Audubon® Native Bitternut Hickory

Bird-Friendly Audubon® Native Bitternut Hickory Tree (Carya cordiformis) is a fantastic deciduous hardwood tree that can reach a hefty 50-80 feet in maturity and spread to 30-50 feet wide. Adaptable and cold-hardy, these trees are similar to Walnuts with their long pinnate leaves, and yellowish-green catkins that become green-husked fall nuts if your tree is female!

Bitternut Hickory are a highly ornamental shade and landscape tree, growing tall, straight and with a vase-shaped canopy. The strong limbs are fantastic windbreaks, mightly specimens and roosting for birds and wildlife. The nuts are edible by humans, chipmunks, squirrels and other wildlife love them! The great green foliage fills out to create a lush deep shade that cools your home and reduces cooling costs.

Native Bitternut feature fall color is a vibrant yellow that positively glows! Set one so the setting sun shines through these trees and sets them alight in gold! The nuts attract loads of wildlife and the trees themselves call Wrens, Warblers, Grosbeaks, Vireos, and many other backyard songbirds to feast among, nest, and shelter. Additionally, several species of butterfly and moth use Hickory as Host Plants for their larvae! Banded Hairstreak, Hickory Tussock Moth, Regal and Giant Regal Moths and Luna Moth larvae that songbirds feed their hungry chicks!

Planting and Application:

Audubon® Natives like the mighty Bitternut are classic bird sanctuaries, housing flocks of birds and supporting entire ecosystems among their branches. Another common name for the Bitternut is the Swamp Hickory, indicating its tolerance to moist to occasionally wet soil. These Walnut relatives produce some juglone, but not nearly to the extent that walnut trees do. So plant your juglone-tolerant or native perennial shade gardens beneath these limbs without worry! Or just use the dense shade for your lawn chairs!

These are fantastic lawn and shade trees! A single specimen will set your front yard afire each fall and fill your backyards with birdsong. You’ll enjoy reduced cooling costs and increased home equity with a large long-lived tree like a Hickory. Plant in large open spaces and big backyards so a single tree can shade the entire area.

• Long Bright Green Foliage
• Tall Open Canopy & Straight Trunk
• Gorgeous Golden Fall Color
• Massive Wildlife, Bird & Butterfly Habitat
• Shade, Lawn & Specimen Tree

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Hickory Trees need full sun and rich well-drained soil. These hardy natives adapt to a wide range of conditions and soil types. Prune in late winter to remove crossing and damaged limbs and mulch the root zone to hold in moisture and insulate the roots. Water young trees regularly while establishing, but after, these deer-resistant trees are adaptable to very moist conditions and occasional drought.

• Full Sun
• Almost Any Well-Drained Soil - Tolerates Clay
• Thrives in Moist, Rich Soil
• Deer Resistant
• Cold Hardy USDFA Zones 4-9

Audubon® Native Bitternut Hickory Trees are large-scale specimens that shade your home and house tons of wildlife! Plant adaptable and hardy native trees and shrubs to help retain the native biodiversity in your area while supporting birds, butterflies and wildlife! Order yours today at NatureHills.com!

Audubon® Plant Information

Bird-Friendly native trees and plants provide food and shelter for local and migrating birds, as well as other wildlife. By purchasing and planting native flora, you will support Audubon's conservation mission and impact, while helping birds and wildlife thrive!

• Grown Without Neonicotinoids
• Audubon® is Licensed & Registered to the National Audubon Society
• May Not Be Available in Non-Native Regions, States or Countries - Check Here
• Audubon® Native Plants & Trees are Exclusively Grown by Bower & Branch