Trees native to Ohio are becoming the go-to evergreens for people living in the state. Trees can do so much for your home, like becoming a landscaping design, providing shade, providing shelter to wildlife, and making you feel calmer.
While most trees provide the same benefits, trees native to your home will perform the best. Today, we are breaking down some of the best Ohio native trees can provide all the benefits you need.
Contents
List of Trees That Are Native To Ohio
1. Ohio Buckeye
The Ohio buckeye is a small to medium-sized shade tree that prefers moist soil. Because of this, it grows well in rain gardens and other damp areas but not in dry soil.
– Features
What you should know about this tree is that it tends to shed twigs, leaves, and fruit, it is not the best choice for a tree to be displayed in a landscape. However, it could function well at a landscape’s periphery. In April and May, it blooms with greenish-yellow flowers; in the fall, the foliage turns a lovely shade of yellow as they would drop after.
The Ohio buckeye tree, Aesculus glabra, is a member of the horse chestnut family and is most famous outside of Ohio for the teams that hold the name, the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Ohio’s college campuses and forests become blazing orange in the fall thanks to the stunning 60- to 80-foot trees’ foliage.
At the tips of their curved branches, buckeye trees produce upright clusters of colorful yellow and green blooms. The buckeyes are nuts that are covered in dark-brown, prickly husks. Trees prefer rich, moist, acidic soil but can withstand sun, partial shade, or full shade. Although Ohio buckeyes’ dense canopies offer good shade, they make grass difficult to grow there.
– Characteristics
Ohio Buckeye is known for its flowering trees, which fill the state with the aroma of Sargent crabapples in addition to the golden yellow Cornelian cherry dogwood blooms in the springtime.
Many of Ohio’s flowering trees produce bright or tasty fruit with brilliant fall color, even though their blooming season may end too abruptly.
However, if you wish to grow it, in the fall, you must sow fresh seeds or purchase young trees at nurseries. Trees perform best away from driveways and streets to prevent issues with their dropped blooms, nuts, and twigs, it would add an excellent feature.
Even though squirrels adore buckeye nuts, humans and animals are poisoned if they consume any part of this tree, as this would be one of the key criteria.
2. Ohio Cigar Tree
The cigar tree, or Catalpa bignonioides, is native to Ohio. It has short, twisted branches that reach up to or higher than its typical 25 to 40-foot height. It has six to 12-inch long pale green, heart-shaped leaves.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center claims that the cigar tree blooms magnificently in May and June. The white flowers grow in groups of ten to twenty blooms. Five petals on each two-inch-wide flower are ruffled.
The throats of the blossoms are marked by two huge and several tiny yellow dots, as well as numerous small purple spots and stripes. The tree gets its name from its cigar-shaped seedpods.
– Characteristics
Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are drawn to the blossoms, which aid in the pollination process, so that it would thrive in spring even easier. Additionally, this tree serves as the solitary host for the catalpa sphinx moth.
The catalpa offers a wide variety of songbirds and wildlife good protection and shelter thanks to its dense foliage and huge leaves. In the fall, sow fresh seeds or purchase young trees at nurseries.
The tree gets its name from its cigar-shaped seedpods, trees prefer areas that are shaded and have moist or wet soil. Purchase young trees from nurseries, plant seeds outdoors in the late winter or early spring, or divide trees from stem cuttings. Eliminate root suckers to stop undesired growth.
3. White Fringetree
The white fringe tree, also known as Chionanthus virginicus, is a member of the olive tree family and is named for its distinctive clusters of elongated, creamy white flowers.
– Features
The white fringe tree has a height range of 15 to 30 feet and bears lovely deep blue grape-like fruit. In April and May, four to six-inch-long flowers develop immediately before or simultaneously with the trees’ dark green spear-shaped leaves.
Fruit ripens in the late summer, providing small mammals and birds sustenance. The tree’s white-striped gray bark and yellow fall leaves add appeal to the garden throughout the winter. Whether planted in groups or as a single specimen, these trees are effective. They thrive around ponds and streambeds and need moist sandy soil and moderate shade.
Late spring has a stunning display on the tree as a profusion of fluffy white blossoms bloom for two weeks. The flowers can fill your yard with a lovely, lilac-like fragrance at night.
– Characteristics
For optimal results, pick an area with acidic soil. Alkaline soil can also be used, but these native plants do not do well in most alkaline soils.
The fringe tree thrives in a variety of soil types, making it ideal for clay or sandy soils that are challenging for many other plants to grow in. It also enjoys soil that is moist or humid.
It often grows as an open shrub, but if you prefer it to grow as a tiny tree, you can train it to have a single trunk. Except for fertilizing to encourage yearly growth, this shrub typically requires little upkeep.
However, in order to see it thrive perfectly well, this plant should be planted in zones three to nine, which includes most of the United States.
4. Sugar Maple Tree
The fluid found inside sugar maple trees is well recognized for being like liquid gold, as this is due to theirs contains a very high amount of sugar. Thus, less of it is required to make maple syrup. Additionally, sugar maple trees provide a remarkable amount of beauty to any environment, bringing it to life even more in the fall when they turn a vivid orange-red.
– Characteristics
The optimal time to grow sugar maple trees, which are native to North America, is in early fall. Then, after rising about 24 inches a year and maturing in 30 to 40 years, they will grow slowly but gradually.
Anyone driving through New England in the fall will likely have seen the sugar maple tree’s magnificent orange and red hues. You will see this tree planted around streets, as they would provide shade, and thrive differently in each season.
The towering behemoth offers good protection from the sun all year long and is adored for its expansive canopy, which is a vivid green the remainder of the year, and its namesake crop, maple syrup.
– Growth Requirements
You will need a lot of patience if you want to cultivate a sugar maple tree from the seed to maturity. The variety takes decades to mature and is probably not ready to be harvested for syrup until it is 30 or 40 years old.
However, there is still much to appreciate in the interim. If you take good care of your maple tree, you’ll have an heirloom specimen that will enhance the beauty of your landscape for many generations to come.
5. Northern Red Oak Tree
Hardiness zones 4 to 8 are ideal for growing northern red oak trees which is also known as the Quercus rubra tree, the latter would frequently grow to 75 feet tall and have a comparable spread.
– Features
When the circumstances are favorable, they produce dark crimson fall leaves, living up to their common name, or reddish-brown under less-than-ideal growing conditions. The red oak is a vital ecological resource and a beautiful and great shade tree.
Red oak trees’ needs for sunlight and soil are comparable to those of white oak trees. However, northern red oaks develop more quickly than their counterparts. They have medium-green, five to nine-inch leaves with seven to eleven pointed lobes for the remainder of the growing season. As a result, the trees often have a long lifespan and are hardy.
– Characteristic
If you reside in the Northeast of the United States, red oaks are excellent plants to grow. Among the many pollinators that the red oak supports are Juvenal’s dusky wing, banded hairstreak, Clymene moth, imperial moth, and rosy maple moth.
– Growth Requirements
If you want to plant a red oak, you won’t need much maintenance on it once it’s established aside from some little preventative care and keeping an eye out for any unusual pests or diseases. The tree is generally carefree as long as it stays healthy and is given a decent start, and you can grow it around your house, as it would thrive and provide amazing aesthetics.
The healthy part is a little luck and some upkeep, which means whether you purchase a sapling, the simple option, or grow your red oak, it would help if you were sure to give it plenty of space wherever you decide to put it.
6. Eastern Redbud
The eastern redbud bush can be recognized if you’ve ever seen a multi-trunk tree covered in lovely pink blossoms, but not leaves, in the winter. One of the earliest trees to bloom each year is this one.
Cercis canadensis is the formal name of this tree. Along with other species, including the Kentucky coffee tree, wattles (Acacia spp.), powder puff tree (Albizia julibrissin), and wisteria, it is a part of the Fabaceae (pea) family (Wisteria Sinensis). The genus’s common name is Eastern redbud.
– Characteristic
The Eastern redbud tree grows 20 to 30 feet and has a width of 25 to 35 feet. It takes on the form of a vase and is prone to developing several trunks. The leaves are heart-shaped (cordate) and range in size from three to five inches.
Most of the growing seasons are green, but in the fall, they become a yellowish-green color. Even before the leaf buds unfold, the Fabaceae family’s distinctive pea-like flowers bloom in late winter or early spring.
– Growth Requirements
Zones 4 through 8 are suitable for growing the eastern redbud. Its origins are in the eastern and Midwestern states. Nonetheless, you should remember that after a convenient establishment time of one to two years, the tree is considered drought-tolerant.
One of those plants dislikes transplantation, you must pick a good spot for it and don’t move it. Try to plant it away from strong winds because its branches are prone to snapping, hence remember that it is key to prune it in winder, before the redbud tree blooms. If you want to control several trunks and build a solid structure, start trimming the plant when it is young.
Unfortunately, because of illness, insect assaults, and other environmental conditions, the species often have a short lifespan, up to 20 years on average, give or take. Despite this negative aspect, many people think planting this tree is well worth it because of its beauty.
7. Pawpaw Tree
The tiny, deciduous pawpaw tree produces the largest fruit naturally occurring in North America. It belongs to the Annonaceae family, the largest family in the magnolia order, and is predominately composed of tropical plants.
Except for Florida and most northeastern states, Asimina triloba is only present in 26 states and is a native of the Eastern parts of the US.
– Features
Pawpaw trees have six-petalled maroon flowers that appear in the spring and can reach a height of around 25 feet. However, they only reach heights of two to 12 feet when cultivated in protected, shaded locations of mature forests.
In addition, the leaves are oval in form, glossy, and dark green with pointed ends, and this is what specifies them. They can reach a maximum length of one foot. The foliage changes to many colors of gold throughout the fall.
– Characteristic
These trees are well-known for their fall-ripening fruit, as the fruit’s flavor has been compared to a cross between banana and mango and is commonly characterized as custard-like, though some think it tastes plainer, more like a raw potato.
On another note, you must be aware that although the fruit is edible, you should never consume the fruit’s skin or seeds. Anakin, a compound found in pawpaw, is poisonous to nerve cells.
– Growth Requirements
The pawpaw tree can be successfully cultivated as a tropical-looking addition to your landscape or for its delectable fruit with some basic knowledge of the growing needs.
To avoid root rot and fungus, paw trees must be on soil that drains properly and receive appropriate moisture. Make sure to shield young trees from the wind and excessive sunlight.
8. American Sycamore
The biggest deciduous tree in North America, the American sycamore, grows to a height of 75 to 100 feet.
Features
The leaves of this tree are enormous, as they are four to ten inches across, and divided into three to five lobes with rough-toothed edges, sycamore tree leaves. Therefore, the tree’s seed pods can also identify sycamores.
Because of their fuzzy, spherical form, the pods, this means that the sycamore tree fruit—are occasionally called “sycamore tree balls” which are roughly an inch and a half in diameter.
In addition to size, a particular feature of sycamore trees is their distinctive bark. The lighter inner bark of a sycamore tree can be seen when the brown outer bark is peeled away from the trunk.
– Characteristic
Deep, wet, rich soils are excellent for sycamore tree growth. Late winter or early spring are the ideal times to plant one, they grow quickly and can easily withstand wind, rain, pollution, and even drought.
A good tree for shade is the sycamore, but unfortunately, the extensive, shallow roots of sycamore trees, which are generally huge, can cause damage to pavement, underground pipelines, and other things because of their size.
– Growth Requirements
The sycamore tree is more tolerant of wet areas than most trees are since it naturally grows near streams. Additionally, it can endure some of the air pollution common in cities. But if you plant one, ensure you have plenty of room to handle the tree’s eventual size.
When there is a protracted drought, make a plan to water your American sycamore tree and feed it in the spring. Pruning is typically a simple task. However, you must be cautious about infections and pests.
9. Common Persimmon
When ripe, persimmon fruit are a small, bright orange fruit with a flavor that is extraordinarily lively; when unripe, they are typically extremely sour and nearly inedible. Although they are not yet regarded as a commercial crop and are indigenous to Eastern North America, American persimmons which are Diospyros Virginians are far more cold-hardy than their larger ones found.
– Characteristic
These trees develop fairly slowly; it may take seven to ten years to give fruit. When the fruit is ripe, it has a texture that could be compared to custard, and people frequently compare the fruit’s sweet flavor to honey. The blue-green leaves on this deciduous tree change to gold and orange in the fall.
– Growth Requirements
Persimmons grow best in full sun, as they do on most fruit trees. This tree would develop in various environments but prefer slightly acidic loamy soils. Therefore, persimmon trees should only require additional watering after they are established if it is an exceptionally dry season.
10. Green Ash
Green ash is also known as the Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, it is a deciduous tree native to North America, has a long history of being highly hardy, quick-growing, and adaptable. The upright green ash tree has complex leaves with five to nine leaflets and a circular but uneven canopy. The yellow of autumnal foliage.
– Characteristics
Green ash trees are typically planted as nursery trees in pots in the spring when permitted. They expand by at least two feet per year and can reach heights of up to 25 feet in just ten years, making them relatively quick-growing trees.
– Growth Requirements
Although they may thrive in various environments, green ash favors moist, well-drained soils and a full sun location. This is why they became so popular and over planted, by some estimates.
However, due to the population and density of the urban forests, they have increased in the past few decades, the emerald ash borer has been able to decimate North American tree populations quickly; this popularity has proven to be the tree’s weakness.
Conclusion
Being native to Ohio, these trees will feel at home being planted anywhere in the state. Before choosing your tree, just remember the following:
- Sugar maple trees do take time with cultivation and finally reaching maturity. Which means that, unless you’re willing to offer that, look for another tree.
- Pawpaw trees are the best option for those of you looking to invest in a tropical-looking tree to landscape with.
- Ohio cigar trees will prefer moist and consistently wet soil in order to grow profusely, so make sure you can provide this for them.
So, after seeing this list of trees, which one are you going to grow? You can always grow the maple around the edges of your street, which would look phenomenal.
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