55), red-headed woodpecker (p. 212), pileated woodpecker, American crow (p. 244), scarlet tanager, gray catbird (p. 79), red-breasted nuthatch (p. 322), white-breasted nuthatch, American robin (p. 62), golden and ruby-crowned kinglets (p. 233), eastern bluebird (p. 61), wood thrush (p. 175), cedar waxwing (p. 36), brown thrasher (p. 219), red-eyed vireo (p. 112), and northern cardinal (p. 61). “Common Elderberry is an attractive shrub, but often ignored because of its ubiquitous occurrence. In fact, people often destroy this shrub along fences or waterways in residential areas, notwithstanding its outstanding value to wildlife, particularly to songbirds,” writes John Hilty.23 Zones: 3–8; RED ELDERBERRY, SCARLET ELDER (S. racemosa). Height/Spread: 10–12 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Common to the more northerly regions of the Midwest, cones of soft white flowers resemble white lilac flowers. Eye-popping, slightly toxic red summer berries; yellow fall leaves. Stems, bark, leaves, and roots contain cyanide-producing toxins, so most mammalian herbivores avoid the shrub. Cultivation: Full sun best, moderately moist soil. Can grow almost anywhere. Note: Threatened in Illinois. Zones: 4–6; Elderberry Note: Tolerate black walnut tree toxicity. Elderberry Host Plant Note: Native elderberries host 42 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies/moths), including Henry’s elfin (p. 93). Birds eat and feed the caterpillars to their nestlings.
White-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
More Native Alternatives:
CHOKEBERRY SPP., p. 13; CURRANT SPP., p. 35; NINEBARK, p. 44.
See Spring Trees for AMERICAN PLUM and other native plums, p. 78; AMERICAN SNOWBELL, p. 116; CHERRY SPP., p. 82; SERVICEBERRY SPP., pp. 20, 77.
Nonnative:
FLOWERING QUINCE. Family: Rose (Rosaceae). Genus: Chaenomeles; COMMON FLOWERING QUINCE (C. speciosa). Origin: China; JAPANESE FLOWERING QUINCE (C. japonica). Origin: Japan. Height/Spread: 6–10 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Spiny, stubby shrubs; red, sometimes white or pink flowers in March to April bloom for a short time. No fall color. “Not pretty except in bloom, this ungainly, deciduous shrub brings little to most home landscapes,” writes Penelope O’Sullivan.24 Cultivation: Full sun best, moist well-drained soil, naturalizes. Ecological Threat: Naturalized in midwestern states. Zones: 5–8.
Japanese flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica)
Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia var. pavia)
Native Alternatives:
RED BUCKEYE. Family: Soapberry (Sapindaceae). Genus: Aesculus (A. pavia var. pavia). Large shrub/small tree. “Though buckeyes are the smaller, shrub members of the horse chestnut (Aesculus) genus, they are rather massive when compared with other shrubs,” writes Penelope O’Sullivan, and “wonderfully pest free.”25 Height/Spread: 6–15 feet; can grow taller. Ornamental Attributes: Large, brilliant red flowers bloom for several weeks from mid-spring to early summer, attracting ruby-throated hummingbirds (p. 91). Specimens that have grown in full sun and have a dense crown have a blooming period that is “almost theatrical in brilliance.” With flower panicles that are among “the most beautiful of any temperate-zone species” and its distinctive buckeye foliage (opposite, compound) appearing early, red buckeye is “among our most welcome harbingers of spring,” write Sternberg and Wilson.26 Coarse, open structure (especially when the branches are permitted to fully develop to the ground), and light brown, flaky bark offer winter interest; seeds are encased in smooth orange-brown husks. One of Christopher J. Starbuck’s “Uncommon Trees for Specimen Planting.” Cultivation: Full sun best, takes part sun; moist well-drained soil. Native American Note: Toxic seeds used to drug fish, making them easier to catch. Note: Threatened in parts of North America, including Kentucky. Nature Note: See YELLOW BUCKEYE, p. 98. Zones: 4–8.
Red buckeye flowers (Aesculus pavia var. pavia)
Common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia)
More Native Buckeye Alternatives:
See Summer Shrubs for BOTTLEBRUSH BUCKEYE, p. 130.
See Summer Trees for OHIO BUCKEYE, p. 184.
More Native Alternatives:
CHOKEBERRY SPP., p. 13; FOTHERGILLA SPP., p. 27; NORTHERN BUSH HONEYSUCKLE, p. 38; OZARK WITCH HAZEL, p. 75; RED CURRANT, p. 35; RHODODENDRON, AZALEA SPP., p. 56; ROSE SPP., p. 60; SAND CHERRY, p. 17; SWEETSHRUB, p. 19.
See Fall Shrubs for AMERICAN BARBERRY, p. 233; LEATHERWOOD, p. 232.
See Spring Trees for FRINGE TREE, p. 105; REDBUD, p. 92..
Forsythia
