Alabama Snow-wreath
Neviusia alabamensisShrubZones 4–83–10 ft
A rare southern shrub whose arching stems carry puffs of white flowers with no petals in spring, for a shady border or woodland edge.
Tree finder
Find the right native tree or shrub for your site by filtering on USDA hardiness zone, mature size, sun, soil moisture and what you want from each species. The list narrows as you set each filter. Every result is a tree or shrub we grow from seed, so anything it shows can be requested now and ordered once it is priced.
Results
Best fits first: those that list your sun and soil outright, then those that only tolerate them.
Still a long list. or set a height limit.
Alderleaf Buckthorn
Rhamnus alnifoliaShrubZones 3–72–5 ft
A low native buckthorn of fens, swamps and wet thickets, with alder-like leaves and black fruit for birds, at home in cold, limy wetlands.
American Basswood (Linden)
Tilia americanaLarge treeZones 3–860–90 ft
The bee tree: a broad shade tree whose fragrant June flowers hum with pollinators.
American Beech
Fagus grandifoliaLarge treeZones 3–950–80 ft
A smooth, silver-gray tree of eastern forests, with triangular nuts that feed wildlife and copper fall leaves that cling through winter.
American Fly Honeysuckle
Lonicera canadensisShrubZones 3–73–6 ft
A native woodland honeysuckle of moist northern and mountain forests, with yellow flowers in pairs and twin red berries for birds.
American Holly, select line
Ilex opacaMedium treeZones 5–920–50 ft
Broadleaf evergreen screening and winter berries, from a specimen chosen for dense foliage and heavy fruit.
American Hornbeam (Musclewood)
Carpinus carolinianaSmall treeZones 3–920–35 ft
Smooth, sinewy gray trunks, orange-red fall color and complete comfort in shade and damp soil.
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatumShrubZones 2–85–10 ft
Blue-black berries nearly half fat by dry weight ripen from August for robins, bluebirds and catbirds, after flat white flower heads in May for the bees.
Ashe's Magnolia
Magnolia asheiSmall treeZones 5–910–30 ft
Fragrant white flowers up to a foot across and leaves up to 2 feet long, on a small, rare magnolia from the Florida panhandle.
Black Maple
Acer nigrumLarge treeZones 3–860–75 ft
A sugar maple for warmer, drier ground, with a dense rounded crown, nearly black furrowed bark and sap that boils down to syrup.
Blackhaw Viburnum
Viburnum prunifoliumShrubZones 3–912–15 ft
A tough, tree-like viburnum with white spring flowers, purple-red fall color and sweet blue fruit.
Bladdernut
Staphylea trifoliaShrubZones 4–88–15 ft
Drooping white bell flowers in May and papery inflated seed pods that rattle in the fall wind.
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Aesculus parvifloraShrubZones 4–98–12 ft
A shade shrub that spreads into a broad mound and lifts white flower spikes up to a foot long in early summer, when few other shrubs bloom.
Box Huckleberry
Gaylussacia brachyceraShrubZones 5–81–2 ft
A foot-high evergreen ground cover with glossy leaves, pink-white bells in May and sweet blue berries, from a shrub whose wild patches live for centuries.
Canada Yew
Taxus canadensisShrubZones 2–73–6 ft
A low, sprawling evergreen for deep shade whose branches root as they spread, with bright red, berry-like fruit that birds eat.
Carolina Buckthorn
Frangula carolinianaShrubZones 5–910–20 ft
Glossy leaves, red-to-black berries and yellow fall color on a native buckthorn that is nothing like the invasive ones.
Catawba Rhododendron
Rhododendron catawbienseShrubZones 4–86–10 ft
Lilac-purple trusses of 15 to 20 flowers open in late spring on an evergreen shrub of Appalachian ridges, parent of the hardy garden rhododendrons.
Chalk Maple
Acer leucodermeSmall treeZones 5–925–30 ft
A small maple with chalky white bark and fall color from yellow to deep red, at home in sun or deep shade and on dry, rocky ground.
Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalisLarge treeZones 3–940–60 ft
Sole host of the hackberry emperor and American snout, with sweet fruit held for waxwings and bluebirds until March. A tough tree for dry or city ground.
Common Hoptree (Wafer Ash)
Ptelea trifoliataSmall treeZones 4–910–20 ft
A small citrus-family tree for shade or dry rock, one of only two native giant swallowtail hosts in the Northeast. Papery wafer fruit hangs all winter.
Devilwood
Cartrema americanaSmall treeZones 5–1015–30 ft
A native evergreen of the olive family for screens in sun or shade, with fragrant spring flowers and, on female trees, dark blue fruit for birds.
Downy Arrowwood
Viburnum rafinesqueanumShrubZones 3–83–10 ft
A small arrowwood for dry, shady woods, with flat white flower clusters in late spring, dark fruit for birds and purplish red fall leaves.
Eastern Leatherwood
Dirca palustrisShrubZones 4–93–6 ft
Tiny yellow flowers in the first week of spring, on a rare, slow shade shrub with bark you can tie in knots.
Eastern Wahoo
Euonymus atropurpureusShrubZones 3–96–20 ft
A native shrub or small tree of rich woods and stream banks, with dark purple flowers, yellow to red fall leaves and pink capsules that open on scarlet seeds.
Florida Leucothoe
Agarista populifoliaShrubZones 5–98–12 ft
A tall evergreen for shady stream banks, with arching stems, red new leaves and fragrant white bells hanging beneath the branches in spring.
Florida Maple
Acer floridanumMedium treeZones 5–920–60 ft
A southern cousin of sugar maple, at home in heat and humidity, with yellow to orange fall color and a rounded crown for shade.
Florida Torreya
Torreya taxifoliaSmall treeZones 5–930–50 ft
A critically endangered evergreen of the yew family from the Apalachicola River bluffs, with glossy, sharp-tipped needles and purple-streaked seed.
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus floridaSmall treeZones 5–915–30 ft
The classic spring understory tree: white bracts in April, red berries and burgundy leaves in fall.
Gray Dogwood
Cornus racemosaShrubZones 4–84–10 ft
White berries on red stalks, about a third fat, feed migrating warblers and sparrows in September. A thicket shrub for dry or wet ground, sun or shade.
Hop Hornbeam
Ostrya virginianaMedium treeZones 3–925–40 ft
A tough, shade-tolerant tree of dry upland woods with shreddy bark and hop-like seed clusters.
Inkberry
Ilex glabraShrubZones 4–105–10 ft
An evergreen holly with glossy, spineless leaves for hedges and screens on damp, acid ground, and black berries all winter on female plants.
Littlehip Hawthorn
Crataegus spathulataSmall treeZones 5–910–26 ft
A slow, small tree prized for its peeling bark of gray, orange, olive and brown, with tiny spoon-shaped leaves, white spring flowers and red haws.
Mapleleaf Viburnum
Viburnum acerifoliumShrubZones 3–83–6 ft
A small viburnum for shade, with maple-shaped leaves that turn pink, magenta and purple in fall and blue-black berries for birds.
Mountain Bush-honeysuckle
Diervilla rivularisShrubZones 5–83–6 ft
A rare, colony-forming shrub of southern Appalachian bluffs, with clusters of pale yellow summer flowers, hairy leaves and yellow and red fall color.
Mountain Camellia (Mountain Stewartia)
Stewartia ovataSmall treeZones 5–810–20 ft
Large white camellia-like flowers in July on a rare Appalachian small tree with orange-red fall color.
Mountain Doghobble
Leucothoe fontanesianaShrubZones 4–83–6 ft
Arching evergreen stems hung with sprays of waxy white bells in spring, from the thicket shrub of southern Appalachian stream banks.
Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifoliaShrubZones 4–95–12 ft
Native evergreen with clusters of origami-like pink and white flowers in June and twisted, sculptural trunks.
Mountain Maple
Acer spicatumSmall treeZones 2–710–25 ft
A shade-loving small maple with upright spikes of tiny flowers in early summer and leaves that turn yellow, orange and red in fall.
Mountain Sweetbells
Eubotrys recurvaShrubZones 5–93–12 ft
Arching sprays of white bells on bare red twigs in spring and red leaves in fall, on a deciduous mountain shrub of the southern Appalachians.
Mountain Winterberry
Ilex montanaSmall treeZones 5–1020–40 ft
A deciduous holly of moist Appalachian slopes, with leaves up to 6 inches long and red fruit larger than most hollies bear, a favorite of birds.
Nannyberry
Viburnum lentagoShrubZones 2–812–18 ft
A big, adaptable viburnum with creamy flowers, edible blue-black fruit and wine-red fall color.
Ohio Buckeye
Aesculus glabraMedium treeZones 3–720–40 ft
Ohio's state tree, among the first to leaf out, with upright clusters of greenish yellow flowers and glossy brown buckeyes in prickly husks.
Pagoda Dogwood
Cornus alternifoliaSmall treeZones 3–815–25 ft
A small dogwood with branches held in flat tiers like a pagoda, cream flower clusters in late spring and blue-black fruit on red stalks.
Pawpaw
Asimina trilobaSmall treeZones 5–915–30 ft
The largest native fruit in North America, custard-sweet and tropical, on an understory tree of rich bottomlands.
Pear Hawthorn
Crataegus calpodendronSmall treeZones 4–87–23 ft
One of the last hawthorns to bloom and one of the most shade-tolerant, a vase-shaped small tree with white flowers into June and small orange-red haws.
Piedmont Rhododendron
Rhododendron minusShrubZones 5–83–10 ft
One of the smaller evergreen rhododendrons, with trusses of pink to white flowers in spring and a heat tolerance few rhododendrons match.
Pinxterbloom Azalea
Rhododendron periclymenoidesShrubZones 4–93–6 ft
Fragrant pink trumpets open on bare branches in April for bumble bees, hummingbirds and swallowtails. The deciduous wild azalea of Mid-Atlantic woods.
Plumleaf Azalea
Rhododendron prunifoliumShrubZones 5–98–12 ft
Orange-red to red azalea flowers in July and August, after most wild azaleas are done, on a rare shrub of Georgia and Alabama ravines.
Possumhaw Viburnum
Viburnum nudumShrubZones 5–95–12 ft
A glossy-leaved viburnum for wet ground whose berries turn pink, blue and purplish black, often all at once in the same cluster.
Red Buckeye
Aesculus paviaSmall treeZones 4–910–25 ft
A small buckeye for part shade whose upright clusters of tubular red flowers open in early spring, in time for the returning hummingbirds.
Red Elderberry
Sambucus racemosaShrubZones 3–78–12 ft
Cone-shaped white flowers in April and glowing red berries by June, the earliest berry crop for birds.
Red Mulberry
Morus rubraMedium treeZones 4–935–50 ft
The native mulberry, with big sandpapery leaves and long, sweet, dark fruit that birds and people fight over.
Red Osier Dogwood
Cornus sericeaShrubZones 2–76–12 ft
A fast, thicket-forming shrub of wet ground whose young stems turn bright red after the leaves fall and glow against snow all winter.
Rosebay Rhododendron
Rhododendron maximumShrubZones 3–710–15 ft
The great evergreen rhododendron of Appalachian stream valleys, with pink-white trusses in July.
Roughleaf Dogwood
Cornus drummondiiShrubZones 5–86–15 ft
A fast thicket dogwood for dry or wet ground, with creamy flowers in late spring and white berries that dozens of kinds of birds eat.
Roundleaf Dogwood
Cornus rugosaShrubZones 2–83–10 ft
A shade-tolerant northern dogwood with nearly round, wrinkled leaves, flat clusters of white flowers and pale blue berries on red stalks.
Silverleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea radiataShrubZones 3–93–6 ft
White lacecap flowers from May into July over leaves that flash silver in the wind, on a woodland shrub of the southern Blue Ridge.
Softleaf Arrowwood
Viburnum molleShrubZones 5–76–12 ft
A rare arrowwood of wooded limestone bluffs, with loose, peeling bark on its older stems and flat clusters of white flowers in May and June.
Spicebush
Lindera benzoinShrubZones 4–96–12 ft
Yellow flowers in March, spicy-scented leaves, red berries for thrushes and the host plant of the spicebush swallowtail.
Squashberry
Viburnum eduleShrubZones 2–82–7 ft
A northern viburnum with lobed leaves that turn brilliant red in fall and sour red fruit for jam, for cool, moist woods and stream banks.
Striped Maple
Acer pensylvanicumSmall treeZones 3–715–35 ft
A small maple for deep, cool shade, with green bark striped in white and big three-lobed leaves that turn bright yellow in fall.
Sugarberry
Celtis laevigataLarge treeZones 5–1050–80 ft
The hackberry of southern bottomlands, a fast shade tree for wet or dry ground, with warty gray bark and sweet fruit that birds eat into winter.
Swamp Doghobble
Eubotrys racemosaShrubZones 5–94–10 ft
Arching sprays of white bell flowers in May on a deciduous heath shrub for wet, acid ground in sun or part shade.
Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)
Clethra alnifoliaShrubZones 4–94–8 ft
Spires of intensely fragrant white flowers in August, when almost nothing else is blooming, and bees know it.
Sweetshrub
Calycanthus floridusShrubZones 4–96–12 ft
A shrub for sun or deep shade whose maroon spring flowers smell of strawberry, pineapple and banana.
Two-wing Silverbell
Halesia dipteraSmall treeZones 4–915–30 ft
White bells in spring and two-winged fruit in fall, on a small tree of southern floodplains that takes shade and wet ground.
Umbrella Magnolia
Magnolia tripetalaSmall treeZones 4–915–30 ft
Leaves up to 2 feet long gather at each branch tip like the ribs of an umbrella, around creamy white flowers up to 10 inches across.
Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginicaShrubZones 5–93–6 ft
Fragrant white flower spikes in June, red and gold fall leaves that hang on into winter, and roots that are happy in wet ground.
Wild Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescensShrubZones 3–93–6 ft
A woodland shrub that blooms on new stems even when cut to the ground each winter, with broad heads of creamy white flowers in early summer.
Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginianaShrubZones 3–812–20 ft
The last flower of the year: ribbon-like yellow blooms in November as the golden leaves fall.
Alabama Azalea
Rhododendron alabamenseShrubZones 6–94–6 ft
White flowers with a lemon-yellow blotch and a lemon scent in April and May, on what may be the most fragrant of the wild azaleas.
Alabama Croton
Croton alabamensisShrubZones 6–85–10 ft
One of the rarest shrubs in the country, its apple-scented leaves silver beneath and its oldest leaves pumpkin orange in fall.
American Snowbell
Styrax americanusShrubZones 6–106–15 ft
Fragrant white bells with swept-back petals cover a slender native shrub in spring, for wet woods, pond edges and shady, acid ground.
Bigleaf Snowbell
Styrax grandifoliusShrubZones 6–98–20 ft
Leaves up to 8 inches long and sprays of fragrant white bells in April and May, on a native shrub for shady, well-drained woods.
Carolina Hemlock
Tsuga carolinianaMedium treeZones 6–740–60 ft
A rare hemlock of Appalachian cliffs, its glossy dark needles set all around each twig like a bottlebrush, for shade and cool, moist soil.
Cinnamon Clethra
Clethra acuminataShrubZones 6–78–20 ft
Peeling cinnamon-red bark and drooping spikes of spicy, fragrant white flowers in summer, on a tall shrub of Appalachian mountain slopes.
Florida Anise
Illicium floridanumShrubZones 6–106–10 ft
A fast-growing evergreen for shade and wet ground, with leaves that smell of anise when crushed and nodding, dark red spring flowers.
Florida Yew
Taxus floridanaSmall treeZones 6–1012–25 ft
A rare yew of the Apalachicola River ravines, a bushy evergreen small tree for shade in warm Southern gardens, with red fruit on female trees.
Hobblebush
Viburnum lantanoidesShrubZones 3–63–12 ft
A shade shrub of cool northern woods with lacy white flower heads in spring and big heart-shaped leaves that turn bronze-red and purple in fall.
Oconee Azalea
Rhododendron flammeumShrubZones 6–96–8 ft
Scarlet, orange-red or orange flowers in April and May, among the brightest of all American azaleas, on a heat-tolerant shrub of Georgia and South Carolina.
Painted Buckeye
Aesculus sylvaticaSmall treeZones 6–810–20 ft
A small buckeye for part shade, with upright flower clusters in yellow, cream or pink that feed hummingbirds on their spring migration.
Red Hills Azalea
Rhododendron colemaniiShrubZones 6–98–20 ft
Fragrant white or pink azalea flowers in May, after the leaves are out, on a rare wild shrub of the Red Hills of Alabama and Georgia.
Silky Camellia
Stewartia malacodendronSmall treeZones 6–910–15 ft
White flowers about 3 inches across, with purple stamens and blue anthers, on a rare shrub of southern coastal plain woods.
Strawberry Bush
Euonymus americanusShrubZones 6–94–6 ft
Warty crimson capsules split open in fall to show orange-red seeds, on a slender woodland shrub with square green stems.
Yellow Anise
Illicium parviflorumShrubZones 6–1010–20 ft
A rare Florida evergreen for shade and wet ground, with olive green leaves that smell of licorice when crushed and nodding pale yellow flowers.
Pyramid Magnolia
Magnolia pyramidataSmall treeZones 6–910–30 ft
A rare magnolia of southern bluffs and ravines, with creamy white flowers 5 to 7 inches across and kite-shaped leaves eared at the base.
Narrow the list to 12 or fewer and we can email you when any of them is ready to order.
Be first
Email me when any of these is ready to order
For : one email per plant when it is priced or back in stock, and nothing else. Each carries a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax.
How the matching works
- Zone. A tree or shrub is listed when your zone is inside its hardiness range.
- Mature size. The type the catalog gives each one, as in the shop's size boxes.
- Height limit. Those whose typical mature height tops out at or under the limit, or at 60 ft or more for its last step. The article on small trees for a small yard says how far each goes from a house or a line.
- Sun and soil. What each one is known to tolerate, counting the labels for shade, wet ground and drought.
- Must have. Every trait you tick, all at once.
- Counts. The number beside each box and each choice is how many would remain if you chose it too.
- Best fit first. Trees and shrubs that list your sun and soil outright come before those that only tolerate them. Within that, those with your zone in the middle of their range come before those at its edge.
- Ties. Those that can be ordered now come first, then those with a photo, then the rest by name.
- ZIP code. It sets the zone from the same listing as the ZIP code tool, and the code itself is not kept.
- Compare. Tick Compare on up to four cards, then press Compare side by side for their facts in one table above the list. The trees stay in it while the filters change, and the address carries them, so a copied link opens the table.
- Hedge spacing. On a Hedge or screen list each card gives the spacing its own page sets. A hedge length gives how many to set in one straight row, with one at each end. The article on hedges, screens and windbreaks covers staggered rows.
The address carries every choice, so a copied link opens the same list. The page draws that list before any script runs, so a shared link and the page's Markdown copy show the trees and shrubs themselves. These are its keys:
- zone: 2 to 10.
- size: shrub, small-tree, medium-tree or large-tree.
- height: 15, 20, 30, 40 or 60 for a top height at or under that many feet, or 60-plus.
- sun: full, part or shade. moisture: dry, average or wet.
- want: one or more traits joined by commas, such as want=evergreen,screening. The boxes are flowers, fall-color, winter-interest, wildlife, honey, edible, evergreen, rare, early-bearing, screening, nitrogen-fixing, salt, street-tree and erosion-control. The address also takes drought, wet-tolerant and shade.
- hedge: a hedge length in feet, read when screening is wanted. sort: name, height, hardy or fast, or the price orders once prices are set.
- compare: up to four plant page names joined by commas, such as compare=black-gum,pawpaw, for the table side by side.
Each tree's facts come from its own page: its zones, mature height, sun, soil, labels and hedge spacing. The 20 and 40 ft height steps are the International Society of Arboriculture's zones by overhead wires (Avoiding Tree & Utility Conflicts, 2021). Within 15 feet of distribution wires, the species chosen "should have a mature height of 20 feet (6 meters) or lower". From 15 to 50 feet out, it should have "a potential mature height of 40 feet (12 meters) or lower". The planting-site check follows the same zones. The 30 ft step is the small-tree ceiling the growth estimator uses for its generic small tree. Virginia Cooperative Extension draws the low zone wider, to 20 feet from the line, where "trees in the low zone should not exceed 25 feet at maturity" (Selecting and Managing Trees to Avoid Conflicts with Overhead Utility Lines, 2024). Under the line itself it suggests large shrubs with "a mature height of less than 15 feet", the limit's first step. A ZIP code's zone is the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map's ZIP code listing, prepared by the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University.
When nothing fits, the site is usually the problem rather than the catalog: tell us the zone, soil, sun and what the tree needs to do, and we will suggest something.
The address carries the tree finder's inputs, so a link opens it filled in, and Copy link on a result writes one: zone (a whole number from 2 to 10), size (shrub, small-tree, medium-tree or large-tree), height (a mature height to stay under: 15, 20, 30, 40 or 60 feet, or 60-plus), sun (full, part or shade), moisture (dry, average or wet), want (one or more of flowers, fall-color, winter-interest, wildlife, honey, edible, evergreen, rare, early-bearing, screening, nitrogen-fixing, salt, street-tree, erosion-control, shade, wet-tolerant or drought, joined by commas), hedge (a hedge or screen length in feet, for a plant count), sort (featured, name, price-asc, price-desc, height, hardy or fast), compare (the slugs of the plants to compare, joined by commas). For example, /tools/tree-finder/?zone=6&size=small-tree&sun=part&moisture=average&want=fall-color.