10 Best Trees & Shrubs for Wildlife

Flowering Crabapple (Malus)

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Small deciduous tree; most grow 15–25 feet tall.

* Foliage: Many have stunning fall color.

* Flowers and fruit: White, pink, or red flowers in spring; red or yellow fruit.

* Hardiness: Zones 4–7.

* Native habitat: Most crabapples are hybrids of Asian species. A crabapple in spring is a glorious sight; flowers cover the tree, transforming it into a cloud of white, rose, or deep red blooms. Hummingbirds visit the flowers. Songbirds nest in the branches and will flock to eat the fruit in late summer and fall. Plant in full sun. Choose varieties resistant to fire blight and other diseases. Small-fruited varieties are best for birds.

* Try these: 'Donald Wyman' (white flowers), 'Mary Potter' (white), 'Bob White' (cherry-color buds, white flowers), 'Jackii' (white).

Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens f. glauca)

* Look for: Birds.

* Habit: Great, pyramidal evergreen tree, 30–60 feet tall.

* Foliage: Evergreen with blue-green or silvery green needles.

* Flowers and fruit: A good crop of cones forms every 2–3 years.

* Hardiness: Zones 3–8.

* Native habitat: Southwestern states and the Rocky Mountains. Spruce forms and colors are a crucial sculptural element in the garden year-round. Colorado blue spruce is handsome and adaptable. As a specimen, it dominates a landscape; it also makes an excellent anchor in a mixed border with other trees and shrubs. Birds feel particularly secure in evergreens; many will seek cover from storms or nest in the dense branches. Red-Breasted Nuthatches and friendly chickadees are among the birds that eat its seeds.

* Try these: 'Fat Albert' is a semidwarf, growing to about 15 feet tall; 'Hoopsii' and 'Thompsen' are the bluest; 'Iseli Foxtail' is a good choice for the South.

Hawthorn (Crataegus)

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Spreading deciduous trees; may grow 20–40 feet tall.

* Foliage: Most have orange or bronze fall color.

* Flowers and fruit: Dense clusters of flowers in spring; orange-red berries persist into winter.

* Hardiness: Zones 3–8.

* Native habitat: There are more than 200 species; native hawthorns are the best choices for wildlife gardens. The orange-red fruits of hawthorn trees are the favorites of many birds, especially Cedar Waxwings; birds like to build their nests or just take shelter for the night among their branches. The bright berries are showy in the winter light. Hawthorns thrive in sunny spots where they produce abundant spring flowers. Hawthorns are in the rose family; many have thorny spurs up to 2 inches long along the stems; Crataegus crus-galli var. inermis (sometimes sold as 'Crusader') is thornless.

* Try these: The cockspur hawthorn (C. crus-galli, hardy to Zone 3) and Washington hawthorn (C. phaenopyrum, Zone 4) are great wildlife choices; the green hawthorn (C. viridis 'Winter King', Zone 4) has perhaps the showiest fruit of all hawthorns.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier)

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Small- to medium-size deciduous trees and shrubs. Multistem specimens are common.

* Foliage: Fall color is spectacular orange or red.

* Flowers and fruit: White flowers in early spring; fruits ripen from red to black.

* Hardiness: Zones 4–9.

* Native habitat: North American native species and hybrids predominate. Serviceberries are beautiful, hardy trees with a wide native range and exceptional adaptability. They grow on woodland edges and tolerate sun or shade. The fruits of downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) ripen in June and are loved by many birds. Shadblow serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis, a suckering shrub) and smooth serviceberry (A. laevis, which makes a fine specimen in a large pot) are also excellent choices for a wildlife habitat garden. Serviceberries are susceptible to cedar apple rust; look for resistant varieties.

* Try these: Cultivars referred to as A. x grandiflora are crosses with downy serviceberry; 'Autumn Brilliance', 'Ballerina', and 'Princess Diana' are among the flashiest in both spring and fall.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Small deciduous tree; up to about 20 feet tall.

* Foliage: In sunny spots, you can expect great fall color.

* Flowers and fruit: Elegant white or pink flowers in spring; red berries in fall.

* Hardiness: Zones 5–9.

* Native habitat: Eastern deciduous forests from Maine to Florida and west to Kansas. Dogwoods are planted for their beautiful blooms, charming size, and grace in the garden. The bright red berries attract thrushes, robins, and dozens of other birds in the fall. The dogwood is a striking specimen tree planted by itself, and it is beautiful as an anchor in a mixed border of trees and shrubs or in small groves. Give them full sun or part shade. Pacific dogwood (Cornus nutalli) is closely related to flowering dogwood; many birds eat the ripe red fruit. Red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), a shrub with flashy red twigs through the winter, attracts birds for its berries and for the shelter within its dense, twiggy structure.

* Try these: C. florida 'Variegata' has green and white foliage; 'Plena' is a double.

Viburnum

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Plants in this genus of more than 120 species can range from 2 feet up to 30 feet tall. Many are in the 4- to 6-foot range.

* Foliage: There are evergreen and deciduous types. Many deciduous viburnums have good fall color.

* Flowers and fruit: Showy, sometimes fragrant flowers in spring through summer; many viburnums have beautiful berry clusters.

* Hardiness: Zones 3–8.

* Native habitat: Many excellent North American natives are available. Every garden should have planting layers: a canopy of tall trees with smaller trees and shrubs filling in the understory. Viburnums are excellent understory specimens. They are tough enough to be grown in a single-specimen hedge, but you might try several kinds in a mixed shrub border. They are great habitat plants, with twiggy stems for shelter and lots of berries for flickers, robins, and other birds in late summer and fall. Most will grow in sun or part shade. Large specimens can be kept pruned to a manageable size.

* Try these: Highbush cranberry viburnum (V. trilobum, Zones 2–7), is tough and adaptable; arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum, Zones 2–8) is a good choice for shelter and nesting; nannyberry viburnum (V. lentago, Zones 3–7) is a suckering shrub that produces berries favored by many birds.

Scarlet Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea)

* Look for: Birds.

* Habit: Open and lanky, but can be pruned to a shapely shrub, grown in a hedge,

or trained into an espalier.

* Foliage: Evergreen to semi-evergreen.

* Flowers and fruit: Creamy white flowers in late spring to early summer; bright scarlet, orange, or yellow berries in late summer through fall.

* Hardiness: Zones 5 or 6 to 9.

* Native habitat: Southern Europe to western Asia. Firethorns are among the best woody plants to plant against a wall or on a trellis as they grow slowly up to 12–15 feet tall and can be trained into formal shapes. Creamy white flowers outline the pruned shape in spring, and dense berry clusters decorate the branches through fall and into winter. Firethorns' thorny branches provide good shelter and nesting spots, and many birds, including bluebirds, eat their berries. They grow best in full sun but will tolerate shade. They are susceptible to fire blight, so look for disease-resistant varieties.

* Try these: 'Rutgers' and 'Yukon Belle' (both Zone 5) are among the hardiest; 'Apache' (Zone 6) is a dwarf form that grows to about 5 feet tall.

Spice Bush (Lindera benzoin)

* Look for: Birds, butterflies.

* Habit: Multistem deciduous shrub with a rounded habit; grows to about 5 feet tall and spreads to 10 feet; denser and more compact in sun.

* Foliage: Yellow to golden-yellow fall color.

* Flowers and fruit: Pale yellow flowers in spring; orange to red fruits in late summer and fall.

* Hardiness: Zones 4–9.

* Native habitat: Woods, swamps, and river banks from Maine and Michigan, south to Florida and west to Kansas. Spicebush is a great butterfly-garden plant; it is among the first shrubs to bloom in spring and is one of the best nectar sources for swallowtail butterflies. The larvae also feed on its leaves. Robins, thrushes, kingbirds, and other birds eat the shiny red fruits in fall. Spicebush is in the same family as sassafras, and is named for the spicy fragrance of its bark and leaves. It grows slowly in full sun or part shade and prefers a moist site or loamy soil enriched with compost. Fruit is produced only on female plants: you'll need both male and female plants to get berries.

* Try these: 'Xanthocarpa' has orange-yellow fruit; 'Green Gold' is a male pollinator with large flowers; 'Rubra' is a male with red flowers. All three are hardy to Zone 4.

Oregon Grapeholly (Mahonia aquifolium)

* Look for: Birds.

* Habit: Irregular, upright shrubs grow to 4–6 feet tall and spread up to 4 feet wide.

* Foliage: Spiny, rigid, evergreen, in dense leaf clusters.

* Flowers and fruit: Bright yellow flowers in winter and early spring. The dusty blue-black berries look like small grapes.

* Hardiness: Zones 4–8.

* Native habitat: From Montana to British Columbia and from Oregon and Idaho. Dense, spiny, evergreen grapehollies are terrific shelter plants for birds. Their dramatic yellow flowers in winter or early spring have a striking presence. Grapehollies prefer shade, especially in hot-summer climates, and look luxurious in a woodland setting. Their strong texture looks substantial in a foundation planting. They are highly deer-resistant. Berries form in summer and are quickly eaten by birds. They can be invasive; before planting, check lists of plants invasive in your area.

* Try these: Leatherleaf mahonia (M. bealei, Zones 5–9) has striking blue-green foliage and blooms early. Mahonia x media cultivars (Zones 7–9), including 'Charity' and 'Winter Sun', are good for the South.

Holly (Ilex)

* Look for: Birds.

* Habit: Broadly pyramidal, rounded, or arching; many small hollies are less than 3 feet tall and wide; taller specimens grow up to 25 feet or more.

* Foliage: Deciduous or evergreen, many with scalloped, spiny leaves.

* Flowers and fruit: Flowers have a subtle honey fragrance. Berries may be sparkling red, bright yellow, or pitch black.

* Hardiness: Many are hardy in Zones 5–9.

* Native habitat: There are about 20 native species and more than 100 exotic hollies. Evergreen hollies are especially good shelter plants for many birds, and gardeners love them because their deep green—or even slightly blue—foliage seems to glow in the landscape, especially in winter, and sets off the berries to perfection. They are easy to grow. Many hollies produce berries in such abundance that cutting a few branches for winter arrangements doesn't even show. Mockingbirds, bluebirds, and Cedar Waxwings are especially fond of holly berries. Deciduous hollies, with their berries clustered close to branches, are highly decorative in early winter and attract catbirds, Brown Thrashers, and Hermit Thrushes. Most hollies thrive in sun or light shade and tolerate drought; many need a pollinator to set fruit.

* Try these: Yaupon holly (I. vomitoria, Zones 7–10) is a great nesting shrub; winterberry (I. verticillata 'Winter Red', Zones 3–9) grows to about 9 feet tall and puts on a big show in winter.