Common hackberry

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; develops its best crown in full sun.

Water

Moderate while establishing; tolerates drought once well rooted and occasional short periods of flooding.

Soil

Adaptable to clay, loam and sandy soils, including alkaline ground and moderately compacted urban soil. Prefers moist, well-drained soil; avoid permanently waterlogged sites.

Height

40-60 ft (12-18 m)

Spread

40-60 ft (12-18 m)

Flowers

Small, inconspicuous greenish flowers in spring as the leaves emerge.

Foliage

Rough-textured green leaves with pointed tips, toothed edges and uneven bases; usually yellow in autumn.

Growth

Moderate to fast when young, especially in moist soil.

Care needed

Low

• Drought tolerant
• Cold hardy
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   9 ft (2.8 m)

3. After 2 years

   12 ft (3.6 m)

4. After 3 years

   15 ft (4.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   20 ft (6.1 m)

About 16 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US and Canada

Invasive in

Australia

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two or three growing seasons, wetting the root ball and surrounding soil.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root zone, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Do not routinely fertilise; use a soil test if growth is poor rather than adding nitrogen automatically.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in wind, use flexible ties and remove supports after establishment.
• Pull unwanted seedlings while small, especially beneath bird perches.

Pruning. Prune in late winter while dormant, removing dead, damaged or crossing branches. Train young trees to a strong central leader with well-spaced main branches; avoid topping and use a qualified arborist for large limbs.

Late winter

Inspect the branch structure and carry out formative pruning on young trees.

Spring

Plant when soil is workable, water thoroughly and mulch the root zone.

Late spring

Check new leaves for nipple galls; these are usually cosmetic and need no treatment.

Summer

Water young trees deeply during prolonged dry weather and check that ties are not cutting into bark.

Autumn

Leave some fallen fruit for wildlife, but clear it from paths and remove unwanted seedlings.

Late autumn

Replenish mulch if needed, keeping the trunk flare exposed.

• Use as a broad shade tree in a large lawn, allowing room for its mature crown.
• Plant at the edge of a native woodland with shade-tolerant shrubs and groundcover beneath.
• Include in wildlife planting where birds can feed on the fruit and butterflies can use the leaves.
• Use in spacious urban landscapes with difficult soils, well away from overhead wires and narrow paving strips.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Wildlife garden, Grand estate, Low-maintenance, Rewilded and Midwest prairie.

Plant it with: Eastern redbud, Serviceberry, American hazelnut, Wild geranium, Pennsylvania sedge and Christmas fern.

Wildlife: The fruits feed many birds and small mammals, often persisting into winter. In its native range, the foliage supports butterfly larvae, including hackberry emperor and American snout butterflies.

• Hackberry nipple galls: psyllids cause bumps on leaves, usually without serious harm. Tolerate them; spraying an established tree is rarely justified.
• Witches' broom: dense twig clusters can develop through a mite-and-fungus association. Usually cosmetic; prune accessible clusters if desired, but there is no dependable garden treatment.
• Aphids and honeydew: sticky deposits may collect beneath the canopy. Encourage natural predators and wash accessible foliage with water rather than routinely spraying.
• Weak branch unions: closely spaced or competing leaders can split as the tree matures. Correct structure while young and have large suspect branches assessed by an arborist.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. The ripe fruit pulp is edible, but each small fruit contains a hard stone that should not be swallowed whole, especially by young children.

Where it spreads. Birds spread the seed, and seedlings can become troublesome. It is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia; check local restrictions before planting there.

• Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata)

  Usually has narrower, smoother leaves with mostly untoothed margins or teeth only near the tips; common hackberry leaves are rougher and more extensively toothed.

• Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis)

  Usually has smoother grey bark and glossier leaves with teeth concentrated toward the upper half; mature common hackberry develops conspicuous corky ridges and warts.

• American elm (Ulmus americana)

  Elm leaves have distinctly double-toothed edges, and the tree produces flat, winged seeds rather than hackberry's small, round, fleshy fruits.

The botanical epithet occidentalis means 'western', referring to the species' North American origin.

Propagation. Grow from cleaned ripe seed given a period of moist cold stratification before spring sowing. Seedlings vary; named selections are generally propagated by grafting.

Accepted botanical name

Celtis occidentalis

In the US and Canada

Native in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Kentucky.

Measured

Soil pH 6 to 7.8. Average height 1160 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.