Going Native: Trees for Sunny Yards with Bram Gunther of Plan it Wild
Going Native is our gardening series highlighting the contribution of native plants to building resilient landscapes. MyRye.com will introduce you to native plant experts that will tell you ways to get started with a small garden patch, a complete property or just a few garden containers.
Today we speak with Bram Gunther, VP of science and development at Plan it Wild.
MyRye.com: What are good options for native trees for a sunny front yard, where the tree species will top out at 50 feet or less at full maturity?
Gunther: There are many many native species of trees that thrive in sunny conditions and that don’t get taller than 50 feet. We do our best to choose our trees based on their biodiversity value. We use Doug Tallamy’s list.
Some of these native trees will get taller than 50 feet, but this is a good list to follow if you’re planting on your own or to instruct your landscaper to plant.
- Gray birch (Betula populifolia)
- Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)
- Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
- American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
- Eastern black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina)
Also read: Going Native: Gardening with Plan it Wild’s David Baker and our Going Native series.
Great ideas but what are some tips for buying these plants? Are they generally available at regular nurseries or do we have to hunt them down?
Hi Jason: Call and ask for the tree you want – have the common name and the latin name, and insists on a straight species, not a cultivar. A cultivar (sometimes calted a nativar) is a genetically modified plant that has usually lost some of its ecological value. Mangone’s on the Boston Post Road is now carrying some natives (ask for Mike) and Rosedale in Hawthorne has a good reputation as a source of native plants. Finally, The Native Plant Center in Valhalla has its annual sale next week (see https://myrye.com/event/the-native-plant-centers-native-plant-sale/) – this will mostly woody plants and perennials but is all native plants and there are experts on had who can assist you. If you look at our Going Native series from last fall (scroll back to maybe page 2 here https://myrye.com/category/green-issues-in-rye-ny/gardening/going-native/), our experts have other suggestions.