Trees for shade, flowers and wildlife

Choose by the space you have and what you want from the tree: shade, spring flowers, autumn colour or fruit for wildlife. This comparison includes both native and introduced trees.

Ohio buckeye seeds are poisonous and are not edible chestnuts.

Choose this if

A locally grown shade tree with sweet small fruit for people and wildlife.

A rounded shade tree for its foliage and spring flowers, with room for low branches.

Red orange fruit for birds and yellow autumn foliage on a medium sized tree.

A bushy small maple for a cool, moist woodland corner.

A small tree or multistem screen with red and orange autumn colour.

A dash means our sources did not give that detail.

PlantMature sizeSiteFruit or seedsGrown forOrigin
Hackberry40 to 60 ft tallFull sun or part shade in moist soil that drains wellSweet small dark fruit around a hard seedFruit for birds, deer and small mammals; can hang into winterGrown here from Manitoba seed
Ohio BuckeyeAbout 20 to 40 ft tall and wideSun or part shade in moist soil that drains wellOrnamental: seeds poisonous, not edible chestnutsYellow to greenish yellow spring flowers—
European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)20 to 40 ft tall and 15 to 30 ft wideFull sun in loam that drains wellRed orange berries; also used for preservesBirds visit late summer and fall berriesNative to Europe and parts of Asia, not a local native tree
Mountain MapleAbout 10 to 25 ft tall and 10 to 20 ft wideCool, moist woodland conditionsPaired winged seedsWoodland understory and yellow, orange or red autumn colourNative to eastern Canada
Amur Maple15 to 20 ft tall and wideSun or light shade in soil that drains well—Screens and small landscapesNative to the Amur River region of Russia and China

What we know and do not know

Mature sizes help show the space these trees can need. Hackberry can become a large tree; European Mountain Ash and Amur Maple are introduced. Mountain Maple is a woodland tree, not a choice for a hot exposed site.