Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Promoting environmentally sound gardening practices for over 35 years!
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Black Cherry, the largest of our native cherry trees, grows in a variety of habitats through much of the Mid-Atlantic Region and is noted for its exceptional support of wildlife.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Despite being one of the hardest of native* woods, Hop-hornbeam is undesirable in commercial forests. It provides interest as an ornamental though, with fluted trunk, exfoliating bark, and drooping clusters of sac- like pods that resemble the fruit of hops, hence its common name.
Featured Glossary word: Strobilus
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Commonly found in the forest understory or as a landscape ornamental, this high wildlife value native with four-season interest is far from ordinary. This beauty serves as North Carolina state flower and Missouri state tree. In Virginia, it is both official floral and arboreal emblems. The Virginia Native Plant Society honored Flowering Dogwood as Wildflower of the Year in 2018.
Featured Glossary word: Petaloid bract New in 2022!
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This slow-growing, but long-lived, large tree is indigenous to river banks and flood plains and makes an attractive ornamental specimen for large landscapes with its good fall color and distinctive exfoliating bark. It also provides excellent support to a variety of wildlife.
Featured Glossary word: Lanceolate
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
While this native member of the Rose Family is found naturally in clearings, glades, woodland borders, and roadsides, it is a tough, adaptable tree that does well in urban settings. Its name refers to its long spines, which are said to resemble the spurs of a cock.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Sweet Birch, also known as Black or Cherry Birch, finds a home* on the cool north and east slopes of mountain woods. It shows off in fall with its golden-yellow color–among the best of the birches–and in winter with the sheen of its young bark. Its fragrant foliage and twigs were historically a source of wintergreen flavoring.
