

## Trees to plant it under

Pinxterbloom Azalea takes some shade, so it can live beneath these.

[Showy flowersFall color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-silverbell/)

### [Carolina Silverbell](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-silverbell/)

Halesia tetraptera

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

[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/)

[Tolerates wet soilFall color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bald-cypress/)

### [Bald Cypress](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bald-cypress/)

Taxodium distichum

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

[Showy flowersRare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cucumber-magnolia/)

### [Cucumber Magnolia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cucumber-magnolia/)

Magnolia acuminata

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

[EdibleRare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-mulberry/)

### [Red Mulberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-mulberry/)

Morus rubra

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

[Showy flowersHoney tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sourwood/)

### [Sourwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sourwood/)

Oxydendrum arboreum

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

## Beside it

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

[Showy flowersFall color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/arrowwood-viburnum/)

### [Arrowwood Viburnum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/arrowwood-viburnum/)

Viburnum dentatum

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

[Showy flowers](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-elderberry/)

### [Red Elderberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-elderberry/)

Sambucus racemosa

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

[Showy flowersFall color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/witch-hazel/)

### [Witch Hazel](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/witch-hazel/)

Hamamelis virginiana

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

[Showy flowersRare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bladdernut/)

### [Bladdernut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bladdernut/)

Staphylea trifolia

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

[Showy flowersRare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-leatherwood/)

### [Eastern Leatherwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-leatherwood/)

Dirca palustris

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

[Drought tolerantTolerates wet soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/gray-dogwood/)

### [Gray Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/gray-dogwood/)

Cornus racemosa

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

## 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.