All trees and shrubs are 3 gallon conservation grade containers (ranging from 2 - 8 ft tall) unless otherwise noted. All orders must be made in advance. If you are interested in ordering bundles of oak tree bare root seedlings (min 25/variety), please contact our office at (309) 581-3001.
NATIVE PECAN (CARYA ILLINOINENSIS) - $25.00 EACH
The pecan is one of the most important native nut trees in North America. It is a large, straight-trunked tree native to river bottoms and rich fertile soils. The nut, a beloved pie ingredient and also favored by wildlife, ripens in the fall. Excellent speciality crop.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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BUR OAK (QUERCUS MACROCARPA) - $25.00 EACH
The stately bur oak, native to the Midwest, is a great choice as a shade tree and for specimen plantings in parks, spacious yards, and other large areas. Its massive trunk has gray to brown furrowed bark and its branches bear lustrous dark green leaves that turn yellow-brown in fall. Large acorns with fringed caps attract birds and small mammals. Tolerates a variety of moisture and soil conditions.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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SCARLET OAK (Quercus Coccinea) - $26.00
The scarlet oak is native to the eastern and central parts of the United States and prefers dry, sandy, or slightly acidic soil conditions. Its large leaves can get up to seven inches long and up to five inches wide and form an open, rounded crown for good shade. Considered fast growing and drought-tolerant with brilliant scarlet fall color. The acorns are small and mature in about 18 months, and their color is usually pale brown.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
BLACK OAK (Quercus velutina) - $25.00
This tree is not easily recognized as an oak due to an atypical, unlobed leaf. It is not used as commonly as other oak species, but would be valuable as a parkway or shade tree in a large landscape. The deciduous Black Oak tree may grow to a height of 80 feet with a trunk diameter of about three and one half feet. The trunk is straight. The bark is black and deeply furrowed, with a yellow or orange inner bark and the leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. The Black Oak may be found statewide in Illinois. This tree mainly grows in upland woods. It flowers in April and May when the leaves begin to unfold. The hard, red-brown wood is used in construction, for fuel and for making fence posts. Like other oaks, Black Oak is beneficial to many kinds of wildlife.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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CHESTNUT OAK (Quercus montana) - $26.00
Chestnut oak is native to the far southern edge of Illinois but is hardy in the northern part of the state. Fall color varies from red to orange to yellow-brown. Chestnut oak is a member of the white oak group with chestnut-like leaves. The chestnut oak is noted for its ability to survive on steep, rocky sites where other oaks in its range cannot. Foliage unfurls pink and becomes silvery before finally becoming dark green. The chestnut oak is also known for its beautiful silvery-white bark. The chestnut oak is used as a shade tree for large areas.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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DWARF CHINKAPIN OAK (Quercus prinoides) - $26.00
This is one of a few species of oaks that remain small in size (less than 20' tall), and the Dwarf Chinkapin Oak is one of them that can be cultivated in Illinois. This small oak can be distinguished from saplings of the larger Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muhlenbergii) by the appearance of its leaves: they have fewer pinnate lobes (typically 5-8 along each side) than the leaves of the latter oak (typically 10-15 lobes along each side). The leaves of Chinkapin Oak also tend to be more slender in shape and slightly longer in length (up to 7").
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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BUTTERNUT WALNUT (Juglans Cinerea) - $25.00
Slow-growing tree also known as white walnut. Sweet, tasty nuts good for speciality crop and wildlife food. Produces juglones like black walnut. A woodland tree that is endangered in Illinois due to the butternut canker disease. This tree blooms in April and May when its leaves are partly grown. The wood is used for making furniture and interior finishing. It is a shade intolerant species and must be in the overstory to thrive.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
BLACKGUM (Nyssa Sylvatica) - $26.00
Black gum is a medium to large native landscape tree with foliage that is glossy green in summer and bright red to deep purple in fall. Primarily dioecious (separate male and female trees), but each tree often has some perfect flowers. Small, greenish-white flowers appear in spring on long stalks. Although flowers are not showy, they are an excellent nectar source for bees. Fruits mature to a dark blue and are attractive to birds and wildlife. Spectacular scarlet fall color. Black gum grows best in moist, acidic soils, but also makes a good street tree in residential areas, as it tolerates drought and soil compaction.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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BALD CYPRESS (Taxodium Distichum) - $25.00
Deciduous conifer with narrow, conical form. Fine, feathery foliage that turns rich brown in fall. Unlike most cone-bearing trees, bald-cypress loses its needles each winter and grows a new set in spring. The russet-red fall color of its lacy needles is one of its outstanding characteristics. Hardy and tough, this tree will adapt to a wide range of soil types, whether wet, dry, or swampy.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
PERSIMMON (Diospyros Virginiana) - $26.00
Slow-growing, usually shrubby tree known for sweet, orange fall fruits. Valuable food source for wildlife. American Persimmon is very adaptable, tolerating full sun to light shade, moist to dry conditions, and soil containing clay-loam, loam, silt, sand, and rocky material. Fruit can be produced as early as 10-15 years.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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YELLOWWOOD (Cladrastis kentukea/lutea) - $26.00
Yellowwood is a medium- to large-sized tree, 30 to 50 feet high, with smooth bark, large hanging clusters of fragrant white flowers, and clear yellow fall color. Choose a yellowwood tree for excellent shade in a small to medium sized landscape. Note that the branches of the yellowwood are highly susceptible to ice storm damage.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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SHORTLEAF PINE (Pinus echinata) - $26.00
The shortleaf pine, also known as the yellow pine, is a southern Illinois native, but can be planted statewide. This coniferous tree may attain a height of 80 feet and a trunk diameter of two feet. Its crown is rounded or pyramid-shaped. The red-brown bark is broken into large plates. Blue-green needles grow in clusters of two or three. The flexible needles may be five inches long. Male (staminate) flowers are arranged in purple spikes up to three-fourths inch long. Female (pistillate) flowers are in rose-colored groups of one to three. The fruit is an ovoid cone. Cones grow in groups of one to three. Each cone may be two and one-half inches long, and each cone scale has a sharp prickle. The triangular seed is less than one-fourth inch long with a wing about one half inch long. Use for wildlife cover, nesting, and attracting butterflies.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade (4 hrs or less of light daily)
FRASIER FIR (Abies fraseri) - $20 (1 gallon pot)
Fraser Fir is rarely found in the wild and is not native to Illinois, but is one of the most popular Christmas trees in the United States and do well as a landscape tree in large yards. Needles are arranged spirally around the stem, and are dark green, shiny, and about 1" long. The underside of the needles has two white bands. Cones are purplish and grow upright from the stem. Bark is thin and smooth, with many resinous blisters that ooze tree resin. Fraser firs do not tolerate salt damage well and therefore are not good for street trees in snowy areas.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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Steeplebush (Spirea tomentosa) - Size: 1 Gallon container - $20
Suckering deciduous shrub bearing erect, unbranched stems clad with elliptic to ovate, medium to dark green leaves that are densely hairy underneath. The foliage turns golden-yellow in fall. In mid summer to early fall, dense plumes 4-8" long packed with tiny pink to rose-purple flowers, appear at the tips of the branches. Blooming from top to bottom, the flowers produce nectar and pollen, which attract bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.
- Grows up to 2-4 ft tall and 3-5 ft wide. This is a vigorous plant that will spread by suckers to form colonies.
- Loves full sun and easily grown in medium to wet soils. Tolerates a wide range of soil and light shade, but best flowering occurs in full sun. Remove spent flower clusters to promote additional blooms.
- Perfect choice for banks and slopes, rain gardens, or along ponds and streams.
- Deer resistant.
SILKY DOGWOOD (Cornus amomum) - $22.00
Silky dogwood is a large to medium-sized native shrub with creamy white spring flowers, dark green foliage, and reddish stems and burgundy fall color. A great four-season plant for naturalizing, en masse, and in the shrub border, especially in moist sites.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade (4 hrs or less of light daily))
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RED OSIER DOGWOOD (Cornus stolonifera)
Red-osier dogwood is a large, 6 to 9 foot, erect shrub. The shrubs can be used in front of evergreens that will show off the dark red winter stems. Besides attractive, red stems in the winter, red-osier dogwood has yellowish-white flowers that appear in late May to early June, and bluish-white fruit borne in late summer. Fall color is reddish-purple.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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AMERICAN FILBERT/HAZELNUT (Corylus americana)
American hazelnut is a thicket-forming native shrub, excellent for naturalizing, woodland gardens and shade areas. Showy male flowers (catkins) add early spring interest and dark green leaves turn a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors in the fall. The nuts mature from September to October, attracting seed-eating birds, such as blue jays and woodpeckers.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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AMERICAN SMOKETREE (Continus obovatus) - $26.00
American smoke tree is a native of North America, but is little used in home landscapes. This small to medium tree produces the same "smoke" (hairy fruit stalks) as its cousin, Eurasian smoke tree, and also offers excellent fall color.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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SWEETBAY MAGNOLIA (Magnolia virgiana) - $26.00
Sweetbay magnolia is a late-blooming tree native to the eastern United States. It has fragrant, creamy-white flowers and glossy, dark green leaves with silvery undersides. This small tree is an excellent choice near patios, wood edges, and shrub borders. It is also tolerant of wet sites, such as pond edges and low areas in a landscape.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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CHICKASAW PLUM (Prunus angustifolia) - $23.00
*Missouri native hardy to zone 5.* Growing 20 feet tall and wide, Chickasaw plum forms a rounded mass of slender, sometimes thorny branches sprouting from a short trunk. In spring, before the one and a half to three-inch-long leaves appear, Chickasaw plum is festooned with small, white, fragrant flowers which make the trees quite decorative in the presence of other trees which are often still dormant. Best in sunny woodland areas, hedgerows, informal screens, food forests or wild areas where it can naturalize by root suckering into colonies or thickets. Also effective along stream banks for erosion control and in shrub borders. Fruits are quite tart with a large seed, but good made into jelly.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun to partial shade
HOPTREE/WAFER ASH (Ptelea trifoliata) - $23.00
Wafer-ash is a small native tree or large shrub. It produces small fragrant flowers and wafer-like winged seeds, similar to elms. It is a good plant for naturalizing or woodland landscapes. Despite the name, this tree is not a true ash tree and is unaffected by the emerald ash borer. This species is native to the Chicago region according to Swink and Wilhelm’s Plants of the Chicago Region, with updates made according to current research.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade (4 hrs or less of light daily)
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LEADPLANT (Amorpha canescens) - $22.00
When considering native plants to add to your garden, don't overlook the Lead Plant. Lead Plant has a deep branching root system good for erosion control and is easy to grow in any sunny well-drained site. Lead plant is drought tolerant and a wonderful ornamental plant due to its showy blue-purple flowers with orange stamens extending outward and gray-green leaves that are eye-catching all season. It blooms May - June, attracting many different kinds of pollinating insects. It is not particular about soil type, and it will flourish in loamy, sandy, gravelly, or clay soil. This plant adds nitrogen to the soil. Partial sun is tolerated, but it will flower less abundantly and have a tendency to sprawl. Leadplant is easy to grow, but slow to develop – flowers may not appear for at least 3 years. A wire fence or cage may be necessary to protect young plants from rabbits and other herbivores. This is a true prairie plant.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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BLACK CHOKEBERRY (Aronia melanocarpa) - $22.00
Black chokeberry is a dependable small to medium sized shrub with an upright, mounded habit. Small clusters of white flowers in spring are followed by glossy black fruit. The dark green foliage turns reddish-purple in the fall.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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AMERICAN BEAUTYBERRY (Callicarpa americana) - $23.00
With magenta berries putting on a brilliant fall-to-winter show, this shrub holds up to its name. The beautyberry is low-maintenance, easy to grow, and a magnet for birds during the cold months.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full Sun, Partial Sun/Shade
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NORTHERN BAYBERRY (Myrica pensylvanica) - $26.00
Bayberry is an upright, rounded, dense shrub with semi-evergreen, dark green, leathery leaves. It has small waxy, persistent blue-gray fruit, which add winter interest and attract many species of birds. It is a pleasantly aromatic large shrub. It is native along the coasts of the eastern United States. It can be used in a shrub border, in a mass planting, or in informal foundation planting.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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AMERICAN BLACK CURRANT (Ribes Americanum) - $23.00
American black currant is a thornless, erect native shrub with showy yellow flowers in early spring followed by edible black berries in mid-summer. It is an excellent choice for moist, shady sites.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily)
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PRAIRIE WILLOW (Salix humilis) - $26.00
Prairie willow is a dwarf, shrubby willow reaching 4 to 6 feet high, but can grow as high as 10 feet with branches reaching low to the ground. Often found in upland open prairies, along roadsides, and disturbed sandy soil. One of the first shrubs to flower in the spring before the leaves emerge.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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ARROWWOOD VIBURNUM (Viburnum dentatum)
Southern arrowwood, also known as arrowwood viburnum, is valued for its durability and utility in the landscape. Its ornamental features include white, flat-topped flowers in late spring, ink-blue fruits in September, and wine-red fall color. The native shrub makes a great screen, informal hedge, and is useful in groupings and masses, or as filler in the border. The shrub attracts butterflies, bumblebees, and other native bees. Fruit attracts small mammals such as the eastern bluebird, northern flicker, gray catbird, and American robin. The plant is also a caterpillar and larval host to the hummingbird moth and a nectar source to red admiral butterflies.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade
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EARLY WILD ROSE (Rosa Blanda) - $23
Incredibly hardy and thornless or near-thornless, this plant is a vigorous, mult-stemmed suckering shrub. In summer, it is covered with a plentiful array of fragrant, 2-to-3-inch wide, pink to white flowers with showy yellow centers. As an extra bonus, these are followed by bright red rose hips that ripen in fall and remain persistent throughout winter and are an excellent source of vitamin C. Green to reddish stems lack prickly thorns and add winter interest to the landscape. Attractive to bees and pollinating insects.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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COMMON LILAC (Syringa vulgaris) - $20.00 [1-gallon pot]
The common lilac is an old-fashioned, long-lived, and well-loved lilac best known for its fragrant flowers. It is extremely hardy and thrives with little care which makes it a lovely shrub for a specimen planting, in masses, screens, hedges, or mixed in shrub borders. The nectar of the flowers attracts long-tongued bees, butterflies and moths.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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BUTTERFLY BUSH (Buddleia Davidii) - $20.00 [1-gallon pot]
*Non-native species.*
Butterfly bushes are grown for their long panicles of colorful flowers and their ability to attract butterflies and beneficial insects. They bloom in spring and summer, but the naturally attractive shape of the shrub and evergreen foliage keep the bush interesting, even when it is not in bloom.
Size Range:
Light Exposure:
- Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)
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GRAPE VINES [1 gallon pot] - $25.00
How to Grow Grapes in Illinois - Growing Guides (growing-guides.com)
Alwood – A dark blue-black grape similar to Concord but with bigger berries (seeded)
Concord – a dark blue-purple all purpose grape used to make grape jelly, juice, and grape
Canadice – medium size, pink to light red seedless berries
Reliance – large clusters of round, red, medium-sized berries (mostly seedless)
***Includes registration of the Waystation and a certified sign for your yard/garden.***
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL – 10% OFF REGULAR PRICE - $153
2 – Common Milkweed
2 – Spider Milkweed
2 – Butterfly Milkweed
2 – Whorled Milkweed
2 – Rose Milkweed
2 – Showy Goldenrod
2 – Aromatic Aster
2 – Ironweed
2 – Lupine
2 – Spotted Bee Balm
2 – Joe Pye Weed
2 – Early Sunflower
1 – Pale Purple Coneflower
1 – Leadplant
1 – Dense Blazing Star
1 – Purple Passion Flower
Bundle of 3 bare root seedlings – Buttonbush
1 – Common Lilac Bush OR 1 – Butterfly Bush (not native) [1 gallon pot]
*substitutions may be made depending upon germination of plants in spring*
