Name

Category

Description

Size

Moisture

Light

Wildlife Benefits

Reference

Sugar maple
(Acer saccharum)

Tree

A large shade tree with yellow-green leaves turning an attractive yellow-orange or red in the fall. Slow growing and long lived.

Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 40+ ft

Moist,
Well drained

Full sun to partial shade

Maples are among the first trees to bloom in spring making them important pollen source for pollinators coming out of dormancy.

Sugar maple | The Morton Arboretum

Red oak
(Quercus rubra)

Tree

Hardy, long lived shade tree. Attractive leaves that turn from pinkish-red in spring to shiny dark green in summer before turning russet to bright red in the fall. Very tolerant of urban conditions.

Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 60+ ft

Moist to dry

Full sun to partial shade

Acorns are an important source of food for small mammals as well as birds like Blue Jays.

Northern red oak | The Morton Arboretum

White spruce
(Picea glauca)

Tree

Large, pyramidal evergreen tree with aromatic foliage and a uniform habit.

Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 10-20 ft

Moist, well-drained

Full sun to partial shade

Bark, branches, buds, and seeds are a food source for deer, rabbits, birds, and small rodents.

White spruce | The Morton Arboretum

White cedar
(Thuja occidentalis)

Tree

Medium-sized, hardy evergreen tree commonly used for privacy. Small, scaly leaves cover fan-shaped twigs. Yellow-green in colour all year. Very tolerant of urban conditions.

Medium
Height: 25-40 ft
Width: 10+ ft

Moist, well drained

Full sun to partial shade

Provides shelter, habitat, and food source for a variety of bird and small mammal species.

Eastern arborvitae | The Morton Arboretum

Ironwood
(Ostrya virginiana)

Tree

A slow growing understory tree with the densest, hardest wood of any native tree species. Very shade tolerant but tolerates full sun with ample moisture provided.

Medium
Height: 25-40 ft
Width: 15-40 ft

Moist, well-drained

Full sun to partial shade

Twigs, catkins, and seeds of this tree are a food source for many birds and mammals.

Ironwood | The Morton Arboretum

Blue Beech
(Carpinus caroliniana)

Tree

A small tree found in Southern Ontario, it is known for its muscle like ridges on smooth gray trunk. The fall colors range from brilliant yellow to orange to red.

Small
Height: 20-30 ft
Width 20-30 ft

Wet, moist, well-drained

Full sun to full shade

The seeds and buds provide a food source for game birds, songbirds and small mammals. It is also a larval host plant for the eastern tiger swallowtail and red-spotted purple butterfly.

American hornbeam | The Morton Arboretum

Serviceberry
(Amalanchier canadensis)

Tree/
Shrub

An adaptable large shrub/small tree that provides attractive fall colour and supports wildlife. Can be pruned as a single-stem tree or naturalized to form multi-stemmed shrubs.

Small Tree/Large Shrub
Height:10-20 ft
Width 10-20 ft

Wet, moist, well-drained

Full sun, partial shade, full shade

Flowers in spring are a source of pollen. Over 40 species of birds feed on the berries. Small round, sweet berries ripen later in summer.

Canada serviceberry | The Morton Arboretum

Red osier dogwood
(Cornus sericea)

Shrub

Large shrub with attractive red stems that provide winter interest. Yellow-white flowers appear in the spring followed by white berries in the late summer. Reddish-purple fall leaf colour.

Large
Height: 5-10 ft
Width: 5-10 ft

Moist to wet, well drained

Full sun to partial shade

Flowers attract pollinators in the spring and over 98 species of birds use the plant for food and shelter.

Red-osier dogwood | The Morton Arboretum

Ninebark
(Physocarpus opulifolius)

Shrub

A wide, large shrub with clusters of white flowers and interesting peeling bark. Leaves turn coppery-bronze in the fall. Very tolerant of urban conditions.

Large
Height: 8+ ft
Width: 8+ ft

Moist to dry

Full sun to partial shade

Flowers attract pollinators. Seed capsules attract seed-eating birds.

Common ninebark | The Morton Arboretum

Arrowwood
(Virburnum dentatum)

Shrub

This shrubs has white flat-topped flowers in the late spring, dark blue berries in September and wine-red foilage in the autumn. It makes for a good screen, informal hedge, and a filler.

Medium
Height: 5 - 8 ft
Width:  6 - 12 ft

Moist

Full sun to partial shade

Larval host to the humminbird moth and a nectar source to red admiral butterflies. Late fruiting season appeals to many bird species.

Southern arrowwood | The Morton Arboretum

Bush honeysuckle
(Diervilla lonicera)

Shrub

A hardy shrub with small yellow trumpet-shaped flowers tolerant of various conditions.
Mounded, Multi-stemmed, Thicket-forming.

Small
Height: 3 ft 
Width 3 ft

Moist to dry

Full sun to partial shade

Bees, butterflies and other pollinators that make use of the plant’s nectar and pollen.

Bush-honeysuckle | The Morton Arboretum

Carolina rose
(Rosa carolina)

Shrub

A native wild rose with fragrant pink flowers with yellow centers, red fruit hips and tolerant of urban environments.

Small
Height: 3 - 6 ft
Width: 4 - 8 ft

Moist to dry

Full sun

This shrub hosts butterflies, bees, birds and other small mammals. Edible fruit ripens in the fall and attracts overwintering birds.

Carolina rose (Rosa carolina) · iNaturalist