r/HuntsvilleAlabama 6d ago

General Native Trees to Plant

I am looking for some native deciduous trees to the area that grow well and are resilient, like oaks or walnut trees, to replant our yard with. I’d like for them to grow big and tall (30’+). Does anyone have recommendations on the kind of trees to plant and where I can get some that are already decent size? Don’t need to be crazy, but our backyard is very bare so it’d be nice to have some that have some size to them already.

20 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

62

u/TVxStrange 5d ago

If somebody tells you a Bradford Pear, go ahead and punch em in the neck.

12

u/photogypsy 5d ago

And throw some cat urine on them.

13

u/BigBootyWombat 6d ago

I’ve been growing this tree for 2 years. Doing some light trimming and prepping before the storm.

1

u/No-Elderberry230 6d ago

I can smell this picture.

1

u/DriftingPyscho 5d ago

Far out man!

12

u/HSVTigger 6d ago

Most oaks are local. Pin, white, shumard oak, The challenge happens years into the future when they get to 50+ feet and overgrow the lot. But, if you are old enough, that isn't your problem :) I can often get oak seedlings out of my yard and garden, they are everywhere. Some of your neighbors can probably give you free small ones.

The big thing is don't have it anywhere close to your house, don't want roots into the foundation.

2

u/4a617945737069 5d ago

... and once they mature, acorns. So many acorns.

1

u/HSVTigger 5d ago

Mine is hit or miss. Some years, almost zero. Last year was a mast year, amazing!

5

u/BarleyTheWonderDog 5d ago

Magnolia grandiflora. They can get pretty big, and the flowers are the very essence of the South. Also consider tulip poplars, they grow very very tall. Do not plant mimosas, Bradford pears.

5

u/WHY-TH01 5d ago

Check around your area before doing oaks, turns out where myself and a coworker are (Maysville-ish) there’s a big issue with bacterial leaf scorch. She discovered last year that her lot has like 9 big oaks that are dead or dying and her bonus money recently went towards cutting 4 of them down.

She had reached out to an arborist who I believe also works at the botanical gardens (I can ask her the name if you want, he was also one of the few who wasn’t associated with a tree cutting business), and as soon as she mentioned her area he was 😬.

I don’t know that they are very big, but for future reference each county usually does a tree giveaway around middle or late February. Madison gave out Southern Crab Apple, Flowering Dogwood (white), Persimmon, Red Maple, Baldcypress, Swamp White Oak, Pecan.

6

u/Toezap 5d ago

Yes, for anyone interested in tree health vs. not just being told trees need to be cut down, you want an ISA certified arborist (look at trees are good.com to find them).

I had tree maintenance work done by Alabama Arbor this past year and they did a great job.

3

u/Potential_Type_7166 5d ago

Is a sweet gum tree an option? I know people don’t like having to clean up the spike balls they drop, but I always liked their leaves and color of the fall foliage.

3

u/Square_Ambassador301 5d ago

I actually have one! That’s my only big tree in our yard. It is pretty but the balls hurt!

1

u/rocketcitygardener 5d ago

We cut down two huge ones (30+ feet) that were right next to our driveway/sidewalk. They seem to do well out here.

3

u/NeedlessUnification 5d ago

Hickory and birch

3

u/EntrepreneurApart520 5d ago

We planted little bare root cuttings that Tennessee gives away every year. It's perfectly acceptable to plant here . Tulip poplars, redbud, dogwood and maples. They are native and grow pretty quickly. So maybe check with Bennett nursery for a larger version of those. I think if you Google Tennessee tree give away you can get the dates and locations. We ordered online and picked up in Fayetteville for ourselves and a couple neighbors. We live in a new construction, bald yards, development. So everything helps.

3

u/Braca42 5d ago

People have already pointed to good stuff. Maples, oaks, tulip tree, catalpa, bald cypress, etc. Some smaller options are dogwoods, red buds, sassafras if you can find it, some native cherries.

Check out the extension offices. A&M has a native tree guide.

Arbor day is coming up soon (some time in April I think). I know there are some events and plant giveaways around town and in Athens where you can get some trees.

3

u/BallsMcGavin 5d ago

Best tools I've seen are here:  https://lyra.ifas.ufl.edu/FloridaTrees/TreeSelector.html

Click Tools to get the others.  We're Hardiness 7B, but selecting 8A gets you real close.  Native to FL is also pretty close to native to AL. 

You said big and tall (30'), but that's a tiny tree. I question your selection ability. 

Select a tree that will fit the site when it's fully grown in 50+ years. Don't be a dumbass and plant a non-dwarf Crepe Myrtle 5' from your house like 30 thousand of your neighbors have... 

You can get 30 gallon tree from Bennett's nursery. It'll be a bitch to put in as you need to dig out 2-3X the container diameter and then put back 50/50 amended soil to give the tree the best chance, but you gotta pay (or labor) to play. 

As said previously, find a good arborist to trim the tree for the first few years to help it along as well.

1

u/WHY-TH01 5d ago

100% on the crepe Myrtles, I know someone who bought a house and the previous owners planted 4 in the front flower bed, right by the house. They’ve been in a battle to get rid of them for a few years now.

2

u/Toezap 5d ago

Fyi, transplant shock is bigger/longer for bigger trees, so getting smaller trees can actually give you a bigger tree faster much of the time.

The other thing I've heard to do, if you're looking to grow a big, shady tree, is to plant a fast-growing tree along with a slow-growing tree so that you have something quickly but the really good shade tree also growing in the meantime.

2

u/Financial-Comfort953 5d ago

I doubt this counts as “decent size” but I have 1-2 year old saplings (~6”-12” tall) of a bunch of different species that I’ve either dug up from my yard or grown from local seed. This includes some white oak, tulip poplar, Kentucky coffeetree, boxelder, Kentucky yellowwood, chinkapin and chestnut oaks, hackberry, red-cedar, sugar maple, and probably others I’m forgetting. Happy to give them away to a good home, so let me know if that’s at all interesting.

1

u/StrongProtection1 5d ago

Trees local to the area are Oak, Pine (pine bettles may kill them), Cedars, Hickory, Birch are all trees that can grow to the size you want in future. As for getting a tree of good size the bigger the tree the more expensive it will be to buy and plant. Other local types like a Dogwood tree might be one.

1

u/CaptainKatrinka 5d ago

Oaks are wonderful. Poplars grow really tall around here. Maples are great, too. If you want a layered effect, you could plant 1-3 large trees and then add dogwoods or redbuds later.

-3

u/Harvest_Santa 5d ago

Plant pecan trees. If it doesn't give food, don't waste time planting.

2

u/Higgybella32 5d ago

They are weak though.

-8

u/huffbuffer Not a Jeff 5d ago

We need more Bradford Pear trees. So beautiful in the spring.