Create a legacy of loveliness with our native trees
Starter-sized Ky native trees
available for pick-up now:
Bur Oak, White Oak, Sycamore, Chinquapin Oak, Northern Hackberry, Shumard Oak, Witch Hazel, Flowering Plum
See the videos on these species and others, to help you choose the best ones for your location
Beauty & Benefits:
Kentucky native trees are unmatched in their value to pollinators, songbirds, and other wildlife, while enhancing your curb appeal and elevating your property value
Our Pocket Forests will make it easy for you to begin to create a beautiful, environmentally responsible, backyard paradise that will be enjoyed by yourself and subsequent generations of people and wildlife for many years to come.
Kentucky native trees & shrubs all have naturally
built-in benefits; the ones that we select are each "solid citizens" -- even in the tiniest backyard:
beauty | budget friendly | create a healthy living environment | control erosion and prevent flooding | support pollinators | hardier and more adaptable to weather and climate fluctuations | support biodiversity | mitigate air pollution | deep roots save on watering | support songbirds | shade lowers utility bills in summer | never require pesticides | restore lost habitat | low-maintenance | create wildlife habitat | healthier and stronger
Locally grown to produce naturally adaptable trees with great roots-- our starter-sized Kentucky native trees & shrubs are small but mighty!
These trees and shrubs start small, but tend to establish and begin growing quickly, without the lag time that larger plants often experience from transplant shock.
Our starter-sized (1-3 gallon pots), budget friendly, native trees and shrubs can be the anchors, or the "bones" of a natural landscape, even in a very small yard. Then, you can fill in with native flowers and grasses.
"Planting Trees Can Increase Your Home's Value by Thousands
​In this case, money really does grow on trees!"
--House Beautiful
SPECIAL ORDERS
If you prefer to begin with larger trees and shrubs, we also carry quite a few non-native, blooming shrubs (azaleas, hydrangeas, lilacs, etc) and we can usually acquire larger, native and non-native trees, so please feel free to tell us what you need, and we'll be happy to check with our growers.
What's the best soil supplement and fertilizer?
COMPOST!
With very few exceptions, high quality, homemade compost is the gold standard addition to improve your trees' well-being. You can purchase compost or, better yet, create your own.
Unless or until you have a good compost bin up and running (click the button to learn more, and don't be intimidated -- it's really easy!), you may want to give your trees' a boost with one of the Schultz products that we carry.
Mulching reminder:
The Lexington Tree Board has declared that arborist chips are the preferred mulching medium for woody plants and should be applied at a depth of 2-4", and kept a couple of inches away from the trunk. When you mulch your trees, shrubs, or flowers, avoid the temptation to build a volcano -shaped pile of mulch, which can have serious, adverse effects on your plant by keeping moisture up against the plant's trunk or stem. We want to keep the soil moist, but never the trunk.
One of the greatest benefits offered by trees is their tremendous contribution to wildlife. That includes a huge number of insects, which in turn feed songbirds or become beautiful butterflies and moths.
When you see evidence that someone has been nibbling, enjoy the fact that your tree is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: contributing to the wider community, and will almost never suffer serious harm in the process.
​
Ninety nine percent of the time you can just relax and let nature handle the problem.
Do not use pesticides unless a licensed arborist identifies the nibblers as a dangerous, invasive insect species. Then follow her/his recommendation for the best way to treat the situation with the least damage to beneficial insects and wildlife.