Evergreen plantings clean the air year-round, help support native bird populations, and offer a continual presence of equilibrating and healing green hues.
As with many other species, planting native evergreen trees often produces the best results, as plants native to an area have an innate ability to adapt to regional stresses, plus provide preferred habitat for local wildlife and insects.
In the east, north-central division of the Midwest, native evergreen species include:
- eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- arborvitae /”white cedar” (Thuja occidentalis)
- eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- jack pine (Pinus banksiana)
- shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
- pitch pine (Pinus rigida)
- eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)
- loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)
- Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana)
To find out which plants are native to your area (in the U.S.), the USDA Plant database can be a good resource.