• Home
  • Availability
  • Request our Services
  • Gift Card
  • Hours and Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

Edge Of The Woods Native Plant Nursery, LLC

Specializing in plants native to mid-Atlantic ecosystem

June 6, 2019

Species Spotlight – Hackberry

Hackberry. It’s name doesn’t hold a lot of promise, but this is one tree you should include in your landscape. Botanically speaking, it does not bear berries, but drupes.   A drupe is a fruit with an outer fleshy part surrounding a pit with a seed inside. Well-known drupes are walnuts, almonds, pecans. Hackberries have a thin, very sweet purple skin surrounding a crunchy shell with a tiny nut inside. Whether you call it a berry or a drupe, it has top-notch wildlife value.

Hackberry in the Early Days

The wood of hackberry was used for barrel hoops and flooring in pioneer days. But the use of berries dates even further back — the hackberry is one of the first known foods that humans have eaten and stored. Caches have been found in ancient cave sites. They are high in fat, protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Today, some people use them in jellies, wine, and other foods.

Hackberry Appearance

Hackberry leaves are a light greenish yellow, turning yellow in fall.  Its gray, warty bark  is one of its most handsome features. The tree can grow to 50 feet or so with an equal width.  It can put on anywhere from 12”-24” of growth a year, growing to about the same height as hickories, beech, and persimmon.  It is similar to elm in its form with a broad crown and arching branches.

Hackberry cultural requirements

This adaptable tree is best grown in moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in full sun. It also tolerates a host of other situations such as drought, wind, urban pollutants, alkaline soil, shade, wet, dry,clay, poor, sterile, or alkaline soils. It is found commonly on limestone soils in Pennsylvania, and is considered an indicator of high pH soils (7.2 or higher).

Hackberry Uses in the Landscape

Because it is tolerant of a wide range of conditions, Hackberry is a good landscape choice. The unique bark provides winter interest, and its fine branching structure stands out against the dull winter sky.  In summer, it is a good all purpose shade tree.

Many cities have chosen to plant them because of their ability to withstand drought and flooding. For those who are opposed to ‘messy’ trees, this is a great choice. The berries are picked by birds before they hit the ground.

Hackberry Ecological Interactions

Hackberry Emperor Butterfly on Hackberry

Hackberry directly supports a number of insects and pollinators such as the American Snout, Hackberry Emperor, Mourning Cloak, Question Mark,  and Tawny Emperor butterflies.  It also supports psyllids and aphids which rarely cause severe damage and help  maintain numbers of lady beetles, lacewings, parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects.

Birds including cedar waxwing, mockingbird, robins and game birds relish it’s sweet fruits. Because the fruit remains on the branches throughout thee season, it provides food for a long period of time.  It’s narrow branching structure is an attractive place for birds to build their nests.

This little known tree has been around a long time and has supported generations of humans, birds, and small mammals.  Give one a home in your landscape today!

 

 

Article by Louise Schaefer / Plants, Why Natives?

Recent Posts

  • Community Presentations
  • Our First Ever Webinar
  • Other Learning Opportunities
  • Don’t ‘Clean-Up’ Too Soon!
  • Happy Holidays from Edge of the Woods

Our Plants

View our plant information here:

Trees, Shrubs, and Vines

Perennial Plants

Our Newsletter

Click here to see recent issue of our e-news.  We send it out weekly during the season, with information on plants.  A fun easy way to learn about natives in small bits at a time.

Our Events

For our 20th anniversary we will have an assortment of virtual and in person events.  Check them out here.

Find Us On Facebook

Testimonials

Staff was knowledgeable and helpful, plants are very well organized!

June, 2021

Currently Seeking Team Members

Jobs at EOTW

Pay Your Services Invoice

Looking to pay your invoice for landscaping services online?  Click Here.

Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery, LLC
A WBE Certified Woman Owned Business
Promoting Native Plants Since 2003

2415 Route 100, Orefield, PA 18069
(610) 395-2570
Email Us

Our Nursery

  • Gift Card
  • Our Plants
  • Planning Your Visit
    • -Hours/Directions
    • -Nursery Tours
    • -First Time Visitor?
  • Shipping
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Sample Designs
  • Plant Selection Guides

Our Services

  • Why EOTW?
  • Site Visits
  • Consultation
  • Maintenance & Design
    • -Request Services
    • -Rates
  • Photos
  • Pay An Invoice
  • Our E-Newsletter

Other Info

  • About Us
  • Helpful Links
  • Books
  • Jobs at EOTW
  • Site Index
  • Testimonials
  • Looking for a Program for Your Group?
  • Programs at the Nursery

Connect With Us

Copyright © 2023 · Site Developed by: KLK Web Services, LLC