Native Trees of Tennessee by Site | Tennessee Wholesale Nursery

The native trees of Tennessee that anchor most plantings are white oak, black oak, sugar maple, red maple, redbud and flowering dogwood, with tulip poplar as the state tree. For wet ground, add bald cypress and box elder. Choose by site first: how wet the soil stays, how much sun it gets and where in the state you are.

Tennessee Wholesale Nursery is a family-owned wholesale nursery in Altamont, Tennessee, near McMinnville. We grow trees, shrubs, perennials, wetland and native plants, and this site is our guide to planting in bulk. A tree that loves a wet bottom may fail on a dry ridge, and that matters when you plant by the hundred. So this guide sorts native trees by the ground they suit, with the sizes and bundle counts we sell. A table at the end lines up each tree by site and region before you order from our native and shade trees.

Native trees of Tennessee by site

• White Oak Seedlings: the long-lived upland hardwood, in bundles of 100, 500 or 1,000.
• Red Maple Seedlings: for wet to average soil, in bundles of 100, 500 or 1,000.
• Sugar Maple Tree: bare-root trees from 1 to 4 feet, in lots of 25 to 500.
• Box Elder Tree: a fast native maple for floodplains, from 1 to 4 feet.

1. Read your region and soil first

Tennessee runs from Mississippi River bottomlands in the west, through the limestone basin and cedar glades of Middle Tennessee, to the Cumberland Plateau and mountains in the east. Region narrows the list, but drainage decides it. Walk the site after a heavy rain. Note where water stands for days, where it drains by morning and where thin, rocky soil dries fast. Mark each zone on a map.

Tip: Order by zone, not by property: one site can need three tree lists.

2. Wet bottomlands and stream banks

For ground that floods or stays soggy, start with Bald Cypress Seedlings, the classic swamp tree of West Tennessee. Red maple handles wet soil along creeks and ditches. Box elder grows fast on floodplains and helps hold banks while slower trees fill in. Put cypress in the wettest spots and maples a step higher. Our guide to trees for wet soil sorts more species by flood level.

Tip: Plant cypress where water stands longest; it handles flooding the others will not.

3. Deep uplands and open fields

Deep, well-drained upland soil suits the big canopy hardwoods. White oak is the long-lived anchor, and its acorns feed wildlife. Sugar maple prefers cooler, moist slopes and gives strong fall color. Tulip poplar, the state tree, also grows fast on good soil. Mix oaks and maples in every block so a woodlot or reforestation project never rests on one species.

Tip: Plant oaks and maples in alternating rows for an even mix.

4. Dry ridges and thin, rocky soil

Ridgetops and south-facing slopes dry out hard by late summer, and their thin soil holds little water. Here, Black Oak Seedlings are a better bet than thirsty maples. Black oak copes with poor, dry upland soil and still bears acorns for wildlife. Plant white oak in the deeper pockets and save the water-loving trees for low ground.

Tip: On dry sites, plant early so roots settle before summer heat.

5. Flowering understory and woodland edges

Under taller trees and along woodland edges, plant Redbud Trees and the White Dogwood Tree. Both are small native trees that bloom in early spring, redbud in pink-purple and dogwood in white. They like partial shade and soil that drains well, so keep them off flooded ground. Use them along drives, field borders and campus walks, and as a lower layer below oaks.

Tip: Space them along edges where the flowers can be seen.

Seedlings or larger bare-root trees

Our native trees come as two kinds of stock. Seedlings are young bare-root trees sold by the hundred. White oak, black oak, red maple and bald cypress seedlings come at 6 to 12 inches, 12 to 18 inches or as row run. Row run means a mix of sizes from 6 to 24 inches, straight from the bed. Each comes in bundles of 100, 500 or 1,000. Seedlings cost the least per tree and suit reforestation, wildlife plots and stream-bank jobs where you plant thousands. Larger bare-root trees, such as sugar maple, box elder, redbud and dogwood, come at 1 to 2, 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 feet, in lots of 25 to 500. Choose these where a planting needs to look finished sooner, such as a school, park or subdivision entrance. On any large job, keep one species to about a tenth of the total. Then plant in the dormant season; our guide to the best time to plant trees covers the timing, and how to plant tree seedlings in bulk covers the work.

Care and keeping: In the first year, water is what keeps new trees alive. Soak each tree at planting. Then water deeply whenever a week passes without a good rain, right through the first summer. Keep grass and weeds pulled back from the base, since they compete for that water. Our planting instructions cover each step.

Frequently asked questions

What are some common native trees in Nashville?

Tulip poplar, eastern redbud and box elder are among the most common trees around Nashville. Red maple, white oak, sugar maple and flowering dogwood also grow well across Middle Tennessee. Match them to the site: red maple and box elder for creek bottoms, sugar maple and oaks for upland ground, redbud for edges.

What is the 10/20/30 rule for tree planting?

It is a guide for planting a mix that can stand up to pests and disease. Plant no more than 10 percent of any one species, 20 percent of any one genus, such as all oaks, and 30 percent of any one family. On a large job, it keeps one pest from taking out the whole planting.

How do you identify native trees of Tennessee?

Start with the leaves: their shape, their edges and whether they sit opposite or alternate on the twig. Then check the bark, buds, flowers and fruit, such as acorns or winged seeds. The University of Tennessee's pocket guide to common Tennessee trees walks through each feature by season.

Native Tennessee trees at a glance