Native fruiting plants are adapted to our area and generally have an advantage over other fruiting plants that have evolved in other parts of North America or the world.
1) They are generally more disease resistant.
2) They are more tolerant or resistant to drought conditions. Of course they are also hardy in our cold climate – zone 5 or zone 6 (depending on the warming trend).
3) The combined factors above means that these plants will require less care if placed in a proper location.
Many of the native and non-native fruiting plants that can be grown here are listed and briefly described on the Fruit Variety Comparison spreadsheet. Listed below are many of the natives that can be easily grown. We may develop a specific document on native fruiting plants in the future. For detailed descriptions, we recommend The Kemper Home Gardening database amongst other useful resources listed in our Fruit and Plant Info page.
Small berry plants
Blackberry – Rubus ostryifolius -
Buffalo Berry – Shepherdia argentea – Native to the Great Plains but fits in nicely here. Plants are male or female.
Currant, Buffalo (Clove Currant) – Ribes odoratum – A strong clove fragrance is produced from yellow blooms in the spring.
Currant, Golden - Ribes aureum
Dewberry – rubus sp.
Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis
Gooseberry – Ribes missouriense
Grape – Vitis riparia
Juneberry/Serviceberry – Amelanchier arborea
Raspberry, Black – rubus occidentalis
Rose – Rosa sp – a few native species including Rosa setigera, Rosa Arkansana, etc.
Strawberry – Frageria sp.
Sumac – Rhus sp. – may be more useful for wildlife
Nuts
Butternut – Juglans cinerea
Hazelnut – Corylus Americana
Hickory, Shagbark - Carya ovata
Hickory, Bitternut - Carya cordiformis
Hickory, Mockernut – Carya tomentosa
Hickory, Kingnut - Carya lacinosa
Pecan – Carya illinoensis
Walnut, Black – Juglans nigra
Larger fruiting trees
Cherry, Black - Prunus serotina
Cherry, Sand – Prunus besseyi
Cherry, Choke – Prunus virginiana
Crabapple, Prairie - Malus ioensis – It is prone to cedar apple rust issues.
Hawthorne, Cockspur – Crataegus crus-galli and other species.
Maple, Silver – Acer saccharinum
Maple, Sugar – Acer saccharum
Mulberry, red – Morus rubra
Pawpaw – asimina triloba
Persimmon, Wild – Diospyros virginiana
Plum, Wild – Prunus Americana – There are other similar species including P. hortulana, P. mexicana and P. munsoniana (Wild Goose Plum).
Plum, Chickasaw/Sandhill – Prunus angustifolia – grows in sandy areas.
