Category Archives: Native Plants

Red Alder

Alnus rubra

Red alder (Alnus rubra) is a fast-growing deciduous tree that does well in open areas and along streams. This slender, medium-sized tree can grow 5′ or more a year for the first few years, and generally grows to 40-50 feet tall, sometimes reaching as high as 80 feet.

Red alder blooms in March, putting out long, rounded, dangling clusters of reddish-orange flowers called catkins. Leaves turn a slight golden color in the autumn. In the open, alder crowns form a lovely rounded shape with spreading branches.

This tree plays many roles in forested landscapes. Deer and elk browse on the leaves, buds, and twigs. The seeds are important winter food for birds such as redpoll, siskins, goldfinches, and others. Red alder provides food for the young of swallowtail and mourning cloak butterflies, and stands of this tree provide shade for a variety of forest understory plants such as osoberry, vine maple, and sword ferns.

This tree does best in sun to part shade with moist soils. Plant it for fast-growing shade and screening.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirements: Moist
Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
Growth Rate: Moderate
Spreads: No
Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: No
Mature Height: 40-50ft
Mature Width:40-50ft

Madrone

Arbutus menziesii

Madrone is an attractive, broad-leaved evergreen tree with a twisting trunk that develops beautiful reddish-brown exfoliating bark with age. Mature size ranges from 20 to 65 feet tall and wide. Madrone does best in full sun and grows well on hillsides with dry, well-drained or rocky soils. Leaves are dark, shiny green and shed irregularly throughout the year.

Flowers are small, pinkish, and bell-shaped, arranged in drooping clusters. Flowers appear in April, followed by small round orange-red berries. Madrone’s fruit is eaten by a wide range of birds and its flowers attract numerous pollinators. They reach their full aesthetic potential when planted in a grove. Madrones can be difficult to establish, so plant small seedlings and be patient.

Light Requirements: Full Sun
Water Requirements: Dry
Ease of Growing: Hard to grow
Growth Rate: Slow
Spreads: No
Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
Fire-resistant: No
Edible: No
Mature Height: 20-65ft
Mature Width:20-65ft

Paper Birch

Betula papyrifera

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) is a medium to fast growing deciduous tree, reaching a mature height of 50-70 feet. The leaves are simple, alternate, to 4 inches long, toothed and roughly egg-shaped, coming to a pointed tip. The leaves turn bright yellow in the autumn. Flowers are male and female catkins to 1½ inches, blooming in the spring.

Paper birch is a widespread North American species; on the West Coast, the birch is considered native from eastern Oregon to Alaska. Paper birch is known for its distinctive bark, which is whiter than many birches and peels in papery strips. The bark of the birch was used for canoe-making across the United States outside of the Pacific Northwest (in the Pacific Northwest, Western redcedar is more commonly used). Traditional uses for birch resin include medicine, adhesive, and chewing gum. Today birch is a commonly used for pulp wood and as an ornamental tree.

Because all birches attract aphids and their “honeydew,” the tree is not recommended for patios or parking areas.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirements: Moist
Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
Growth Rate: Moderate, Fast
Spreads: No
Wildlife Support: Birds or Mammals, Pollinators
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: No
Mature Height: 50-70ft
Mature Width:15-25ft

Baldhip Rose

Rosa gymnocarpa

Baldhip rose (Rosa gymnocarpa) is a thicket-forming shrub that grows up to 5 feet high. The plant is widespread and common throughout Oregon.

Baldhip rose leaves are compound and deciduous with 5-9 1.5-inch leaflets. Thorns are thin and straight, ranging from numerous to sparse. Flowers are pink and fragrant, blooming in late spring. In fall it bears small, attractive fruits called rose hips which are 1/2″ in diameter and orange to scarlet in color. This rose tolerates full sun to partial shade and is drought tolerant. Rosa gymnocarpa hybridizes with other roses.

This shrub provides food and shelter for a variety of birds and mammals and attracts pollinators and other beneficial insects. Pollinators hollow out the stems and shelter inside them over the winter, and use the leaves for nesting material. Flowers are an important source of pollen. Anise swallowtail butterflies visit roses for their nectar, and the plant is a source of food for the young of mourning cloaks and gray hairstreak butterflies.

In favorable conditions, baldhip rose will try to spread by sending out underground runners which will sprout into new plants. Annual pruning may be needed to keep it in check.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
Growth Rate: Moderate
Spreads: Yes
Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: No
Mature Height: 5ft
Mature Width:3-5ft

Serviceberry

Amelanchier alnifolia

Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a large shrub or small tree, growing 6-18′ tall and up to 10′ wide. Leaves are round to oval, 1-2 inches long, and pale green in color. Once it is several years old, serviceberry starts blooming with fragrant white flowers from mid-spring to early summer followed by small, dark blue, edible fruit. Leaves turn a delicate yellow in fall.

This attractive shrub is also great for wildlife. Birds and small mammals eat the tasty fruit. Pale swallowtail and Lorquin’s admiral butterflies lay their eggs on serviceberry, and in winter many species browse the twigs and bark.

Serviceberry is a common and widespread species, growing native from Alaska to California, and across Great Plains into eastern Canada. It grows in full sun to partial shade, and tolerates dry, moist, or wet soil. Shrubs in sunnier sites tend to have the most vibrant fall color.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirements: Dry, Moist, Seasonally Wet
Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
Growth Rate: Moderate
Spreads: No
Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: Yes
Mature Height: 15-30ft
Mature Width:10-20ft

Red elderberry

Sambucus racemosa

Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) is a large shrub or small tree, growing up to 20’ tall by 20’ wide. It grows in full sun to full shade, and prefers moist to wet soil. It is deciduous with large, compound leaves. White flowers bloom from early-spring to mid summer in 1.5”-3” upright, pyramid-shaped clusters.

This shrub provides food and shelter for many wildlife species. Birds, mammals, and insects eat all parts of the plant including the leaves, bark, roots, and bright red fruit. The spring azure butterfly lays its eggs on red elderberry and the hollow stems provide nest space and overwintering shelter for solitary bees. This plant also supports beneficial insects that eat garden pests.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade
Water Requirements: Moist, Wet
Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
Growth Rate: Fast
Spreads:
Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Pest-eating Insects
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: Toxic if eaten raw - must be properly cooked
Mature Height: 10-20ft
Mature Width:6-10ft

Chokecherry

Prunus virginiana

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is a deciduous, thicket-forming shrub or small tree commonly found across much of the United States. Varieties native to Oregon include black (var. melanocarpa) and western (var. demissa) chokecherries.

This small, elegant tree can grow anywhere from 12-40 feet tall. It has dangling clusters of small, fragrant flowers in spring to mid summer. The leaves are oval, serrated, 2-4 inches long and pointed at the tip. The fruit is a ¼-½ inch cherry that starts red and becomes purple or black when ripe. Fall foliage is yellow.

Chokecherry is a very valuable tree for wildlife. Many butterflies rely on it for nectar, such as the pale swallowtail, silvery blue, spring azure, and painted lady. Lorquin’s admiral and spring azure butterflies lay their eggs on chokecherries.

Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirements: Dry, Moist, Seasonally Wet
Ease of Growing: Moderate
Growth Rate: Moderate
Spreads: Yes
Wildlife Support: Birds or Mammals
Fire-resistant: Yes
Edible: Yes
Mature Height: 12-40ft
Mature Width:10-20ft

Black hawthorn

Crataegus douglasii

Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) is a deciduous, thicket-forming shrub or small tree that grows anywhere from 20-40 feet tall. It is a common plant in Oregon and Washington on both sides of the Cascades, growing in moist, well-drained soils. The black hawthorn is an important species for wildlife, attracting pollinators and providing protected nesting and edible fruits for birds and other small wildlife.

Leaves are 1.5-3 inches long and up to 1.5 inches wide, doubly serrate, ovate, and sometimes lobed. Small white flowers bloom in clusters from late spring to early summer. The small, oval fruits are purple-black when ripe, one quarter to a half inch in size. This attractive tree turns yellow, orange, and red in fall.

Black hawthorn is an important species for wildlife, providing protected nesting and edible fruits for birds and other small wildlife. The young of gray hairstreak and mourning cloak butterflies feed on black hawthorn, and the flowers attract many native bees.