Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa Description & Overview The iconic oak of Wisconsin! Bur Oak is one of the toughest oaks, tolerant of highly alkaline soils and drought. Most have interesting corky bark on young branches. The acorns make it an excellent plant to attract wildlife. Use where space is not […]

Sugar Maple is the Wisconsin State Tree and one of the hardiest and long-lived of all the maples. This native tree has spectacular yellow fall color and is coveted for its sap which is used to make maple syrup.

Pagoda Dogwood is an incredibly useful small tree or large shrub native to Wisconsin’s woodlands and forests. Fragrant spring flowers attract myriad pollinators.

White Oak Quercus alba Description & Overview White Oak is a large, strong, imposing Wisconsin native specimen tree. It has a stocky trunk with wide-spreading horizontal limbs that are picturesque. Its foliage turns to a brilliant display of colors in autumn with showy shades of orange, red, and violet. This […]

Hybrid Swamp x Bur Oak Quercus x schuettei Description & Overview Quercus x schuettei is a naturally occurring hybrid between the Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and the Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor). This oak is a great choice for lowland areas with saturated soils or sites that are high and […]

Speckled Alder is a small, Wisconsin native tree that's commonly found in wetter soils. It is extremely valuable for many wildlife species and an important host plant for many pollinators.

Cockspur Hawthorn Crataegus crus-galli Description & Overview Cockspur Hawthorn is a deciduous tree that features a stunning, umbrella-shaped growth habit, spring flowers, fall fruit, and brilliant orange fall color. It’s incredibly versatile in most landscape styles. This tree has large sharp thorns. It’s best to avoid planting in areas where […]

Hackberry is a Wisconsin native tree known for its upright vase shape, corky bark, tolerance in urban settings, and fruit that supports wildlife.

Red Maple is a Wisconsin native tree that's tolerant of most soils and sites. This is evident by its presence in many different ecotypes throughout its native range from Maine to Florida and west to Texas.

Black Cherry Prunus serotina Description & Overview Black Cherry is a medium-to-large sized deciduous tree that is native to much of eastern North American, Mexico, and Central America. It typically occurs in both lowland and upland woods and along streams. It is noted for its fragrant white flowers, attractive glossy […]

Musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) is a Wisconsin native tree with tremendous wildlife value. Musclwood is a great mid-story landscape tree.

Pin Cherry is a Wisconsin native tree and a rare find in the nursery trade! Perfect for a bird garden, reforestation, or naturalization project, its bountiful shiny red drupes are a favorite of many varieties of wildlife, especially birds and pollinators.

Bog Birch is a Wisconsin native tree that tops out at 10 feet. Multiple stems shoot out from ground level giving it a shrubbier appearance. Bark on mature stems is brown/grey while new bark is a fresh, deep reddish brown.

River Birch Betula nigra Description & Overview Excellent for wet soil conditions. Beautiful exfoliating cinnamon-brown bark exposes the pink inner bark. Resistant to bronze birch borer. River birch is also known as Black Birch, Red Birch, and Water Birch. Core Characteristics Wisconsin Native: Yes USDA Hardiness Zone: to zone 3 […]

Ironwood is a small, slow-growing pyramidal tree native to the dry understory in Wisconsin's oak woods. Its small mature size is great for restricted spaces.

Black Walnut is a beautiful Wisconsin native shade tree with many benefits for mammals and pollinators. Black Walnut produces edible nuts and is a valuable tree for high-quality timber.

Members of the Quercus genus are at the pinnacle of wildlife value – Black Oak is no exception. This fellow Wisconsinite is commonly found growing in the Southeastern part of the state - naturally occurring in our upland woods, sandy woodlands, or sandy savannas. This oak is known for the charcoal to the brownish-gray color of its trunk, and is distinguished from other oaks by the patches of tan to reddish-brown hairs on the foliage's undersides.

Allegheny Serviceberry is a Wisconsin native multi-stemmed tree or small shrub, with a narrow and upright, oval form. Fragrant white flowers bloom in spring, followed by purple, edible, sweet fruits that ripen in June. These coveted berries are used in jams, jellies, and pies if you can get to them before the birds! Dark green foliage turns a brilliant orange-red in fall extending the season of interest. Pollinator-friendly, Allegheny Serviceberry is a host plant for the Red-Spotted Purple and Viceroy butterflies.

Swamp White Oak is a Wisconsin native shade tree. Oak is a key component to forested, restoration, park, and street tree landscapes.

Eastern Cottonwood is a Wisconsin native tree known for its towering height, upwards of 90' and its fast growth rate - sometimes over 6' per year in ideal conditions. One of the tallest species east of the Rocky Mountains, it grows best in moist, well-drained, fine sandy or silt loams close to streams.

Prairie Crabapple is a Wisconsin native tree noted for its spectacular fragrant, pink to white flowers that bloom in mid-spring. Nectar and pollen attract myriad pollinators including honeybees, bumblebees, long-tongued bees as well as butterflies, and skippers. Fruit is greenish-yellow and beloved by wildlife.

Hoptree is a Wisconsin native tree with a wonderful spreading habit, sweet-smelling, orange blossom-like flowers, and lustrous dark green foliage. Tan wafer-like seed clusters cover the tree in early fall as leaves turn brilliant yellow, providing food to many birds and mammals.

Paper Birch is a spectacular Wisconsin native tree with thin, white papery bark that peels to reveal the reddish-brown color underneath that becomes pure white with age. Dark-green leaves turn golden in autumn lighting up the landscape with color. Paper Birch also provides shelter and food to birds, pollinators, and small mammals.

Paw Paw is a delightful, tropical-looking small-scale tree that has an unusual, edible fruit. Forming loose colonies, Paw Paw's luscious green foliage turns a lovely golden-yellow in autumn. Its delicious fruit is fragrant and tasty, some describing it as a cross between a banana and a mango.

Showy Mountainash is a Wisconsin native tree with all-season interest. White spring flowers give way to bright red fruit in summer that persists into winter.

American Beech is an aristocrat of the forest! A large, stately tree with light gray, smooth bark that can resemble an elephants hide, its edible nuts are attractive to wildlife. Nuts are produced at two to eight-year intervals.

Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides Description & Overview Quaking Aspen is a fast-growing, narrow-oval to pyramidal, Wisconsin native tree with lustrous dark green foliage that shimmers in the slightest breeze. This pioneer species is quick to colonize open spaces, especially where there is bare soil. Its creamy white bark and rapid […]

Silver Maple is a fast-growing Wisconsin native tree, found throughout the state. This giant of the forest benefits many mammals and birds that use the tree as a source of food and shelter. With softwood and an extensive root system that spreads far and wide, the Silver Maple is best suited for open areas away from structures.

American Chestnut, while rare, are a stunning tree in the landscape with creamy white catkins, wide branching, and abundant fruit production. While other areas of the country struggle to grow American Chestnut, they seem to fare well in the Midwest, providing food for wildlife and bringing diversity to our forests.

Yellow Birch is one of the largest Wisconsin native birch trees, reaching 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide. Delightful, tiny male and female catkins bloom in spring, followed by cone-like fruits with seeds in late summer. Yellow Birch leaves are golden yellow in fall, lighting up the landscape with color, while peeling bark provides interest in winter.

Mountain Maple is a unique Wisconsin native tree that is cold-hardy and boasts pretty red stems, interesting leaves, and tiny white flowers in spring. Mountain Maple does well as understory plants, along river banks, and in wildlife and native gardens.

Shagbark Hickory is a Wisconsin native trees with characteristic bark, flower, and edible hickory nuts. Shagbark is a mature shade tree and wonderful for wildlife.

Bigtooth Aspen Populus grandidentata Description & Overview Bigtooth Aspen is one of, if not the fastest-growing native trees in Wisconsin. It’s an early colonizer of prairies and woodland edges but prefers drier sites than its cousin, Quaking Aspen. Named for the large teeth on leaves that shimmer in a summer […]