An understory plant in moist locations in hardwood forests, often in association with streams. The leaves are 3 to 6 inches long, shiny, and olive-green above and lighter green below. 35 to 40 feet tall with a spread of 20 to 25 feet. Rocky, dry areas with Chestnut Oak, Blackjack Oak and Post Oak in oak-pine forests. It prefers moist soils in full sun to partial shade. Devils Walkingstick is a deciduous, tall, erect, single-stemmed shrub. It transplants easily and prefers moist, well-drained soils and full sun. Dry upland sites with sandy or clay loam soils. 35 to 40 feet tall with a spread of 25 to 35 feet. Does not include plants recently introduced from other regions that have naturalized or become invasive Not all plants found growing wild are native. Southern Highbush Blueberry is an upright, multi-stemmed shrub having a rounded, dense, compact form and a medium texture. Moist soils of valleys and bluffs, and in hardwood forests. 20 to 25 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. Usually found in sandy, floodplain forests. The fruit are reminiscent of hops, hence the common name. The distribution of plants is sometimes described in terms of these geographic regions. Leaves are 8 to 14 inches long with five leaflets, sometimes seven. Wildlife relish the seeds. Moist soils in hardwood forests; often found near streams. Site of the 1st Gold Rush in Dahlonega in 1828. 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 5 to 15 feet. Georgia has a varied landscape, ranging from the ancient Appalachian Mountains in the north, across the Piedmont region's coastal plain, and ending with salt marshes and the Atlantic Ocean. Its evergreen foliage does not allow much sunlight beneath the canopy. It displays good drought tolerance if planted in moist, well-drained soils. Georgia Regions Map Activity. The level of sunlight is an important consideration. Pennsylvania to Missouri, south to Florida and Texas. White flowers, borne in spring, are small, fragrant and bell-shaped. Leaves are deciduous or semi-evergreen, alternate, leathery, pale green to bluish-white. Fruit are shiny, crimson-colored drupes in September. Stems are smooth gray to grayish-brown. Flowers are white to pink, and fruit are about one-third-inch in diameter. The mature bark is dark gray and deeply furrowed. A thick layer of pine straw or leaf litter on the surface of the soil will prevent this type of species from getting started. Use Needle Palm as a single specimen or in groups. Its white flower petals are united at the base. Fruit are enjoyed by cedar waxwings, cardinals and other birds. It requires adequate moisture during dry weather and prefers acid soils. It will look spindly in shade. Red Buckeye is a clump-forming, round-topped, deciduous flowering shrub or small tree. It is especially attractive when flowers are present. Bloom time is from May to August. A similar species, Coast Leucothoe (Leucothoe axillaris), is found in south Georgia. Spice-Bush is a deciduous shrub having medium texture and slow to medium growth rate. Use Sparkleberry as a flowering or specimen shrub in full sun to partial shade. Occurs in areas that are wet during winter months. 60 to 80 feet tall with a spread of 25 to 40 feet. New England to Florida and Mexico; west to Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. The female flowers produce berries about 0.25-inches in diameter; they change from white to orange, then to black by late summer. Flowers are pollinated by only one insect the yucca moth. American Hornbeam grows in flood plains and along waterways throughout the Southeast. 4 to 6 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 8 feet. Climate - hot summers/ mild winters Agriculture - turpentine. Foliage is glossy green. It will require pruning. Carolina Buckthorn is a small, deciduous tree. 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 8 to 10 feet. It does well in almost any situation, from wet to dry, full sun to partial shade. Its most striking characteristic is the exfoliating, dark brown to gray bark, which flakes off to expose a white inner bark. It is pyramidal in form when young, becoming oval-rounded with age. Plant or transplant young trees or container-grown plants because larger trees are difficult to transplant. Leaf litter may be a problem. 20 to 30 feet tall and 20 to 25 feet wide. Fruit are dark blue, 0.5 inches in diameter, and resemble small, black olives. Darrows Blueberry is a small evergreen shrub, rarely more than 24 inches tall. Found in fertile woodlands along sandy streams and hillsides. Vines are generally useful for quickly covering objects such as arbors, trellises, fences or mailboxes. Plants vary tremendously in their need for moisture and their tolerance of moisture extremes. Use Small Anise-Tree as a specimen plant and for screening or hedges. These species are a major component of the forest understory, especially in mountainous regions. With age, it will sometimes form an upright trunk. Trees such as basswood (Tilia Americana), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) occur with the greatest frequency at low altitudes, with stands of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) covering its higher slopes. Flowers are creamy white and borne in flat heads in April and May. They bloom from June to August in clusters of four to 12 flowers. Then backfill with the same soil removed from the hole and water thoroughly to remove air pockets. Some plants in this region include kudzu, pine trees, oak . Sourwood needs moist soils with good drainage and sun to partial shade. The bark and leaves yield a yellow dye. Georgia Basil is a low, loosely sprawling, freely branched, semi-evergreen shrub. It prefers well-drained soils and full sun. Chestnut Oak, also called Rock Oak or Rock Chestnut Oak, is a deciduous tree with medium-coarse texture and a medium growth rate. An understory plant of moist and rocky woodlands. Use Darrows Blueberry as a foundation planting or groundcover on Coastal Plain flatwood sites with good drainage, sandy acid soils and shade to partial sun. Blueberries are an important food source for wildlife. It is pyramidal in youth, developing a long, clear trunk with a small, open pyramidal crown as it ages. Wet, swampy areas and along small black-water drainage areas of the Coastal Plain. Its leaves are dark, shiny green above and dull green beneath, with pubescent woolly hairs at the leaf axils. It will grow in full sun to partial shade. Transplanting is most successful when done during the warm summer months. The bark is dark and handsome. Old leaves drop in the spring as new leaves emerge. The flowers (male and bisexual) occur together in 4- to 8-inch panicles in March and May. Moist, fertile soils in woodlands, along streams and on bluffs. The fragrant white flowers sometimes have yellow blotches. Yellow, fragrant flowers are borne in November and have four strap-shaped petals. Wet woods, bogs, stream banks and springheads of the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont. Leaves are palmate with five to seven leaflets. Host Plants: Wild cherry (Prunus serotina) and Willow (salix nigra). This bundle addresses the following regions . This shrub is mostly found in mountain valleys in wet, wooded areas and along shaded streams. The foliage is leathery and glossy green. In other words, dont plant a Red Maple from New England in Georgia; it may not adapt to the Souths heat and humidity. Fall color is variable, ranging from yellow to orange or red. 20 to 25 feet tall with a spread of 15 to 20 feet, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b (shorter-lived in 8a, 8b). Sometimes described as a clumping palm, it is actually a single-trunk palm, but its trunk is either very short or below ground and it will seldom appear tree-like. Adams Needle, also called Beargrass, Spanish Bayonet and Curly Leaf Yucca, is an evergreen shrub with coarse texture and a medium growth rate. The foliage is blue-green and attractive. It prefers moist, fertile soils in full sun to partial shade, but it is moderately tolerant of adverse conditions. It sometimes forms colonies from its suckering root system. Moist soils in low woods and lower slopes in woods and thickets from the lower Piedmont to the southern Coastal Plain. They are clustered in loose racemes arising from the leaf axils of the previous seasons growth. Moist, well-drained soils along riverbanks and streams, swamps and flood plains. Leaves are palmate and three-lobed. A good hummingbird plant. It needs acidic, sandy loam, well-drained soils and full sun for best development. Growth habit is bushy, branched and 6 to 8 feet tall. The outer coastal plain (sometimes referred to as the lower. It looks particularly nice as a multi-stemmed form. This species must be used in partial shade as the flowering period is from July to September. Fragrant, pinkish-white, bell-shaped flowers are borne from April to May. Its form is oval to round. Possumhaw is a good wildlife plant. For best flowering, do not over-fertilize. 8 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet. Widely adapted to a variety of sites, from rocky bluffs to waters edge. The flowers open with or after the leaves and are not fragrant. In total, approximately 134 river miles (216 kilometers) in Georgia and Tennessee fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. It spreads via suckers arising from the roots. The leaf is compound, and flowers are trumpet-shaped, orange to red. Young trees have a dense, broadly pyramidal form, becoming more open and irregular with age. Eastern Redbud is a deciduous, flowering tree with a medium growth rate and coarse texture. Palmetto palm is sometimes used as a street tree, but it is used more often as a single specimen or in groupings in landscapes. Reddish-orange to red flowers open after the leaves are fully developed and are not fragrant. Carolina Buckthorn is an attractive tree with slender branches and an open crown. Use American Beech as a shade or specimen tree. Use Gallberry in mass plantings or as a single specimen. It also occurs occasionally on well-drained lowland sites. Therefore, the mature size of the plant projected in this publication is only an estimate of the size of the plant when it is 10 years old. Ogeechee Lime is a deciduous tree with medium texture and a medium growth rate. Fall color ranges from yellow to orange or purple. Supports hummingbird spring migration. Slash Pine is planted widely for timber production in and out of its natural range and habitat. The leaves are triangular-ovate, coarsely toothed and deeply lobed. They have leaves lacking bristles on their lobes or leaf apexes, and their acorns require one growing season to mature. American Snowbell is easy to root from cuttings taken in June and July. Turkey Oak is a distinctive, small, deciduous tree with crooked branches. Other trees provide focal points in the landscape and are called specimen plants. 40 to 50 feet tall with a spread of 24 to 35 feet. We also extend sincere appreciation to the following individuals who provided images of the plants described in this publication. U. S. Nat. During drought or extreme cold, they will roll into tight cylinders. Virginia to Florida, west to Louisiana, Arkansas and eastern Texas. Foliage has a cherry-like odor when crushed. New York and Massachusetts, south to Florida, west to Texas and Oklahoma. It will climb trees and masonry structures but is not overly aggressive. Fall color can be good and ranges from yellow to orange or rusty-red. They persist on the tree for two seasons. The land is used for pasture. The leaves are variable in size and shape, especially when young. An understory plant on hardwood forest slopes with good moisture and sandy soils. Location: Piedmont means "foot of the mountain." The Georgia Piedmont is located between the coastal plain and the mountains in the northern half of Georgia. It occurs in moist soils as an understory tree, but it tolerates most landscape conditions and urban sites. Duncan, Wilbur, and Marion Duncan. Downy Serviceberry is a deciduous, flowering tree with medium-fine texture, narrow-rounded crown and a medium growth rate. It prefers moist soils but has moderate drought tolerance. Fragrant, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers are borne in February and March. Variations in microclimates may extend the growing range north or south of the zone listed. Black Walnut is a large tree with a fine texture and loose, open form. Plant it in full sun on well-drained soils. Leaves are sweet to the taste and are eaten by wildlife. #3. Moist soils of valleys and uplands in the understory layer of hardwood forests. Use Common Witchhazel as a specimen plant in the shrub border. Pennsylvania, west to Ohio and Illinois, and south to Tennessee, northern Alabama and northern Georgia. Variable, from dry, rocky ridges to wet, poorly-drained areas. Gallberry, or Inkberry, is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with medium-fine texture, medium growth rate and an upright-oval form. 10 to 15 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 10 feet. Floridas Best Native Landscape Plants. Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Illinois and Iowa and southeast to Georgia. Groundsel Bush is an evergreen to semi-evergreen flowering shrub. Bark is gray and attractive. It adapts to both moist and dry soils. Because it is attractive to bees when flowering, it may be best to plant it away from the public. Honey-scented, yellow flowers appear before the leaves in March. Virginia to central Florida, west to Texas and Oklahoma. It climbs by twining. Swamp Chestnut Oak is a deciduous tree with a compact, rounded crown and a medium growth rate. Winged Sumac is a large, deciduous, flowering shrub with coarse texture and a fast growth rate. Blue-green, pest-free foliage turns brilliant orange-scarlet in fall. Several cultivars of both Drooping Leucothoe and Coast Leucothoe are available. Climbing Hydrangea is a deciduous vine with medium-coarse texture and a medium growth rate. It seems to transplant well. Oconee Azalea is a low to tall shrub found in open woods and slopes from the lower Piedmont region across central Georgia. It has an open, rounded form with spreading branches. Turkey Oak's red fall color brightens the landscape of the sandhills. It does not like hot, dry sites. It prefers moist soils in sun to shade and is not drought tolerant. The leaves are narrowly oblong or lanceolate, light green and shiny above and pale green below. Fetterbush is best used in mass plantings and naturalized settings. Also, make certain all plants in a given location have similar cultural requirements for ease of maintenance. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, and consist of five leaflets. Use Red Maple as a shade tree in moist soils and full sun. Acorns are an important food for wildlife. New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Georgia. It also could be used on a pond or lake edge under deciduous trees and shrubs, or to hold a wet, shaded ditch area. Strawberry-Bush is a deciduous shrub having medium texture and medium growth rate. New York to Florida, west to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. It is tolerant of a wide variety of sites and is salt tolerant. Establish as small plants or as container-grown specimens because of the sparse root system. The abundant acorn production may be a problem in public areas. The terminal leaflet is often missing. It is a graceful tree. Dwarf Fothergilla is a good plant for foundation planting or a perennial border. Green Ash is a deciduous, fast-growing tree with an upright, spreading habit. Leaves are unique in that they resemble the foliage of parsley. It is a long-lived pine, often growing for more than 300 years. 10 Best Fruit Trees to Grow in Georgia #1. Find out what Extension has for you! Fertile soils of deciduous forests. Many cultivars are available. The Coastal Plain from South Carolina to Florida, west to Louisiana. Sweet Azalea is found along streams in moist mountain coves and is stoloniferous, forming dense colonies of plants growing up to 15 feet tall. Along stream banks of creeks and rivers, and at woodland borders in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. Flowers bloom in March and are white to pink. Fruit are berry-like, borne in clusters, green when young and turning black in fall. Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America. The Piedmont region consists of hilly terrain and sits approximately 500 feet above sea level. The two acre garden, due to its aspect, is protected from severe weather and contains about 3,000 plants ranging in age from young one-year-old plants to very old plants. Foliage is a lustrous, dark green. It is a striking plant in bloom. Creamy-white flowers are borne in flat heads in May. Kale. Large, funnel-shaped flower clusters are borne at the branch tips from April through August, depending on the species and habitat. Leaves are smooth, dark green and have blunt appressed teeth. Honeycup, or Zenobia, is a medium-size, stoloniferous shrub. 80 to 100 feet tall and 60 to 70 feet wide. In fact, some native plants, having a limited growing range and very specific growing requirements, may decline or die when subtle alterations are made in their native habitat. This area of mountain foothills once served as the primary area for growing cotton. Fall leaf color is yellow. American Holly is a broadleaf evergreen tree with medium-coarse texture and a moderate growth rate. A habitat will provide shelter, food . Thin, wet woods; shallow depressions; and other low, moist areas. The city will plant the . Seedlings are tolerant of shade and can remain in the shrub layer for years, waiting for a "gap" that provides light. Seeds are valued by wildlife, particularly squirrels, chipmunks, deer and turkeys. Iron chlorosis may be a problem in high pH soils. 6 to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide (can grow to 15 feet tall). However, nature does not always cooperate with the guidelines humans develop. It also tends to retain numerous dead branches within its canopy. ISBN 0-88192-128-9. Use Sweetshrub as a specimen plant or in groups within a shrub border or woodland setting. Seeds require no pretreatment, and cuttings root readily. It is spectacular in bloom, but a young tree may not bloom until it is five to eight years old. Well-drained soils along rivers and streams. This refers to the broad geographic area (within the United States) where the plant naturally occurs. It often develops a trunk that is devoid of branches for several feet from the ground. Grown primarily for the pink to rose-colored, pea-like blooms in March and April, Eastern Redbud is showy. The plants that are native to the Piedmont region include rhododendrons, oaks, hickories, and maples. It needs moist, well-drained soils and partial shade. Mixed pine/hardwoods ("climax") upland forest along valley slopes and bluffs, 3. The species with mature heights of about three feet or less are generally known as lowbush blueberries. Most of the taller ones are called highbush blueberries.. If rainfall is not adequate, all newly installed plants, including native plants, need supplemental watering their first year or until they become established. Coastal Virginia to northern Florida, and west to Louisiana. They are arranged in a drooping whorl at the base of the current season's growth. Hillside Blueberry is a low-growing, deciduous shrub occurring in small to large open colonies. It is fast-growing and moderately easy to establish, especially when young. Prune after flowering. This tree often survives forest fires. 60 to 80 feet tall with a spread of 50 to 60 feet. 50 to 80 feet tall, with a similar spread. Flowers are pink, occasionally white, with pink center tubes and a sweet to musky-sweet fragrance. Not only this, but it will be beneficial to keep them among other animal repellent plants to properly protect them. This plant is named for the Ogeechee River, where it is commonly found. Fall color ranges from yellow to deep purple or maroon. It is commonly used in landscapes because of its adaptability to a wide variety of sites, including sun or shade, wet and dry sites, and both acidic and alkaline soils. Needles are dark green, two per fascicle, spirally twisted, and 2 to 4 inches long. It prefers moist, fertile soils and full sun to light shade. It transplants readily and has fair drought tolerance. Cultivars such as "Amethyst Falls" are available. The Coastal Plain from Georgia to Florida and west to Texas. It is a tough plant that lends a bold, tropical look to the landscape. It spreads outward by root suckers to form colonies. Moist woods, stream banks and near springs. They remain on the tree for two years. Sugarberry is a long-lived shade tree. Hot, dry, rocky areas in the lower south. It usually grows on higher and drier sites than the Needle Palm and Dwarf Palmetto. It loses its leaves early, often by late September. Swamp-Haw is a deciduous shrub bearing white blooms in flat heads in May. Southern Wax Myrtle is an upright, broadleaf evergreen shrub/small tree. Form is upright with a flat crown. It is frequently associated with limestone soils, such as shell middens and calcareous bluffs. By: Dr. B. E. Williams, NBCT Coastal Plains Vegetation - soil is not fertile. Use Laurel Oak as a shade or street tree. The plant is stoloniferous and spreads via suckers arising from the roots. Habitat: Woodlands. Southern Michigan to Kansas, south to North Carolina and Florida, and west to Texas. Environmental features such as moisture, soil pH and sunlight level of a smaller, more focused area, are called the microclimate. Sugar Maple makes a fine specimen, street or shade tree. It occurs as an understory tree on uphill sites having moist, well-drained, acid soils. Mountain Laurel is an evergreen flowering shrub having a medium texture and a slow growth rate. Post Oak is a medium-size tree with stout, spreading branches and a dense, rounded crown. 60 to 100 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide. It provides refuge and cover for birds in inclement winter weather. With age, the plant has a very picturesque branching habit. Use American Snowbell as a specimen or patio tree. It does best when planted in moist, fertile soils in full sun. Virginia Pine is a medium-size tree with medium texture and rapid growth rate. The coarse-textured leaves and showy fruit make this species desirable for naturalistic settings or mixed shrub borders. 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 5 wide, depending on whether or not root suckers are pruned. On open sites, it has a rounded, spreading form. By Gary Wade, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist (Retired); Elaine Nash, Naturalist; Ed McDowell, Master Gardener, Amateur Botanist and Wildflower Photographer; Brenda Beckham, Master Gardener and Plant Enthusiast; Sharlys Crisafulli, Horticulture Program Assistant, Reviewed by Bodie Pennisi, Extension Floriculture Specialist. It is not tolerant of wet sites. The flowers are yellow tinged with green, borne in erect panicles, 6 to 7 inches long by 2 to 3 inches wide from middle to late April. There are several ways to develop these types of properties while capitalizing on their native beauty. Leaves are aromatic when bruised. Fertile woodland soils with high organic matter. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia are home to 20 species of Vaccinium and have a greater diversity of Vaccinium than any other comparably-sized area in North America, according to Alan Weakley, author of The Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia. Manufacturing based in these and other urban centers is the primary commercial industry of the . Arching branches often take root and spread. South Carolina to northern Florida and west to Louisiana. The different soil, derived from a different geologic history and supporting a different vegetation, produces the two major geographical provinces of Georgia, the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. It is evergreen in south Georgia and deciduous in northern Georgia. Each link below provides a pop-up online slide show with information about the plants and animals of the habitats, the adaptations of species living there, and the environmental issues facing those habitats. Black Walnut produces the chemical juglone in its roots and leaves, which kills or inhibits growth of other plants nearby. Millions of acres of productive land were degraded in the 18th and 19th centuries. It needs training for the first few years after transplanting. Dry, rocky woods and bluffs, and land adjacent to rock outcrops. It can be established by division or from container-grown plants. In nature, the macroclimate of an area, including winter and summer temperature extremes, precipitation and humidity, dictates the geographic distribution of a native plant. In friable soil, the plant is stoloniferous and will form large colonies. Avoid planting it in exposed locations because the large leaves are easily torn by wind. Subtly, but not explosively showy, its best ornamental features are the clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers borne from April to early May. Appalachian oak forests cover most of the Province but other tree species like basswood, sugar maple, tulip poplar, beech, birch, and hemlock are also found with an understory may include rhododendrons, native azaleas, and mountain laurel. Deerberry is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a fern-like branching pattern. Several cultivars are available. It is a nice choice for a fragrance garden. It prefers moist, acidic, well-drained soils and full sun to partial shade. North of Florida, the native range of this palm is restricted to coastal areas that are subject to salt spray and storms. The terminal leaflet is the largest. It climbs by branched tendrils (slender, curling extensions along the stems) that have adhesive-like tips that attach to a structure. 2. It develops a round, open crown, a buttressed trunk and a shallow root system. A very rapid grower, it is one of the most popular trees for Georgia conditions, adaptable to most landscape sites. Open swamps, sandy lakeshores, upland woods and ravines. Massachusetts to Florida, and west to Minnesota and Texas. By understanding a plants native habitat and simulating it in the landscape, you are more likely to have success growing the plant. Nice for mass plantings. A good wildlife plant; cultivars are available. Twigs are reddish-brown to gray, with 0.75-inch-long thorns. It prefers moist, well-drained soils and full sun to partial shade. It has an irregular, spreading, loosely branched, upright growth habit. Use American Wisteria on arbors, trellises, fences and walls. It is a high-value wildlife tree. It performs best in moist, fertile soil. It is best planted as a seedling and is attractive in its grass-like stage. With the increasing destruction of natural environments for urban and agricultural use, many plant species and the animals they support have declined dramatically in numbers and in range. Dirr, Michael A. Crossvine is a good plant for quickly covering trellises and fences. Twigs and young stems are angled and slightly winged. Brackish coastal soils; wet depressions and bogs to fairly dry upland sands in pine or pine-oak forests. Vegetation The original forests of the southern Piedmont consisted of oak and hickory trees. Moist soils along shaded stream banks or on wet, rocky ledges. Beware of its long, sharp spines along the inner trunk and foul-smelling fruit when deciding where to locate this palm in the landscape. Virginia to Florida; west to Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. They are alternately oblong and lance-shaped, and are 2 to 4 inches long and 1.25 inches wide.