# Tree finder

> 79 of our 423 trees and shrubs match: erosion control.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/?want=erosion-control

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.

Start from

- [A small tree for shade](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?size=small-tree&sun=shade)
- [A small tree under wires](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?size=small-tree&height=20)
- [An evergreen hedge](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?want=evergreen,screening)
- [Wet ground](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?moisture=wet)
- [Trees for honey bees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?want=honey)

Without JavaScript the list here does not follow the form: it is the list for the choices in the address, or the finder's own example. The [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md) lists the same trees and shrubs with its own filters and works without it. Set your choices below and press "Show these in the shop".

79 of our 423 trees and shrubs match

Matching: Erosion control.

- [Allegheny Chinquapin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/index.html.md) (*Castanea pumila*): Small tree, Zones 5–9, 10–25 ft, Price on request. A shrubby native cousin of the American chestnut, Allegheny chinquapin ripens one sweet nut per small bur and bears within a few years of planting.
- [American Persimmon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-persimmon/index.html.md) (*Diospyros virginiana*): Medium tree, Zones 4–9, 35–60 ft, Price on request. Sweet orange fruit after frost, blocky alligator bark and a tree that grows nearly anywhere.
- [American Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus americana*): Small tree, Zones 3–8, 15–25 ft, Price on request. A thicket-forming wild plum for dry banks and wet ground alike, with fragrant white spring bloom and tart red-yellow fruit for jelly and wildlife.
- [Arrowwood Viburnum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/arrowwood-viburnum/index.html.md) (*Viburnum dentatum*): Shrub, Zones 2–8, 5–10 ft, Price on request. 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.
- [Bald Cypress](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bald-cypress/index.html.md) (*Taxodium distichum*): Large tree, Zones 4–10, 50–80 ft, Price on request. The swamp conifer that also thrives on dry lawns, with feathery foliage that turns rust-orange in fall.
- [Balsam Poplar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/balsam-poplar/index.html.md) (*Populus balsamifera*): Large tree, Zones 2–5, 30–100 ft, Price on request. The northernmost American hardwood, a fast poplar for wet ground whose sticky spring buds fill the air with the scent of balm of Gilead.
- [Beach Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/beach-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus maritima*): Shrub, Zones 3–8, 4–8 ft, Price on request. The dune plum of the Atlantic coast: salt-proof, drought-proof and covered in white bloom each May.
- [Bebb's Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bebb-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix bebbiana*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 10–25 ft, Price on request. A northern willow of streams and wet meadows, the main source of carved diamond willow, with spring catkins and twigs that moose and deer browse.
- [Black Chokeberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-chokeberry/index.html.md) (*Aronia melanocarpa*): Shrub, Zones 3–8, 3–6 ft, Price on request. White spring flowers, glossy black antioxidant-rich berries and some of the best red fall color of any shrub.
- [Black Elderberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-elderberry/index.html.md) (*Sambucus canadensis*): Shrub, Zones 3–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Broad white flower plates in June, purple-black berries in August, and a magnet for dozens of bird species.
- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*): Large tree, Zones 4–9, 40–70 ft, Price on request. Blazing scarlet fall color, superb bee forage, and one of the longest-lived hardwoods in the East.
- [Black Huckleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-huckleberry/index.html.md) (*Gaylussacia baccata*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 1–3 ft, Price on request. A low, colony-forming shrub of dry acid woods with sweet, seedy black berries and crimson fall leaves.
- [Black Locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-locust/index.html.md) (*Robinia pseudoacacia*): Large tree, Zones 4–8, 40–70 ft, Price on request. Fragrant white flower clusters in May, the source of the lightest and most prized honey in the East.
- [Bottlebrush Buckeye](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bottlebrush-buckeye/index.html.md) (*Aesculus parviflora*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 8–12 ft, Price on request. 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.
- [Bristly Locust (Rose Locust)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/rose-locust/index.html.md) (*Robinia hispida*): Shrub, Zones 5–8, 3–8 ft, Price on request. Rose-pink wisteria-like flowers in May on a suckering, nitrogen-fixing shrub for dry banks.
- [Buttonbush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/buttonbush/index.html.md) (*Cephalanthus occidentalis*): Shrub, Zones 4–10, 5–12 ft, Price on request. A wetland shrub for pond edges and rain gardens, with round white pincushion flowers in summer that draw bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
- [Canada Yew](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/canada-yew/index.html.md) (*Taxus canadensis*): Shrub, Zones 2–7, 3–6 ft, Price on request. A low, sprawling evergreen for deep shade whose branches root as they spread, with bright red, berry-like fruit that birds eat.
- [Carolina Jessamine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/carolina-jessamine/index.html.md) (*Gelsemium sempervirens*): Shrub, Zones 6–10, 10–20 ft, Price on request. A native evergreen vine that twines up a fence or arbor and covers itself in fragrant yellow trumpets from late winter into spring.
- [Chickasaw Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chickasaw-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus angustifolia*): Small tree, Zones 5–9, 4–20 ft, Price on request. A thicket-forming wild plum that flowers white in late winter, before its leaves, and ripens tart red or yellow plums for jelly in early summer.
- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): Small tree, Zones 2–10, 20–30 ft, Price on request. A tough, thicket-forming native cherry with fragrant white flower spikes in spring and dark red to black cherries for jelly, syrup and birds.
- [Climbing Prairie Rose](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/climbing-prairie-rose/index.html.md) (*Rosa setigera*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 3–15 ft, Price on request. A native rose with long arching canes, rose-pink flowers that fade toward white in early summer, red hips for birds and bright fall leaves.
- [Clove Currant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/clove-currant/index.html.md) (*Ribes aureum var. villosum*): Shrub, Zones 2–7, 3–10 ft, Price on request. A thornless Plains currant whose golden yellow spring flowers smell of cloves, followed by sweet black berries for jam, jelly and pie.
- [Cockspur Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cockspur-hawthorn/index.html.md) (*Crataegus crus-galli*): Small tree, Zones 3–8, 20–30 ft, Price on request. A flat-topped native hawthorn with thorns 2 to 3 inches long, white flowers in May and June, and dull red haws that often hang on until January.
- [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis occidentalis*): Large tree, Zones 3–9, 40–60 ft, Price on request. 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 Juniper](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-juniper/index.html.md) (*Juniperus communis*): Shrub, Zones 2–9, 2–10 ft, Price on request. A hardy, spreading evergreen shrub with sharp, silver-banded needles in threes and blue berrylike cones, for poor, dry, sunny ground.
- [Creeping Juniper](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/creeping-juniper/index.html.md) (*Juniperus horizontalis*): Shrub, Zones 2–9, 1–2 ft, Price on request. A slow, mat-forming evergreen of northern dunes, rocky shores and prairie slopes, with blue-green scale leaves that turn purplish in winter.
- [Downy Serviceberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/downy-serviceberry/index.html.md) (*Amelanchier arborea*): Small tree, Zones 4–9, 15–25 ft, Price on request. First to bloom in the woods, first fruit of summer, and orange-red fall color. A four-season small tree.
- [Dwarf Chinquapin Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-chinquapin-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus prinoides*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 6–15 ft, Price on request. A true shrub oak that starts dropping sweet, low-tannin acorns within a few years of planting.
- [Eastern Red Cedar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-red-cedar/index.html.md) (*Juniperus virginiana*): Medium tree, Zones 2–9, 30–50 ft, Price on request. A tough evergreen for windbreaks and screens on dry, poor ground, whose frosted blue cones on female trees feed cedar waxwings and other birds all winter.
- [Florida Leucothoe](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-leucothoe/index.html.md) (*Agarista populifolia*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 8–12 ft, Price on request. A tall evergreen for shady stream banks, with arching stems, red new leaves and fragrant white bells hanging beneath the branches in spring.
- [Fragrant Sumac](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/fragrant-sumac/index.html.md) (*Rhus aromatica*): Shrub, Zones 3–9, 2–6 ft, Price on request. A low, thicket-forming sumac for dry banks, with lemon-scented leaves, fuzzy red fruit for birds and orange to red fall color.
- [Gray Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/gray-dogwood/index.html.md) (*Cornus racemosa*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 4–10 ft, Price on request. 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.
- [Green Alder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/green-alder/index.html.md) (*Alnus viridis*): Shrub, Zones 2–8, 3–14 ft, Price on request. The alder of the far North, a spreading, nitrogen-fixing shrub for stream banks and poor, gravelly ground, with catkins that open with the leaves.
- [Indigobush (False Indigo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/indigobush/index.html.md) (*Amorpha fruticosa*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Purple flower spikes with orange stamens in June, on a nitrogen-fixing shrub for streambanks and hot dry edges.
- [Inkberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/inkberry/index.html.md) (*Ilex glabra*): Shrub, Zones 4–10, 5–10 ft, Price on request. An evergreen holly with glossy, spineless leaves for hedges and screens on damp, acid ground, and black berries all winter on female plants.
- [Kentucky Coffeetree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/kentucky-coffeetree/index.html.md) (*Gymnocladus dioicus*): Large tree, Zones 3–8, 60–80 ft, Price on request. Bold, coarse and nearly indestructible: a rare native shade tree for tough sites and cold climates.
- [Leadplant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/leadplant/index.html.md) (*Amorpha canescens*): Shrub, Zones 2–8, 1–3 ft, Price on request. A prairie sub-shrub with silver leaves and purple summer spikes, rooted deep against drought.
- [Longleaf Pine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/longleaf-pine/index.html.md) (*Pinus palustris*): Large tree, Zones 7–10, 60–120 ft, Price on request. The great pine of the southern sandhills, with needles up to 18 inches long and a grass stage that hides it for years, for sun and dry, sandy ground.
- [Mayhaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mayhaw/index.html.md) (*Crataegus aestivalis*): Small tree, Zones 4–10, 10–40 ft, Price on request. A thorny native hawthorn of southern swamps that flowers white in late winter and ripens tart red fruit in May, the fruit of mayhaw jelly.
- [Mountain Doghobble](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-doghobble/index.html.md) (*Leucothoe fontanesiana*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 3–6 ft, Price on request. Arching evergreen stems hung with sprays of waxy white bells in spring, from the thicket shrub of southern Appalachian stream banks.
- [Mountain Maple](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-maple/index.html.md) (*Acer spicatum*): Small tree, Zones 2–7, 10–25 ft, Price on request. A shade-loving small maple with upright spikes of tiny flowers in early summer and leaves that turn yellow, orange and red in fall.
- [Myrtle Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/myrtle-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus myrtifolia*): Small tree, Zones 7–10, 15–40 ft, Price on request. An evergreen oak of the southern coastal scrub, with small, glossy leaves the year round, that takes dry sand, salt wind and drought.
- [New Jersey Tea](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/new-jersey-tea/index.html.md) (*Ceanothus americanus*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 2–3 ft, Price on request. A knee-high shrub for dry, poor ground, with fragrant white flower clusters in June that feed azures, hairstreaks and two bees that use almost nothing else.
- [Ninebark](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/ninebark/index.html.md) (*Physocarpus opulifolius*): Shrub, Zones 2–8, 5–10 ft, Price on request. Peeling bark, white flower balls in June, and a constitution that shrugs off drought, flood and cold.
- [Northern Bayberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-bayberry/index.html.md) (*Morella pensylvanica*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 5–10 ft, Price on request. Waxy gray berries hold above the snow all winter for yellow-rumped warblers, tree swallows and quail. A salt-tolerant shrub that fixes its own nitrogen.
- [Northern Snowberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-snowberry/index.html.md) (*Symphoricarpos occidentalis*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 1–5 ft, Price on request. A tough native shrub of the northern prairies that spreads into low thickets, with pink summer flowers and greenish-white berries that hang on into winter.
- [Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pawpaw/index.html.md) (*Asimina triloba*): Small tree, Zones 5–9, 15–30 ft, Price on request. The largest native fruit in North America, custard-sweet and tropical, on an understory tree of rich bottomlands.
- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): Medium tree, Zones 2–8, 35–60 ft, Price on request. The tallest native willow of the prairie states, a fast tree for stream banks and wet ground with peach-like leaves that are whitish beneath.
- [Pear Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pear-hawthorn/index.html.md) (*Crataegus calpodendron*): Small tree, Zones 4–8, 7–23 ft, Price on request. 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.
- [Pin Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pin-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus pensylvanica*): Small tree, Zones 2–7, 15–40 ft, Price on request. A fast pioneer cherry that springs up after fire, with white spring flowers, shiny red-brown bark and sour red cherries for dozens of birds.
- [Red Chokeberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-chokeberry/index.html.md) (*Aronia arbutifolia*): Shrub, Zones 3–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. A tall, suckering shrub of bogs and swamps with white spring flowers, glossy red fruit that hangs into winter and blazing red fall leaves.
- [Red Elderberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-elderberry/index.html.md) (*Sambucus racemosa*): Shrub, Zones 3–7, 8–12 ft, Price on request. Cone-shaped white flowers in April and glowing red berries by June, the earliest berry crop for birds.
- [Red Osier Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-osier-dogwood/index.html.md) (*Cornus sericea*): Shrub, Zones 2–7, 6–12 ft, Price on request. A fast, thicket-forming shrub of wet ground whose young stems turn bright red after the leaves fall and glow against snow all winter.
- [Red Pine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-pine/index.html.md) (*Pinus resinosa*): Large tree, Zones 2–5, 50–80 ft, Price on request. A tall, straight northern pine with reddish, plated bark and long needles in pairs, for windbreaks on dry, sandy ground where summers stay cool.
- [River Birch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/river-birch/index.html.md) (*Betula nigra*): Medium tree, Zones 3–9, 40–70 ft, Price on request. A fast birch for wet ground and southern heat, with salmon to cinnamon bark that peels in papery curls and shows all winter.
- [Roughleaf Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/roughleaf-dogwood/index.html.md) (*Cornus drummondii*): Shrub, Zones 5–8, 6–15 ft, Price on request. 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.
- [Sand Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sand-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus pumila*): Shrub, Zones 3–6, 1–8 ft, Price on request. A low, tough shrub of dunes, beaches and sandy prairies, with white spring flowers and purple-black cherries for jam from its second or third year.
- [Sand Live Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sand-live-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus geminata*): Small tree, Zones 7–10, 20–50 ft, Price on request. A smaller, tougher cousin of live oak for deep, dry sand, evergreen and wind-firm, with acorns that often hang in pairs.
- [Sand Post Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sand-post-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus margaretta*): Small tree, Zones 6–9, 15–40 ft, Price on request. A compact post oak of deep coastal-plain sands, built for drought and heat.
- [Saskatoon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/saskatoon/index.html.md) (*Amelanchier alnifolia*): Shrub, Zones 2–9, 3–26 ft, Price on request. A suckering shrub of the northern Plains and the West, with fragrant white flowers in spring and sweet purple-black berries for pies and jam.
- [Saw Palmetto](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/saw-palmetto/index.html.md) (*Serenoa repens*): Shrub, Zones 8–10, 3–8 ft, Price on request. A low, creeping palm with stiff fans on saw-toothed stalks, fragrant flowers for bees and fruit for bears, deer and birds.
- [Silky Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/silky-dogwood/index.html.md) (*Cornus amomum*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Creamy flower clusters in June, porcelain-blue berries in September and purple-red winter stems for wet spots.
- [Smooth Alder (Swamp Alder)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/smooth-alder/index.html.md) (*Alnus serrulata*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 10–20 ft, Price on request. A nitrogen-fixing streambank shrub that holds soil, feeds woodcock and grouse, and thrives in standing water.
- [Southern Bush-honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/southern-bush-honeysuckle/index.html.md) (*Diervilla sessilifolia*): Shrub, Zones 4–8, 3–5 ft, Price on request. A tough, suckering native shrub of southern mountain balds and rocky slopes, with clusters of sulfur-yellow summer flowers for bumble bees.
- [Southern Catalpa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/southern-catalpa/index.html.md) (*Catalpa bignonioides*): Medium tree, Zones 5–9, 30–60 ft, Price on request. Upright clusters of white flowers spotted purple and yellow in May and June, then long bean-like pods, on the fast-growing catalpa native to the Gulf states.
- [Spicebush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/spicebush/index.html.md) (*Lindera benzoin*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 6–12 ft, Price on request. Yellow flowers in March, spicy-scented leaves, red berries for thrushes and the host plant of the spicebush swallowtail.
- [Staghorn Sumac](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/staghorn-sumac/index.html.md) (*Rhus typhina*): Shrub, Zones 3–8, 15–25 ft, Price on request. Fuzzy antler-like branches, fiery orange-red fall color and red fruit cones that feed birds through the winter.
- [Swamp Doghobble](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-doghobble/index.html.md) (*Eubotrys racemosa*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 4–10 ft, Price on request. Arching sprays of white bell flowers in May on a deciduous heath shrub for wet, acid ground in sun or part shade.
- [Swamp Privet](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-privet/index.html.md) (*Forestiera acuminata*): Small tree, Zones 6–9, 8–30 ft, Price on request. A native of swamps and wet woods whose yellow flowers open on bare branches in early spring, followed on female trees by purple fruit that ducks eat.
- [Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sweet-pepperbush/index.html.md) (*Clethra alnifolia*): Shrub, Zones 4–9, 4–8 ft, Price on request. Spires of intensely fragrant white flowers in August, when almost nothing else is blooming, and bees know it.
- [Table Mountain Pine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/table-mountain-pine/index.html.md) (*Pinus pungens*): Small tree, Zones 5–7, 20–40 ft, Price on request. A gnarled Appalachian ridge pine that grows like a giant bonsai, its cones armed with hooked spines, for dry, rocky ground in full sun.
- [Trumpet Creeper](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/trumpet-creeper/index.html.md) (*Campsis radicans*): Shrub, Zones 4–10, 30–40 ft, Price on request. A fast native vine whose orange-red trumpets draw hummingbirds all summer, for a sturdy arbor or fence where its root suckers can be kept in check.
- [Virginia Creeper](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/virginia-creeper/index.html.md) (*Parthenocissus quinquefolia*): Shrub, Zones 3–10, 30–50 ft, Price on request. A fast native vine that climbs by sticky pads, turns crimson early in fall and feeds birds through the winter with blue-black berries.
- [Virginia Spiraea](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/virginia-spiraea/index.html.md) (*Spiraea virginiana*): Shrub, Zones 6–7, 3–13 ft, Price on request. A rare Appalachian streambank shrub with arching stems and flat clusters of tiny cream-white flowers in early summer, spreading into thickets.
- [Virginia Sweetspire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/virginia-sweetspire/index.html.md) (*Itea virginica*): Shrub, Zones 5–9, 3–6 ft, Price on request. Fragrant white flower spikes in June, red and gold fall leaves that hang on into winter, and roots that are happy in wet ground.
- [Water Locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/water-locust/index.html.md) (*Gleditsia aquatica*): Medium tree, Zones 6–10, 40–60 ft, Price on request. A thorny swamp cousin of honeylocust for floodplains that stay under water for long spells, with small, flat pods holding one to three seeds.
- [Willow Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/willow-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus phellos*): Large tree, Zones 5–9, 40–75 ft, Price on request. A fast, long-lived red oak with narrow leaves like a willow's, for moist ground and city streets, that bears small acorns nearly every year.
- [Woolly Beach Heather](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/woolly-beach-heather/index.html.md) (*Hudsonia tomentosa*): Shrub, Zones 2–8, 1–2 ft, Price on request. A gray, woolly evergreen mat of dunes and sand barrens that covers itself in tiny yellow flowers from May into July.
- [Creek Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/creek-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus rivularis*): Small tree, Zones 7–8, 3–25 ft, Price on request. A thorny wild plum that suckers into thickets along streams, with fragrant white flowers before the leaves and red or yellow plums in late summer.

Ask what is ready: [put the first 12 on my request list](https://bluewhaletrees.com/list/#items=allegheny-chinquapin:1,american-persimmon:1,american-plum:1,arrowwood-viburnum:1,bald-cypress:1,balsam-poplar:1,beach-plum:1,bebb-willow:1,black-chokeberry:1,black-elderberry:1,black-gum:1,black-huckleberry:1).

## 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-native-trees-for-small-yards/index.html.md) 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-hedges-screens-and-windbreaks/index.html.md) covers staggered rows.

## Common questions

### Which native tree is best for my yard?

In the finder's list the best fit comes first: trees and shrubs whose pages list your sun and soil outright, then those that only tolerate them. Within each group, those with your zone in the middle of their range come before those at its edge.

### Can the tree finder identify a tree from a leaf or photo?

No: the finder lists native trees and shrubs to plant, matched to your zone, size, sun and soil. To name a tree you found, use the [tree identification](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/identify/index.html.md) tool, which names it from a photo of a leaf, the bark, a twig, fruit or a flower.

### What tree can I plant close to my house?

Set the finder's height limit to the room you have: it matches the top of each species' typical mature height. Our article on [small trees for a small yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-native-trees-for-small-yards/index.html.md) says how far each one goes from a house.

### What trees can I plant under power lines?

Within 15 feet of the wires, the International Society of Arboriculture says a tree should mature at 20 feet or lower. Virginia Cooperative Extension allows trees to 25 feet within 20 feet of the wires, and suggests large shrubs under 15 feet directly under them.

### How many trees or shrubs do I need for a hedge?

Divide the hedge's length by the spacing, round down and add one, since a straight row has one at each end: a 40-foot hedge at 4 feet apart takes 11. On its Hedge or screen list, the finder gives each species the spacing its own page sets.

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](https://www.treesaregood.org/Portals/0/TreesAreGood_Avoid%20Utility%20Conflict_0621.pdf), 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md) 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](https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-029/430-029.html), 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/support/index.html.md#contact) 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?zone=6&size=small-tree&sun=part&moisture=average&want=fall-color).