Alphabetical Plant Listing

Best Trees for Mid-Atlantic Gardens

Regional Gardening, Best Trees, Mid-Atlantic Gardening


Hardy and exquisite-looking trees are important elements in Mid-Atlantic gardens. They are the most permanent and dominant elements in the landscape. There is a tremendous amount of 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 Mid-Atlantic gardeners. If you are looking for beautiful, low-maintenance, and hardy plants that thrive in the Mid-Atlantic region, you may want to consider these top-performing shrubs which all won the Gold Medal Award of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The goal of this program is to promote outstanding plants for Mid-Atlantic gardens. The program was originally conceived by nurseryman Dr. J. Franklin Styer, who realized gardeners needed to learn about superior plants for their landscapes. It identifies superior ornamental landscape plants that meet the growing conditions of the region and have proven their performance. When gardeners acquire a Gold Medal winner, they can be assured the plant will exhibit standards of excellence for pest and disease resistance, ease of growing, and beauty through many seasons, whether it be foliage, flower, form, or bark.

Below is the list of some 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 5 - 7
Heat Zones 3 - 6
Plant Type Trees
Exposure Full Sun, Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Early,Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Winter
Water Needs Low, Average
Maintenance Low, Average
Soil Type Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pH Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained
Characteristics Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Plant of Merit, Showy
Attracts Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Garden Styles City and Courtyard, Informal and Cottage, Traditional Garden
Mid-Atlantic Plant Combination Ideas Mid-Atlantic Guides

nickkurzenko/123RF

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 5 - 7
Heat Zones 3 - 6
Plant Type Trees
Exposure Full Sun, Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Early,Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Winter
Water Needs Low, Average
Maintenance Low, Average
Soil Type Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pH Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained
Characteristics Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Plant of Merit, Showy
Attracts Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Garden Styles City and Courtyard, Informal and Cottage, Traditional Garden
Mid-Atlantic Plant Combination Ideas Mid-Atlantic Guides

Find your Hardiness Zone

Find your Climate Zone

Find your Heat Zone

Join Gardenia.net

Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device.

Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas.

Join now and start creating your dream garden!

Create a New Collection

Optional. For your reference.


Move Selected Plants to a Different Collection


Delete Collection

This field is required.

Rename Collection

This field is required.