Edible, Fruiting Plants To Grow With Evergreens
Nothing herein or in related content should be taken as medical or as personal advice, or as a diagnosis or a prescription in any form.
Evergreen trees and shrubs are especially helpful to the environment, to wildlife, and to us, providing important habitat, beauty, and oxygen year-round.
Native* evergreens include:
* native means to the east, north-central Midwest
- arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)
- cedar, eastern red (Juniperus virginiana)
- hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga caroliniana)
- juniper, common (Juniperus communis)
- pines (Pinus spp. including eastern white, jack, loblolly, pitch, shortleaf, and Virginia)
- yew, Canada (Taxus canadensis)
Native, fruiting plants that work well* around evergreen trees include:
- blueberries, cranberries, huckleberries (Vaccinium spp., 5 native blueberries, 2 native cranberries, 1 native huckleberry)
- bunchberries (Cornus canadensis)
- blackberries, dewberries, raspberries (Rubus spp., several native species of each)
- currants and gooseberries (Ribes spp., 3 native currants, 5 native gooseberries)
- huckleberry, black (Gaylussacia baccata)
- pawpaws (Asimina triloba)
- serviceberries (Amelanchier spp., 5 native species)
- wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca and F. virginiana)
And while her berries are not considered edible, a great addition to the area is northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica), which can fix nitrogen in the soil to benefit surrounding plants. Her leaves are used by many as a substitute for bay leaves. For more nitrogen-fixing plants, please see the related post.
*When placing plants, please keep in mind that while many of these fruiting plants can tolerate partial shade, most benefit from sufficient sun (at least 4-6 hours) for optimal fruit set.