# Pollination planner

> Not enough: 1 Pawpaw, 1 American Persimmon, 1 American Plum and 1 American Hazelnut. Likely: 1 Northern Pecan. Enough: 1 Black Chokeberry.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/?plants=pawpaw:1,american-persimmon:1,american-plum:1,american-hazelnut:1,pecan:1,black-chokeberry:1

Try [two pawpaws](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=pawpaw:2), [two American persimmons](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=american-persimmon:2) or [three American hazelnuts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=american-hazelnut:3).

Every tree and shrub we sell is grown from seed, so no buyer can pick a male, a female or a clone. That matters for fruit and nuts. A tree that comes as separate male and female trees makes one seedling a coin toss, and a tree that cannot pollinate itself sets nothing alone. Add the trees you want and how many seedlings of each. The planner says whether that is enough for a crop, gives the odds, and takes spacing and years to the first crop from each tree's page.

Without JavaScript the trees and counts cannot be changed here: the verdicts shown are for the trees in the address, or the planner's own example. The table below gives every tree's need, the count to plant and the page's own sentence.

![Two green pawpaw (Asimina triloba) fruits hanging from a branch beneath the large drooping leaves in late June, a path behind](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/pawpaw-2-160.jpg)

*Photo: Blue Whale Trees*

![American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) young plant seen from above in dry grass, its newest leaves flushed red-bronze](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/american-persimmon-2-160.jpg)

*Photo: Blue Whale Trees*

![American plum (Prunus americana) clusters of white blossom on young stems in a prairie](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/american-plum-2-160.jpg)

*Photo: National Park Service, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AUses-_Food%2C_Ceremony%2C_Manufacture%2C_Household_Implement_%28493fae46-8080-4fb1-953a-6a5fd2d5127c%29.JPG)*

![American hazelnut (Corylus americana) leaves, doubly toothed and heart-shaped at the base](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/american-hazelnut-160.jpg)

*Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corylus_americana1.jpg)*

6 species, 6 seedlings in all From each tree's page

1 seedling

## [Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/index.html.md): Not enough

(*Asimina triloba*)

One tree will not set fruit alone; it needs a second, genetically different tree nearby.

15 to 30 ft tall; 8 to 10 ft apart; first crop 5 to 8 years from seed.

**Its page says:** Pawpaw will not pollinate itself, so plant at least two seedlings from different parents. Flies and beetles carry the pollen, and a paintbrush moved between trees sets more fruit. Seedlings bear in five to eight years.

1 seedling

## [American Persimmon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/index.html.md): Not enough

(*Diospyros virginiana*)

A single seedling is male or female at a coin toss, and only a female bears, with a male nearby. Plant 5 for a 94% chance of a male and a female.

35 to 60 ft tall; 15 to 20 ft apart; first crop 4 to 9 years from seed (heaviest crops at 25 to 50).

**Its page says:** Most trees are male or female, so plant several seedlings for fruit. Seedlings begin bearing after about six years.

1 seedling

## [American Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/index.html.md): Not enough

(*Prunus americana*)

One tree will not set fruit alone; it needs a second, genetically different tree nearby.

15 to 25 ft tall; 15 to 25 ft apart; first crop 3 to 5 years from seed.

**Its page says:** Wild plum needs a second seedling nearby for good fruit set, and the crop ripens in August. Seedlings bear within three to five years.

1 seedling

## [American Hazelnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hazelnut/index.html.md): Not enough

(*Corylus americana*)

One tree will not set fruit alone; it needs a second, genetically different tree within about 50 feet.

8 to 12 ft tall; 6 to 8 ft apart; a partner counts within about 50 ft; first crop 2 to 3 years from seed.

**Its page says:** Hazelnuts are wind-pollinated and a single bush will not set nuts, so plant two or more seedlings within 50 feet.

1 seedling

## [Northern Pecan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pecan/index.html.md): Likely

(*Carya illinoinensis*)

A lone tree may set some fruit; a second within about 250 feet makes the crop surer and larger.

70 to 100 ft tall; 40 ft apart; a partner counts within about 250 ft; first crop about 10 years from seed (10 to 20 in natural stands).

**Its page says:** Pecans set nuts best with a second, unrelated tree nearby, because the male and female flowers on one tree open at different times. Seedling trees bear in roughly ten years.

1 seedling

## [Black Chokeberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-chokeberry/index.html.md): Enough

(*Aronia melanocarpa*)

One tree bears on its own.

3 to 6 ft tall; 4 ft apart; first crop 2 to 3 years from seed.

**Its page says:** A single chokeberry sets fruit without a partner. Seedlings begin bearing in their second or third year, with berries ripening in late August.

*Each bar is the chance of at least one male and one female among that many seedlings of a tree that is either male or female, at even odds. Your 1 American persimmon seedling gives 0%. It takes 5 seedlings to pass the 90% line, at 94%. The outlined bar is 5 seedlings, the count its card asks for.*

[When these trees flower](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=pawpaw,american-persimmon,american-plum,american-hazelnut,pecan,black-chokeberry), in the bloom and fruit calendar.

When a tree is either male or female, 5 seedlings give a 94% chance of getting both and 6 give 97%, at even odds. A seedling shows which it is only at first bloom, so keep the extras until then.

Pawpaw, American Persimmon, American Plum, American Hazelnut, Northern Pecan and Black Chokeberry are in the [Native Edible Orchard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/edible-orchard/index.html.md) bundle, six native food trees and shrubs chosen to go together.

On paper this page prints the example alone. Choose trees and the plan prints; the table of every species stays on the web page.

## What each tree needs for a crop

"Plant" is the count that settles it: one for a tree that bears alone, two for one that needs or is helped by a partner unless its page asks for more, and when a tree is either male or female, the count its page asks for or the 5 that give a 90% chance of getting both. Blank where the page does not say whether one tree bears alone, and for a tree that sets little seed.

| Tree | Needs | Plant | Partner within | Apart | First crop | Its page says |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **[American Hazelnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-hazelnut/index.html.md)** (*Corylus americana*) | Needs a second, unrelated tree | 2 | 50 ft | 6 to 8 ft | 2 to 3 years | Hazelnuts are wind-pollinated and a single bush will not set nuts, so plant two or more seedlings within 50 feet. |
| **[American Persimmon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/index.html.md)** (*Diospyros virginiana*) | Separate male and female trees | 5 for 94% |  | 15 to 20 ft | 4 to 9 years (heaviest crops at 25 to 50) | Most trees are male or female, so plant several seedlings for fruit. Seedlings begin bearing after about six years. |
| **[American Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/index.html.md)** (*Prunus americana*) | Needs a second, unrelated tree | 2 |  | 15 to 25 ft | 3 to 5 years | Wild plum needs a second seedling nearby for good fruit set, and the crop ripens in August. Seedlings bear within three to five years. |
| **[Black Chokeberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-chokeberry/index.html.md)** (*Aronia melanocarpa*) | One tree bears alone | 1 |  | 4 ft | 2 to 3 years | A single chokeberry sets fruit without a partner. Seedlings begin bearing in their second or third year, with berries ripening in late August. |
| **[Northern Pecan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pecan/index.html.md)** (*Carya illinoinensis*) | One bears; a second improves the crop | 2 | 250 ft | 40 ft | about 10 years (10 to 20 in natural stands) | Pecans set nuts best with a second, unrelated tree nearby, because the male and female flowers on one tree open at different times. Seedling trees bear in roughly ten years. |
| **[Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/index.html.md)** (*Asimina triloba*) | Needs a second, unrelated tree | 2 |  | 8 to 10 ft | 5 to 8 years | Pawpaw will not pollinate itself, so plant at least two seedlings from different parents. Flies and beetles carry the pollen, and a paintbrush moved between trees sets more fruit. Seedlings bear in five to eight years. |

This table holds only the species this address names. Every species' row is in the [whole table](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md) and in its [CSV file](https://bluewhaletrees.com/data/pollination.csv).

## How the verdict is made

- **Each tree's page gives its need.** The need comes from the tree's own page, written from the Forest Service's silvics, the state extension services and the growers' guides. The page says whether the species carries male and female flowers on separate trees, whether it can pollinate itself, and whether a second tree improves the set. Spacing, a partner's distance and the years to the first crop are the page's own figures too. The 37 common natives we do not grow, in the table's last group, take their need and figures from their sources instead (Silvics of North America, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Fire Effects Information System and extension pages), and a plan's card for one says "Its sources say".
- **Male and female trees are a matter of odds.** When a tree is either male or female, each seedling is one or the other at even odds and shows which only at its first bloom, years in. So the planner gives the chance that a count includes both: two seedlings 50%, three 75%, four 88%, five 94%, six 97%, seven 98%.
- **A tree already there changes the odds.** With a male within reach, or one tree of your own, a seedling only has to be the other kind. Then one seedling gives 50%, two give 75% and four give 94%.
- **Enough is the page's count, or 90%.** A count is enough when it reaches the count the tree's page asks for, or a 90% chance where the page gives none. It is likely at 75%. Those two lines are the planner's own, not a source's.
- **A tree that cannot pollinate itself needs a second.** The pollen must come from a genetically different tree, which any two of our seed-grown seedlings are. The partner counts within the distance the page gives, or in the same planting where it gives none.
- **Another oak, hickory, plum or crabapple can be the partner.** Where a page accepts another tree of its kind, one in the plan counts. An oak counts only an oak of its own group, red or white, since the two groups do not cross.
- **The odds are a guide, not a promise.** The share of males in a real seed lot is not always half: common hoptree's page notes that its males outnumber females. A lone female can sometimes set a little fruit from wild pollen.
- **Some pages do not say.** Where a page does not say whether one tree bears alone, the planner says so rather than guess.
- **The address carries the trees.** A link copied from the planner opens with the same trees, counts and ticked boxes. The page draws the verdicts for them before any script runs, so a shared link shows the verdicts themselves.

## Common questions

### Do pawpaw trees need a pollinator?

Yes: [pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/index.html.md) will not pollinate itself, so plant at least two seedlings from different parents. Kentucky State University's pawpaw FAQ calls pawpaws generally self-incompatible, and any two of our seed-grown seedlings are genetically different.

### Do American persimmon trees need a male and a female?

Yes: most [American persimmons](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/index.html.md) are male or female, and a seedling shows which only at its first bloom, years in. At even odds, five seedlings give a 94% chance of both, the count the planner calls enough.

### Do you need two trees to get fruit?

Not always: in the planner's table, downy serviceberry, chokecherry and prairie crabapple each bear alone. American plum and American hazelnut need a second, unrelated tree, and a tree that comes as separate male and female trees needs one of each.

### Which oak trees produce acorns the fastest?

Of the oaks we grow, the shrubby [dwarf live oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-live-oak/index.html.md), [runner oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/runner-oak/index.html.md) and [dwarf chinquapin oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-chinquapin-oak/index.html.md) bear in 3 to 5 years. [Nuttall oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/nuttall-oak/index.html.md) bears from about 5 years, with good crops from about 20, and [white oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/white-oak/index.html.md) from about 20 when open-grown.

### Can a red oak pollinate a white oak?

No: the planner counts an oak only as a partner for an oak of its own group, red or white, since the two groups do not cross. The University of Georgia finds hybrids rare between the major oak groups.

## The table as a file

The files and the citation below name this table *Pollination table: what each tree needs for a crop*. Download it as [CSV](https://bluewhaletrees.com/data/pollination.csv) or [JSON](https://bluewhaletrees.com/data/pollination.json): 423 rows, one for one tree or shrub the nursery grows, with the columns below. It is one of the reference tables on [the open data page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/open-data/index.html.md). The figures are published under the [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license: use them with a credit to bluewhaletrees.com and a link to this page. Updated 2026-10-28.

### What each column means

- **slug**: the plant page's address word: the page is https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/ followed by the slug and a slash
- **name**: the common name the page uses
- **need**: what a crop takes: dioecious, partner, improves, single, none or unknown. Dioecious means separate male and female plants, partner a second unrelated plant, improves one bears and a second helps, single one plant bears alone, none sets little or no seed, unknown where no source states it
- **group_min**: the fewest plants to set out for a crop
- **group_max**: the most the planner suggests
- **distance_ft**: the distance within which a partner counts, in feet, where the page gives one
- **spacing_min_ft**: the closest spacing between plants, in feet
- **spacing_max_ft**: the widest spacing the page gives, in feet
- **first_crop**: the years from planting to the first crop, as the page states them
- **flowers**: how the flowers are borne: monoecious, male and female flowers on one plant; dioecious, on separate plants; or perfect, each flower carrying both parts. Polygamous where some flowers carry male or female parts only and some carry both
- **kin**: the kind of tree whose other members its page accepts as partners for a crop (white oak, red oak, hickory, plum or crabapple), blank where the page names no such kind
- **note**: the planner's own note for the plant

### How the table is made

Each row is the plant page's own pollination facts, read from the sources its page names, with the Woody Plant Seed Manual's chapter where the page has no figure. The files are written from the pollination records and checked against them at every release.

### Cite this page

Copy a link or a reference. A press on a box copies it.

A link, as HTML

```
<a href="https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/">Pollination table: what each tree needs for a crop</a>, Blue Whale Trees, updated October 28, 2026.
```

A reference, in APA style

```
Blue Whale Trees. (2026, October 28). Pollination table: what each tree needs for a crop. https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/
```

Each tree's need, count, spacing, partner distance and first crop come from its own page, written from the Forest Service's silvics and seed manual, the extension services and published studies. The even odds rest on a count of 1,930 American holly seedlings, 1.03 males to each female, in the Forest Service's silvics of the species. Our article [Why a tree flowers but bears no fruit](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-a-tree-flowers-but-never-fruits/index.html.md) gives that count with the subject's other sources. Kentucky State University's pawpaw FAQ gives the rule for a tree that rejects its own pollen: "Pawpaws are generally self-incompatible, so you need two trees for cross-pollination." It adds: "Two grafted trees of the same cultivar will not cross-pollinate." A seed-grown seedling is never such a copy. The oak rule follows the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources (Kim D. Coder, Hybrid Oaks of Georgia, 2020). It finds hybrids rare between the major oak groups and frequent within them. An International Oak Society article by Jeroen Braakman (Hybridization in Quercus, 2017) knows of only one cross between oak sections, and none between the red and white oaks. The [growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md) shows how big each tree will be by its first crop, and the [companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md) what to plant between them.

The address carries the pollination planner's inputs, so a link opens it filled in, and Copy link on a result writes one: plants (each plant's slug with its count as slug:count, joined by commas), wild (the slugs with a wild tree of the same kind nearby, joined by commas). For example, [/tools/pollination/?plants=pecan:2,shagbark-hickory:1](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=pecan:2,shagbark-hickory:1).