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What to plant - trees and shrubs

  Mature height Soil Moisture Shade tolerance Comments
Conifers          
White Cedar to 50' sand/loam/clay  moist to well drained Sun/part shade Used for windbreaks, moderate growth when young, growth slows with age, will grow on eroded slopes
White Pine 100' + sand/loam/silt loam well drained Sun/part shade Used in reforestation to initiate succession to hardwoods, susceptible to salt damage
Norway Spruce to 100' sand/loam/clay  well drained Sun/part shade Used for windbreaks, fast growth once established, this is often the large spruce one sees along old farm lanes
White Spruce to 60' sand/loam/clay  moist to well drained Sun/part shade Used for windbreaks, does not grow as tall as Norway spruce 
Blue Spruce to 50' sand/loam/silt loam well drained Sun/part shade Drought tolerant once established, moderately tolerant of salt spray
Tamarack to 60' organic(muck)/ loam well to poorly drained Full sun Tolerates wet soils, fast grower; needles turn yellow in fall and drop, native larch
Austrian Pine to 60' sand/loam/clay  well drained Full sun Tolerates salt spray, drought, used mainly along roads and for urban/residential trees
Deciduous          
Silver Maple to 100' sand/loam/clay  well to poorly drained Full sun Good trees for moist sites but will also grow on upland sites with heavy soil
Sugar Maple to 80' sand loam to clay well drained Shade/part shade Important tree for timber and maple syrup production, requires protection from rodents, rabbits and deer
Red Oak to 100' sand/loam/clay  well drained Full sun Excellent wildlife species, requires protection from rodents, rabbits and deer, best growth on well drained loams
Bur Oak to 100' sand/loam/clay  well to imperfectly drained Full sun Excellent wildlife species, requires protection from rodents, rabbits and deer, tolerates a range of soil types, moist to dry
Black Walnut to 100' loam/clay  well drained Full sun Best growth on deep, well drained loams of  floodplains or lower slopes
Black Cherry to 80' loam  well drained Full sun Excellent wildlife species, protect from rodents, rabbits and deer, grows fast on well drained loams
Common Hackberry to 60' sand/loam/clay  well drained Sun / part shade Has unique corky ridges on bark, tolerates dry sites but best growth in flood plains
Shrubs          
Red Osier Dogwood  to 10' sand/loam/clay  poorly drained Full sun White flowers with white fruit, tolerates a wide variety of soils and drainage 
Staghorn Sumac to 15' sand/loam/clay  well drained Full sun Red fruit  persists in winter, excellent for eroded slopes, spreads by root suckers that prevent erosion,  tolerates poor soil
Nannyberry Viburnum  to 15' sand/loam/clay  well to poorly drained Full sun Cream flowers and dark purple fruit
Highbush Cranberry  to 15' sand/loam/clay  well to poorly drained Full sun Prefers moist soils, red fruit persists in to winter