Native Trees & Shrubs
Ward’s offers a variety of native trees and shrubs that serve a landscape aesthetic as well as an environmental purpose.
To see a list of Native Trees & Shrubs that we usually carry or can easily acquire, see Plant List: Native Choices for the Berkshires.
For specific planting situations, check out our plant finder tool.
This post of images is just the beginning. If you have a specific plant in mind not on our list (link above), please send us an email.
Fruit of Amelanchier laevis, Serviceberry.
Clethra alnifolia blooms in July. Common name is Summersweet.
Comptonia peregrina is a native shrub that handles drought and stabilizes steep roadsides. Known as Sweetfern, it grows to about 4 feet tall.
Juniperus horizontalis is a Northeast native for sun. Only growing to about 1/2 a foot tall it will spread up to 8 feet!
Juniperus virginiana or Eastern red cedar is native to the eastern US. Birds love the fruit.
Upright cones of Larix laricina – Larch the native conifer that turns golden in fall and loses its needles.
Larix laricina needle foliage is very soft to the touch. A native in the hills especially of Vermont and Adirondacks, stands can be found in the Berkshires. Best grown in moist, acidic, well-drained soils in full sun.
Physocarpus opulifolius seedhead. Ninebark – a Northeast native.
Spriraea latifolia or alba – not on our list yet but an Eastern US native we offer!
Viburnum trilobum or American cranberry bush with fruit just beginning to turn red in mid-July.
Azalea viscosum is a Massachusetts native.
Hydrangea arborescens is a Northeast native.
Ilex glabra is a Massachusetts native holly known as Inkberry that stays evergreen and has deep blue to black fruit.
Highbush Blueberry or Vaccinium corymbosum is native to the Berkshires and fruit begins to ripen in mid-July.
Your Garden in the Fall
Still-warm soil and relatively cool air temperatures promote healthy root growth in plants that return each year. Check out our Fall gardening tips.
Fall Articles