Missouri Native Plants

Find the best selection of native tree species for the State of Missouri here at Nature Hills Nursery and support flora and fauna!

Choosing indigenous trees for your State means you will know your tree will thrive where it is well suited to climate and soil because they originated there! They need less water once established. Native selections establish faster and tolerate the changing climate, weather, and anything else your State may have to offer.

Plus you’ll feed pollinators pollen and nectar, seeds for songbirds, and provide shelter, food, and forage for a wide variety of wildlife like the lovely Eastern Bluebird, which is the Missouri state bird.

Best Missouri Native Trees

The Show Me State can have a varied range of habitats from rolling hills and slopes to grasslands and spanned agriculture. Ranging from USDA growing zone 5 to 6, with the southeastern corner of the state dipping into zone 7. Missouri can have broad fluctuating temperatures throughout the year.

Find your Hardiness Zone, and then choose any tree that has a range that includes yours! Check with your local County Extension Office for more information if needed and for the many microclimates within these zones.

Best Native Evergreen Trees For Missouri

Conifers and broadleaf evergreens keep their leaves year-round for privacy, slow down the wind and drifting snow, and add winter interest.

• American Holly Trees
• Bald Cypress Tree (deciduous conifer)
• Eastern Red Cedar Tree (Redcedar)
• Eastern Hemlock
• Eastern White Pine
• Loblolly Pine
• Possomhaw Holly
• Red Pine

Native Flowering Trees to Grow in Missouri

The Flowering Dogwood is the Missouri State tree! Other flowering ornamentals that are native to the state feed pollinators and hummingbirds nectar and pollen they evolved alongside in your State! Many of these trees are host plants for native pollinator larvae too!

• American Basswood/Linden Trees
• Cucumber Tree Magnolia
• Black Locust Tree
• Carolina Silverbell Tree
• Dogwood - Pagoda, White, Pink & Red Flowering, Gray, Roughleaf, Silky, & Swamp 
• Eastern Redbud Tree
• Pussy Willow Tree
• Native Smoketree
• Tulip Poplar/Tulip Tree
• White Fringetree (Fringe Tree) & Grancy Greybeard Tree
• Witch Hazel (American Witchhazel)

What Are Native Shade Trees in Missouri?

Missouri can have some warm summers and lots of wind, so you need a good shade tree that handles wind and gives your backyard lush relief from the sun.

• American Beech Tree
• American Chestnut
• American Elm Tree
• American Hornbeam 
• American Hop Hornbeam
• American Sycamore
• River Birch Trees
• Black Gum Tree
• Black Willow
• Box Elder Tree (Boxelder)
• Buckeye Trees - Ohio & Red
• Cottonwood/Eastern Cottonwood Tree
• Hackberry/Common Hackberry Trees & Sugarberry Tree
• Kentucky Coffee Tree
• Maple Trees - Black, Silver, Red, & Sugar
• Northern Catalpa Tree
• Oak Trees - Black, Blackjack, Bur, Cherrybark, Chinquapin, Northern Red, Nuttall, Overcup, Pin, Scarlet, Shingle, Shumard's, Swamp Chestnut, Swamp White, Water, White & Willow Oak Trees
• Quaking Aspen
• Sassafras Tree
• Sweetgum (Sweet Gum) Trees
• Washington Hawthorn Tree
• Yellowwood Tree
  

Native Fruit & Nut Trees in Missouri

Make your landscape work for you and create a food sustainability paradise in your own backyard. We love edible landscaping trees that look great and feed you and your local wildlife.

• American Plum/Wild Plum Tree & Chickasaw Plum
• Black Cherry Tree
• Black Walnut Tree
• Hazelnut/Native American Filbert
• Bitternut, Black, Butternut, Pignut, Red, Shellbark & Shagbark Hickory Trees
• Paw Paw (Pawpaw) Trees
• American Persimmon
• Hardy Pecan Trees
• Red Mulberry Tree
• Downy Serviceberry

Much Needed Natives!

Help keep your State's native biodiversity intact by planting trees native to your area! Nature Hills is committed to helping you preserve your State’s unique beauty with plants and trees that are sure to do well in your garden without impacting your native landscape!

Native shade, flowers, and food, you’ll find just what you need, and rest assured it will thrive in your region. Nature Hills is here to help you find the perfect tree for your Missouri landscape!