Native Plants For All Seasons

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By Carla Burgess | March 2007

Shrubs and Small Trees

The flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) remains one of the most common native flowering trees in home landscapes, and its status is well deserved. In the wild it thrives in the filtered sunlight beneath larger trees, but it grabs the limelight in sunny locations in the garden.

Lesser-used white-flowering native trees are equally capable of stealing the spring show and will invite fresh interest to your yard. Serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.) produce clusters of ornamental white blossoms in spring. The blooms are followed by edible, reddish-to-purple berries. Serviceberry is adaptable to a range of exposures and soil types, growing 6 to 25 feet, depending on species. Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), sometimes known as old man’s beard, has pompoms of straplike flower petals. A popular tree of generations past, it deserves a comeback. Plant it in sun to part shade in moist but well-drained soil.

Carolina silverbell (Halesia carolina) is laden with small (about 1 inch), white, bell-shaped blossoms that dangle from twigs in spring. Typically 20 to 30 feet tall, silverbells prefer rich, well-drained soil and light shade to full sun. A relative, Halesia diptera (two wing silverbell or snowdrop tree), is a bit showier; the variety ‘Magniflora’ has larger, more abundant flowers (about 1 1/2 inches).

Chalk maple (Acer leucoderme), a relative of the sugar maple, makes a wonderful shade tree for small spaces. It has spectacular autumn foliage in hues of yellow, orange or red. This deciduous tree ranges from 12 to 30 feet tall. It is usually multi-trunked, with smooth, pale-gray or whitish bark, and is suitable for sun or shade.

River birch (Betula nigra) has highly ornamental, peeling bark that may be white, brown, cinnamon or orange in color, which shows to best advantage in winter when its limbs are bare. It has multiple trunks and airy, graceful branches. In the wild, river birch may grow 40 to 70 feet. A dwarf variety, ‘Little King’, stays about 10 feet tall. ‘Summer Cascade’ has a lovely weeping form. Though it occurs naturally in moist environments, river birch adapts well to drier soil.

Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) bears candelabras of red, spiky flowers in spring and tropical-looking foliage. It is typically 8 to 15 feet and has a mounding shape with a spread of about 8 feet. A disadvantage is that it drops its leaves early compared to other deciduous trees. Planting it close to another bushy, flowering shrub will divert attention. Though native to woodlands, it will flower best with more sun. Another stunning buckeye is the bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora). It is a mounding shrub that sports upright 8- to 12-inch stalks of white flowers in midsummer. It makes a great specimen plant but can also be allowed to sucker and spread to form colonies or hedges. Locate it in partial shade to full sun. It is about 8 to 12 feet tall with an 8- to 10-foot spread. Fruits are 1- to 3-inch pear-shaped, tan capsules that split open to reveal glossy brown nuts inside (nuts are inedible). Leaves turn yellow or yellow-green in fall.

Needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) is a well-kept secret that needs to be spilled. Among the most cold-hardy of palms (to Zone 6), it avails even western North Carolina gardeners of a tropical look. Throughout the year, the plant sports fans of glossy, green leaves. It suckers to form a tidy clump, with a typical height of 5 to 6 feet and a spread of about 8 feet, though long-lived plants can become quite large. A record specimen in Texas is 28 feet tall and 13 feet around. A native of wet woodlands of the Southeast, needle palm is adaptable to filtered shade or full sun in moist or dry soils. Another similar-size hardy palm is the dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor). Site it in sparse shade to full sun. The trunkless palm has leaves a little wider, duller and more blue-green than the needle palm’s. It produces clusters of erect white flowers in summer, followed by blue-black berries. With both palms, cold tolerance increases with age.

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is truly a native for all seasons. Its midsummer flowers, held in cone-shaped panicles, open creamy, then fade to pink and tan. The leaves turn a rich burgundy in fall, and the exfoliating bark provides winter interest. Plant in sun to partial shade. It tolerates all but dry soils. It is typically 4 to 8 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 8 feet.