Alphabetical Plant Listing

Best Trees for Gardeners in New England

Regional Gardening, Best Trees, New England Gardening


Hardy and exquisite-looking trees are important elements in New England gardens. They are the most permanent and dominant elements in the landscape. There are tremendous possibilities in terms of trees to pick for your yard: evergreen or deciduous trees, spring or summer blooms, fall color interest, leaf shape, exfoliating bark, growth habit, etc.

Selecting the right tree variety might be daunting for New England gardeners. If you are looking for beautiful, low-maintenance, and hardy plants that thrive in the New England region, you may want to consider these top-performing trees which all won the Cary award, which is a joint effort between the Worcester County Horticultural Society, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the New England Nursery Association, the Massachusetts Nursery, and Landscape Association, and many other organizations across New England. The goal of this program is to promote outstanding plants for New England gardens. Named in honor of plantsman Ed Cary, it identifies superior ornamental landscape plants that meet the growing conditions of the region and have proven their performance. Each year, this program selects new plant winners in 3 categories: shrubs, vines and groundcovers, and trees.

Below is the list of the prestigious tree winners. As you will note, some of them have also received the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society!

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 7
Heat Zones 1 - 3
Plant Type Trees
New England Plant Combination Ideas New England Guides

sognolucido / 123RF Stock Photo

While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 7
Heat Zones 1 - 3
Plant Type Trees
New England Plant Combination Ideas New England Guides

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