Hackberry - Celtis occidentalis - €12per plant 
500 seeds £12 / €15 / 30BGN inc. delivery

Hackberry, originally from North America, is a hardy tree tolerating temperatures down to -40. The tree grows fast, can tolerate winds and shade making it an ideal candidate within a shelter belt. It can also make a great free standing monument in the larger garden. It provides bountiful  tasty sweet fruits and the leaves and twigs make good rabbit and goat food. The tree can be coppiced which twinned with the fact that it grows fast makes it suitable for wood production.  To order this plant or seeds please contact us [email protected].  

Context

  • native region:Eastern N. America - Quebec to Manitoba, North Carolina, Missouri and Oklahoma.
  • native habitat:Dry to moist and rich woods, river banks, rocky barrens. Frequently found on limestone soils.
  • family: Ulmaceae


Predators

  • Foliage browsed by cattle and deer
  • sensitive to mites (Eriophyes spp.), which cause witches' brooms or thick clusters of branches and twigs



Needs, tolerances 

  • Light: Full sun, dappled shade
  • soil pH:  acid-neutral -basic alkaline 
  • USDA Hardiness Zone: 3a - 8a
  • Prefers moist soil



Known hazards 

  • none known

Overview

  • ​Deciduous Tree growing to 20 m by 20 m at a fast rate.
  • It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in October.
  • The flowers are monoecious (separate male and female on same plant) and are wind pollinated.
  • Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
  • Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
  • It can grow in the shade.
  • It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
  • The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Characteristics

  • form: Standard Tree
  • layer : Upper Canopy 
  • habit: Vigorous growing, wide spreading crown
  • height x width (m): 20 x 20
  • years to bearing flowers :   
  • productive life span: 150-200 yrs

Products 

  • Fruit: Not much flesh but very sweet. can be eaten off the tree when ripe.
  • The fruit and seed can be ground up finely together and used as a flavouring.
  • Wood : Wood - rather soft, weak, coarse-grained, heavy. Is sometimes used commercially for cheap furniture, veneer, fencing fuel etc
  • Excellent for windbreak/shelterbelt.
  • Leaves and twigs: Good fodder for rabbits and goats
  • Medicinal: An extract obtained from the wood has been used in the treatment of jaundice. A decoction of the bark has been used in the treatment of sore throats

Functions, behaviors

  • Can tolerate soils prone to occasional flooding 
  • Develops deep, wide spreading root system.
  • Throughout its native range, Hackberry is rarely dominant and rarely occurs in pure stands.
  • Produces flowers at the same time as leaves
  • Seeds dispersed by fruit-eating birds, mammals, and reptiles.
  • Trees respond well to coppicing
  • Occurs in early and climax communities and tolerates open as well as dense, closed-canopy conditions. It colonizes old fields, disturbed sites and persists and reproduces in old-growth forests
  • Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
If you would like this plant please send an email to [email protected] with your order. 
Balkan Ecology Project