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Top 5 Trees for Attracting Wildlife

January 6, 2017

Beautify your landscape and benefit the little critters in your neighborhood at the same time with these trees!

Little leaf linden – Fragrant, honey-like Spring blossoms on this medium-size tree are wonderful to beneficial pollinators like honeybees. A formal, pyramidal shaped tree when young, the canopy will get rounder with maturity, but its dark green heart-shaped leaves will still be there.

Washington hawthorn – Bright red showy berries that persist on this tree after the leaves fall off not only add gorgeous winter beauty to your garden, they provide a tasty snack to birds and squirrels alike. The hawthorn is a fast-growing small tree with bee-friendly white flowers in Spring too.

Valley oak – The crown jewel of our native tree canopy hosts a wide variety of local wildlife, from squirrels after the fall acorns, to birds, and a wide variety of insects. The majestic, sculptural branches when mature make it a popular choice for landscaping as well.

Prairifire crabapple – Dark pink showy flowers in Spring are celebrated by bees, and then the dark red berries that follow on this small tree are popular with birds. We people like how pretty the tree is – flowers, dark reddish green leaves, and reddish bark with nice fall color too.

European hackberry – the small, dark berries on this tree bring many songbirds to your yard, as well as being a snack for turkeys and squirrels. A large tree, that is a tough, low-water user, with an especially smooth looking bark.