NEO Native Trees

I was pretty bummed after coming to terms that my two shagbark hickories planted last fall didn't make it through the winter (actually one technically did but it died back to the ground). I know hickories can be hard to transplant with such a long taproot, and they are definitely slow growers. But I like hickories too much to give up that easily.  So I decided to "take two" with shellbark hickories instead. As more of a lowland native species, I believe they'll be better suited to my wetter clay soil than shagbarks. June 2023: Shellbark number one. It may seem small but it has a two-foot taproot underneath. June 2023: Shellbark number two. Two trees are needed for hickory nuts, although it could be up to 15 years before these trees produce any. Just as with the shagbarks, these little guys are a foot tall with a two-foot taproot, and I had to use a post-hole-digger to dig the hole for planting. While I used much of the clay soil I dug up as backfill, I also mixed in s

The Tupelo (aka Blackgum or Pepperidge) was the first of many trees I added to the yard in 2023. I chose a Tupelo for many reasons:  It's native to my area but not very common, especially as an ornamental. This is likely because it's a slow grower and can have a long taproot making it hard to transplant. So it will add some native diversity to the landscape.  It should have vibrant red leaves in autumn so it will also add some great color to the yard.  It can tolerate my clay soil and poor draining conditions on the north side of a fence along my yard. Also, it's a narrow tree (20'-30' wide at maturity) so I'm not too concerned about it growing much into my neighbor's yard despite planting it only 10 feet away from the fence. June 2023: Nice new shoots and green leaves on my Tupelo planted two months prior. I planted this tree in early April and after more than two months, it has done very well. While it hasn't really added any height, it's grown sev