The best trees and shrubs for wildlife

If you want to do the most for wildlife with the fewest plants, choose the right trees and shrubs. The woody backbone of a yard provides the food, shelter, and nesting sites that smaller plantings cannot, and a handful of well-chosen natives can transform a yard into habitat.

Some plants are far more valuable to wildlife than others, supporting dramatically more species. Here are the best trees and shrubs for wildlife in Palm Beach County, and what each one provides.

Why trees and shrubs matter most

Trees and shrubs do the heavy lifting in a wildlife yard: they offer nesting sites and cover, produce berries and seeds, and host the caterpillars that are the essential food for nesting birds. A single good tree can support more wildlife than a whole bed of flowers.

Choosing native woody plants, especially the high-value ones below, gives you the biggest return for your effort. They are the foundation everything else builds on.

Oaks — the keystone

If you have room for a tree, an oak is the most valuable thing you can plant for wildlife. Native oaks host hundreds of species of caterpillars — the protein that birds depend on to raise their young — far more than any other tree, while also providing acorns and cover.

Live oak and other native oaks are long-lived, majestic, and superbly adapted to our region. No single plant does more for the food web.

Beautyberry and elderberry

American beautyberry is a native shrub whose vivid purple berry clusters are a feast for birds in late summer and fall, and it thrives in sun or part shade with little care. It is one of the easiest, most rewarding wildlife shrubs you can grow.

Elderberry produces abundant flowers for pollinators and berries for birds, growing fast in moist spots. Both deliver serious wildlife value and look good doing it.

Wax myrtle and viburnum

Wax myrtle is a tough, fast-growing native that makes an excellent screen while providing berries that birds rely on through winter and dense cover for nesting. It tolerates a wide range of conditions and is endlessly useful.

Native viburnums, like Walter's viburnum, offer spring flowers for pollinators, berries for birds, and dense evergreen structure for shelter. Both are workhorse wildlife shrubs that double as practical landscape plants.

Holly and native cherry

Native hollies such as dahoon and yaupon produce berries that feed birds through the cooler months, and their dense evergreen growth offers cover and nesting sites. They bring reliable winter food when little else fruits.

Native black cherry and Chickasaw plum support pollinators with their flowers and a remarkable number of caterpillars, plus fruit for wildlife. These are high-value additions where there is room.

Firebush, simpson's stopper, and palms

Among smaller woody plants, firebush feeds hummingbirds and butterflies and produces berries birds enjoy, while Simpson's stopper offers flowers for pollinators, berries for birds, and fragrant evergreen cover. Both are excellent, well-behaved natives.

Even native palms pull their weight, with the sabal palm and saw palmetto feeding and sheltering a wide range of wildlife. Layering these into the yard rounds out the habitat at every level.

Build a wildlife backbone

Start with a keystone tree if you can, add a few berry-producing and pollinator-friendly native shrubs, and layer in smaller woody plants and palms for a yard that feeds and shelters wildlife year-round. The woody framework is what makes the habitat durable.

We can help you choose the highest-value trees and shrubs for your space and conditions. Come plan a wildlife-friendly backbone with us at the nursery.

Frequently asked questions