Alternative Names: Eastern Ninebark, Common Ninebark Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius Description: Clusters of white to off-white flowers in early summer; clusters of fruit taking on a pinkish to flesh color in mid-late summer; autumn color is a poor yellow. If given enough room, it can become quite large, up to 10 ft, with arching branches. Fast growing. Habitat: Found on moist soils in thickets, along streams in sand or gravel bars, and on rocky slopes and bluffs. It tends to grow on well-drained soil though it may be near the water table. It is adaptable to many soil conditions and will tolerate wet and dry sites. Grows in full sun to partial shade. Uses: Effective as a hedge, screen or for erosion control on banks. Wildlife Uses: Flowers of ninebark are an excellent nectar source, and the fruits are eaten by many species of birds. Planting Advice: Annual pruning is needed to keep the plant in good shape.
Silky Dogwood Cornus amomum Description: A large shrub with mature height of 6-10 ft. The growth habit is upright and rounded. Young dogwoods have bright red stems in the fall, winter, and early spring, which turn reddish-brown in the summer. Yellowishwhite flowers bloom in mid-june. Habitat: Performs best in soils that are moist, somewhat poorly drained. Tolerant of shade. Easy to grow and widely adaptable. Uses: The primary use of this species is for field and farmstead windbreaks and wildlife borders. It is also used for streambank protection. Other beneficial uses are for fish and wildlife habitat improvement, slope stabilization, borders, and as an ornamental. Red fall color adds another season of interest. Wildlife Uses: Flowers are a favorite nectar source for butterflies and attracts honeybees. Planting Advice: Plant in low areas that are difficult to find good plantings for. Interesting Fact: Dogwood attracts more than 45 different kinds of song and game birds in late summer and fall.
Woods Rose Rosa woodsii Alternative Names: wild rose, mountain rose, pearhip rose, prairie rose, Tehachapi rose, western wild rose Description: much-branched shrub, 2 to 10 feet tall, often growing in dense thickets. Stems are red and prickled on their lower portions, though not as prickled as other wild roses. The light to dark pink flowers bloom May through July. Habitat: Widely adapted and grows in many habitat types. It is native to open woods, plains, stream banks, and stony slopes. It is an understory plant in dry and moist forest communities. It is adapted to medium and coarse textured soils with a ph that is moderately acidic to slightly basic (5-8). It grows in sun, part shade and shade. Uses: this attractive shrub can be incorporated into landscape areas. Ideal for revegetating disturbed sites because it produces rhizomes and it regenerates quickly with excellent survivability. Wildlife Uses: Roses produce small amounts of nectar, so the primary insect pollinators of roses are bees gathering pollen. The hips remain on the plant throughout the winter, and are eaten by insects, birds, small mammals, and large mammals. The branches provide cover for many birds. Planting Advice: It will spread by suckers and rhizomes and should not be planted where that may become a problem.
Antanovka Apple Malus antonovka Description: A late-fall or early winter apple with strong acid flavor that have been popular in Russia as well as in Poland. Its popularity is explained by the trees ability to sustain long harsh winters and for its fruit preservation qualities. Due to the relatively low ration of sugars in the fruit, the apples are especially well-suited for apple pies and apple wine. Use: Very heavy fruit production after 5 years, excellent for food plot and shelterbelt plantings as well as eating. Habitat: Apples like light, fertile soils and a south-facing slope if available. They grow faster on well drained, sandy loam soil. They will not grow in wet, heavy clay or pure sand. Planting Advise/Up-Keep: Plant apple trees 25 feet apart if they are to be kept well-pruned, 35 feet if they will be allowed to grow to full size. The ideal time to prune apple trees is any time from February through April. Interesting Facts: More than 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the US, but only the crabapple is native to North America. Top apple producers around the world are China, the US, Turkey, Poland and Italy. It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider. Apples originated from the region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
Magenta Crabapple Malus magenta Description: An attractive compact tree, reaching heights up to 30 feet that has ascending reddish-brown branches and a symmetrical pyramidal or rounded crown. The leaves are red in the spring and retain a reddish hue for most of the year. Attractive pink flowers cover the tree in May. The fruit is a dark-red pome, ½ in diameter that ripens in October. Highly resistant to cedar-apple rust and fire blight. Use: Can be used for single-row windbreaks and rural roadside beautification cover and for plantings in recreational development. Wildlife Use: Produces an average of 20 pounds of fruit. Enjoyed by many different types of birds. Habitat: Grows well in most kinds of soil although the best performance has been recorded on loam soils. Full to part shade. Planting Advise/Up-Keep: For windbreaks, space 6 to 10 feet apart. Control weeds during the first few years.
Elderberry Sambucus canadensis Alternative Names: Common elderberry, black elder, Mexican elderberry, common elder Description: A loose, graceful, deciduous shrub with both woody and herbaceous branches that can grow up to 12 feet. Many long stems arise from the base, arching at the top. White flowers appear from May to July. The fruit is dark purple when ripe. Individual plants are short-lived, however root masses produce new shoots. Habitat: Alluvial forests, bogs, ditches, drier old fields. Requires part shade. Tolerates a wide variety of wet to dry soils but prefers rich, moist, slightly acidic soils (ph 6.8-7.2) Uses: The fruit makes tasty jelly and wine. Provides effective erosion control on moist sites. Wildlife Uses: The purple-black fruit is attractive to birds that spread the seeds. Planting/Up-keep Advice: Prune heavily in the winter to maintain thick form. Fast grower and aggressive competitor with weeds and herbaceous species. Cutting the whole bush to the ground every other year may be necessary to keep the bushes in check. It can be planted as a hedge or alone. Interesting Fact: The genus name comes from Greek sambuce, an ancient musical instrument, and refers to the soft pith, easily removed from the twigs and used to make flutes and whistles.
Common Lilac Syringa vulgaris Alternative Names: French lilac Description: Grows 8-15 feet tall at maturity and 6-12 feet wide. Large, upright clusters of flowers in late spring with a wide range of flower colors. Habitat: Full sun; moist, well-drained soils are best; tolerates alkaline soils. Does not tolerate poorly drained soils. Uses: Can be used as a windbreak, boarder, hedge, or a screen. A green dye is obtained from the flowers and the leaves and a yellow-orange dye is obtained from the twigs. Oil is obtained from the flowers and used in perfume fragrances. Planting/Up-keep Advice: Pruning can help keep the plant a more desirable height. Prune lilacs just after the flowers are spent so you won t ruin next year s blooming potential. Only prune 1/3 of the shrub each season. Interesting Fact: In the 1500s, the shrub was brought from the Persian Empire to Europe. Settlers brought them to North America. New Hampshire has made it their state flower.
Alternative Names: Red Birch, Black Birch, Water Birch River Birch Betula nigra Description: The gracefully branched birch is a 30-50 ft, usually multi-trunked tree which can reach 90 ft in height. Often slightly leaning and forked tree with irregular, spreading crown. The tree s selling point is its satiny, silver bark that peels to reveal a cinnamon-brown trunk beneath. Fall foliage is yellow. Habitat: Well-suited areas that are periodically wet. It is most common along streams. Shade intolerant. Uses: It has been used for buffers and erosion control. Wildlife Uses: Its young twigs, buds and foliage are browsed by deer; seeds are eaten by grouse, turkeys, small birds, and rodents. Planting/Up-Keep Advice: Fast growing and long-lived that is probably the most troublefree birch. Do not prune until summer when the sap has stopped flowing. Attention to weed control is the most critical factor for rapid establishment.
Sugar Maple Acer saccharinum Other Names: Soft maple, silverleaf maple, white maple, river maple, swamp maple, water maple Uses: Native Americans used the sap for many physical remedies: coughs, cramps, sore eyes, measles, and more. As a food source sap was used for sugar, intoxicants, and bread. The sugar content of the sap is the lowest of the maple species. Silver maple is ideal for riparian forest buffer installations due to its common presence in such sites and its rapid growth and early maturity. It is used for furniture, flooring, wagons, and much more. Description: Can reach mature heights of 90-140 ft. Twigs produce a slightly unpleasant odor when crushed. The bark is gray and thin. They flower in March-April, usually before the red maple. Fruiting occurs in April-June. Habitat: The species is found on stream banks, flood plains, and lake edges. Wildlife Use: The many seeds are eaten by birds, including evening grosbeaks, finches, wild turkeys, ducks, and other game birds. They are also eaten by squirrels and chipmunks. The buds are important food for squirrels when stored food is gone in late winter and early spring. The bark is a food source for beavers and deer. Rabbits browse the foliage. They tend to develop cavities that are used by birds and mammals like raccoons, opossums, and many others.
Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa Alternate Names: Blue oak, mossycup oak, mossy-overcup oak, bur oak, prairie oak Uses: The wood is used for cabinetry, barrels, hardwood flooring, and fence posts. Native Americans have eaten the large, sweet acorns boiled or raw. Wildlife Uses: The acorns are eaten by many birds and mammals. The foliage is eaten by deer and cattle. Red-tailed hawks, screech owls, fox squirrels, and flying squirrels nest in large trees of bur oak. Description: The slow growing large tree is usually wider than tall. The common name, bur, is in reference to the cap-covered acorn. The bark is light gray, thick, and rough. The minimum seed bearing age is 35. Acorns are produced every 2-3 years, with light crops in the intervals. Habitat: The drought tolerant tree grows in a range of habitats and moisture regimes, and is common to dry uplands, sandy plains, and prairie grasslands. Bur oak extends farther north than any other oak species. Interesting Fact: Bur oak has the largest acorns of all North American oak species.
White Spruce Picea glauca Alternate Names: Cat spruce, Canadian spruce, skunk spruce Uses: The wood of white spruce is light, soft, and straight grained. Its primary uses have been for pulpwood, lumber, and furniture. The tough, pliable roots were once used by Native Americans to lace birch bark canoes and to make woven baskets. Wildlife Uses: Important source of food for grouse and seed eating birds. Red squirrels often cut cones as they mature and eat the seeds. Porcupines eat the bark. Description: Medium-sized conifer that often reach 80 140 feet in height. When crushed, the needles have a disagreeable odor, thus, the name of skunk spruce or cat spruce is often used by those familiar with the species. The bark is thin and light grayish-brown. Habitat: Prefers moist, acidic soils that may be organic, sandy, or loamy; the soils that may be well-drained or moderately drained, but not wet. It is adaptable to clay, rocky, poor, dry soils of a range of phs. It grows in full sun to partial sun. Planting/Growing Advice: The shallow, spreading root system benefits from a 3-4 inch layer of organic mulch. Once established it is tolerant of heat, cold, and drought. Interesting Fact: The white spruce can live to be 150-200 years old, but trees up to 1,000 years old have been located north of the Arctic Circle.
White Pine Pinus strobus Alternate Names: Eastern white pine, northern white pine, ship mast pine, Weymouth pine Uses: Used for construction, millwork, trim, and pulpwood. Wildlife Uses: Songbirds, such as the yellow-bellied sapsucker, pine warbler, and red crossbill eat the seeds. Favorite tree for bald eagle nests. Description: Can grow to 75 100 feet, sometimes much taller. Its branches are horizontal and tiered. In dense stands, trees produce tall, cylindrical stems with pyramidal shaped crowns characterized by distinctive, plate like branching. The evergreen needles are in clusters of 5. Habitat: Grows on soils ranging from light, sandy to heavy textured soils, just avoid the extremes of heavy, continually wet soils and gravelly, drought-prone soils. Will grow the fastest in the open, but can tolerate growing under a canopy of other trees. Planting/Growing Advice: White pine seedlings require weed control for the first few years after planting, mechanically or chemically. Interesting Fact: The white pine was the emblem emblazoned on the first colonial flag. This was due to the fact that the King of England assumed ownership of the best white pines due to the trees value in making ship masts, which the American pioneers of the 1700s resented.
Red Pine Pinus resinosa Alternate Names: Norway pine, eastern red pine Uses: wood is moderately hard and straight grained. It is grown for production of wood used for poles, lumber, cabin logs, railway ties, post, pulpwood, and fuel. Can be used as a windbreak. Wildlife Uses: Provides cover for many species of mammals and birds. Deer, cottontails, and snowshoe hares brows and songbirds, mice, and chipmunks feed on the seeds. Description: Grows very rapidly for their first 60 70 years of life. They can live up to 350 years and reach heights of 120 feet. The bark is reddish-brown. The flexible evergreen needles are in clusters of two. The root system is moderately deep, wide spreading, and wind firm. Habitat: Grows best in light, sandy, well-drained soils that are relatively low in nutrients. It does not tolerate shading by other trees. Cold tolerant. Planting/Growing Advice: should not be planted where they will be exposed to de-icing salt spray or in excessively moist soils. Interesting Fact: Extensively planted by the CCC in the early parts of the 20 th century on abandoned agricultural land to control soil erosion and aid in the protection of watersheds. Most natural red pine stands originate after a forest fire.
Black Spruce Picea mariana Alternative Names: Bog spruce, swamp spruce, shortleaf black spruce Uses: The wood is used for pulp. Lumber is of secondary importance because of the small size of the trees. They are also used for fuel & Christmas trees. Wildlife Uses: Many animals such as deer do not feed on this plant. Many birds to eat the plants seeds. Attracts mice, voles, red squirrels, and snowshoe hares. Description: The narrow, slow growing tree has grayish to reddishbrown scaly bark. As the tree gets older the crown of the tree gets more like a spike. It has sharp needles with four sides. The needles are around a ½ long. The branches are short and drooping. Habitat: Found in bogs, bottomlands, and dry peatlands. They grow on wet organic soils but can grow over deep humus, clays, loams, sands, coarse till, and shallow soil mantles. Can survive the coldest climates because of its layered twigs, waxy pine needles, and rough bark. It is shade tolerant. Planting Advice: Seedlings are shade tolerant, but growth is fastest in full sunlight. Interesting Fact: The peat deposits in the bogs and swamps black spruce commonly grows in can be from 20 inches to 20 feet deep.
Uses: Balsam fir is used for Christmas trees and pulpwood. Balsam Fir Abies balsamea Wildlife Uses: Songbirds and squirrels eat the seeds and deer browse the foliage. Description: The small to medium sized coniferous tree has a narrow, pointed, spire-like crown of spreading branches and aromatic foliage. It is symmetrically conical in youth and becomes irregular and rounded with age. The needles are silvery blue-green and 2-3 inches long, the longest of any fir. Habitat: Grows in silt loams to stony loams. Grows slower on gravelly sands and peat bogs. Prefers cool summers and cold winter. The tree is shade tolerant. The ph range it grows on is from 4 to 6. Planting Advice: Protect from deer. Interesting Fact: Oleoresin is a gummy substance found within the bubbles of balsam fir s bark. It was once used as the primary medium for mounting microscope slides.