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Recommended Native Trees for Virginia’s Southern Piedmont Region

About 25 percent of the plant species native to North America are at risk of extinction. You can help reverse this trend by planting great native plants in your garden.

Native Plants, Native Perennials, Native Trees, Virginia Native Plant, Virginia Native Perennials, Virginia Native Trees

Virginia is divided into seven main ecological regions: the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Southeastern Plains, the Piedmont, the Northern Piedmont, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ridge and Valley, and the Appalachian Plateau. Unique in topography, soil depth, pH, elevation, light, and hydrology, each region provides a rich variety of ecological habitats, supporting many native plant species.

Piedmont is Virginia’s largest region. It is located to the east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and west of the Fall Line. The fall line is a major break in geologic structure between Piedmont and the Coastal Plain which results in differences in ecosystem patterns and a variety of landscape relief and roughness.

Piedmont is a region of low rounded hills, irregular plains, and open valleys. The region’s bedrock is composed of a variety of rocks covered by a thick blanket of deeply weathered rock that has been chemically changed by Piedmont’s humid climate.

Virginia's Southern Piedmont Region encompasses 18 counties and 3 cities. The counties include Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Brunswick, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, and portions of Dinwiddie, Greenville, and Sussex east of the fall line. The cities in this region include Danville, Lynchburg, and Martinsville.

Virginia's Southern Piedmont Region is home to many species of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. It can also support many non-native species which are beginning to make their way across the landscape. Regrettably, some of these exotic immigrants are invasive and are threatening the native flora and ecology of the state.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, Invasive species have contributed to the decline of 42% of U.S. endangered and threatened species, and 18% of U.S. endangered or threatened species. Invasive species compete directly with native species for moisture, sunlight, nutrients, and space. They displace and alter native plant communities, degrade wildlife habitat and water quality, and potentially lead to increased soil erosion.

The federal government has estimated that nearly 25 percent of the 20,000 plant species native to North America are at risk of extinction, many of these through habitat loss. You can help reverse this trend by planting great native plants in your garden.

A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region or ecosystem without human introduction. There are many benefits to growing native plants.

  • First, these plants are better adapted to soils, moisture, and weather than exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world. They need fewer fertilizers, and pesticides or use less water.
  • Second, they are unlikely to escape and become invasive, destroying natural habitats.
  • Third, they support wildlife, providing shelter and food for native birds and insects, while exotic plants do not.

Here is a list of native trees that are well-suited for plantings in gardens of Virginia's Southern Piedmont Region.

  • Never collect native plants from the wild as it will deplete natural ecosystems. 
  • When possible, plant species grown straight from local seed sources. These native originals are the best choice, as they co-evolved with specific wildlife, which supports migration, breeding, and other seasonal interdependencies.

 

Guide Information

Plant Type Trees
Native Plants Southeast, United States, Virginia

Recommended Native Trees for Virginia's Southern Piedmont Region

Acer negundo (Box Elder)
Acer rubrum (Red Maple)
Alnus serrulata (Smooth Alder)
Amelanchier arborea (Downy Serviceberry)
Aralia spinosa (Devil’s Walking Stick)
Asimina triloba (Pawpaw)
Betula nigra (River Birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (American Hornbeam)
Carya glabra (Pignut Hickory)
Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)
Chionanthus virginicus (Fringe Tree)
Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)
Diospyros virginiana (American Persimmon)
Fagus grandifolia (American Beech)
Fraxinus americana (White Ash)
Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green Ash)
Ilex opaca (American Holly)
Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red Cedar)
Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweet Gum)
Morus rubra (Red Mulberry)
Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum)
Ostrya virginiana (American Hop Hornbeam)
Oxydendrum arboreum (Sourwood)
Pinus echinata (Shortleaf Pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American Sycamore)
Quercus alba (White Oak)
Quercus coccinea (Scarlet Oak)
Quercus palustris (Pin Oak)
Quercus rubra (Red Oak)
Quercus stellata (Post Oak)
Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac)
Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock)

Discover more beautiful Virginia native plants

Virginia native plants

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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

Plant Type Trees
Native Plants Southeast, United States, Virginia
Explore Great Plant Combination Ideas
Upper South Middle South

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