Sandy. I Dont have much suggestion for trees but I am real familiar with the area. sounds like you got a nice place. There are oak trees every where.

Are you wanting ornamental or fruit/nut trees?

Sutherlands has trees and shrubs 50% off right now.

Mike

Sandy, I will give you my wild black cherry and the black willow I have, but I know you need more than jut that. Also what about tulip trees? I think you might be drawn to a Sweet Gum tree as well since it is a host for the Luna moths.

Susan

The new place I just moved into has a huge, old sweet gum tree. They have their pros & cons, but I just love these trees & am glad to move to another house with one. The Luna moths are BEAUTIFUL, they're all over the place right now. And the fall foliage on sweet gums is breathtaking.

Sandy,

It may be too late this year, but in late winter/early spring you can buy tiny trees for 'conservation' purposes (including windbreaks and for wildlife) from the Forestry Department. Those tiny trees do really well and grow pretty fast because their root system is the same size (or larger than) their top growth, so they aren't struggling the first few years to get established since they do not have more top growth than roots. It may seem like they aren't growing much the first few years but that is because they are developing a great root system, and then the top growth follows.

As an example, we planted tiny oak saplings dug from our own woodland. When we dug them, we moved 12-15" of roots and the growth above ground ranged from about 9-12" in height. The first three years they barely grew (at least above ground), but most of them now are about 11 or 12 years old and they are taller than our two-story house. They have been very resilient in some tough drought years here.

As far as I can remember, the OFS trees come in bundles or in flats.

I'll link their website, which also has a lot of other great info on recommended trees for OK, many of which are native. Don't forget to plant understory trees and shrubs too. A lot of the plants in our 10 acres of woodland that the animals rely upon for food actually are the understory plants that grow underneath the deciduous shade trees. Our understory has dozens of kinds of plants. A few that come to mind are American beautyberry, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum, Mexican plum, wild cherry, redbud, and then the smaller plants that are more like ground covers like inland sea oats, coralberry (Symphoricarpos obiculatus). In a more low-lying area where we once had a swamp (until drought dried up the spring that kept it swampy) we have buttonbush, and on some of the eastern edges of the woodland we have a lot of native sumacs (wildlife love them), some creeping wild blackberries that we called dewberries in Texas, and the ever-present Eastern Red Juniper commonly referred to as cedars. Due to the invasiveness of the cedars, we remove many of them but do leave a few for the wildlife because they shelter in their dense branches in cold winter weather and also eat the berries. Most of the larger native trees here in southcentral OK include post oaks, red oaks, burr oaks, blackjack oaks, hackberries, Kentucky coffee tree, some kind of ash trees, hickories and native pecans. All of them offer something that the various wild critters need. We have lots of kinds of vines in the woodland, all of which produce berries the wild things eat. These include some we'd rather not have, but we prune them back from pathways and leave them in the rest of the woodland for the wild animals, birds, butterflies, etc. They include Virginia creeper, native grapes, greenbrier, porcelain vine or something that looks like porcelain vine...I've never decided if that is what it is, Carolina snailseed (likely not native, but it is here now) and poison ivy.

I am not sure how 'wild' you want your wooded area of trees to look, but if you plant trees, you likely will eventually end up with all the understory plants anyway because the birds will bring in seeds and deposit them while sitting in your trees or on your fenceline.

Knowing how much you garden for the butterflies, I imagine you are thrilled to have such a nice piece of property where you'll have room to grow many plants for all the wild things. I look forward to listening along as you plant and enjoy the new place.

On the Oklahoma Forestry Service website linked below, the trees they sell are listed in the State Nursery section and then in some of the other sections there's lots of info on trees that grow well here.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Oklahoma Forestry Service Website

Mike, I stumbled upon the property in the winter, and feel fortunate to have been able to get it. I'm looking for good, native, drought-tolerant shade/wind break trees. There are lots of pecan trees in the valley, but I'm not looking at planting nut trees. There are a couple of fruit trees on the property that made it through the drought. Think they are plum and pear. But, there are lots of Red Cedars on adjacent properties to keep me from planting an orchard. I'll check and see what Sutherland's has. Thanks.

Susan, thanks for the offer. I have lots of the WIld Black Cherry saplings at the house so I will transplant a couple, and I started a Black willow tree from a twig--yes it rooted. Also have a couple of Buttonbushes and some sassafras to plant. So these will go in the ground. There is a Sweetgum tree, and I have a second one that is about 5 foot tall. I still have a tulip tree sapling in a pot. Like you, Susan, I've got some things still in pots, LOL.

There were lots of Honey locusts trees in one area, but they were severely damaged by the ice storm. The stumps are sprouting, so I have some work to get the stumps cleaned up and removed. I'll probably keep a couple of stumps for the birds/butterflies. And I won't be replanting Honey Locust trees!

I'll plant an Oklahoma Redbud just because I love the spring color. And I'm looking at pine trees, more oaks, maybe a Blackgum tree, and dwarf Hackberry. What kinds of pines and oaks are best is one of my questions. I really would like to know people's favorites, and why. And if there is a tree I should stay away from, tell me. I have the opportunity to create an amazing habitat, and want to take the time to do it right.

Sandy

Thanks, Dawn! good information. I am checking out the sites.

Sandy

Lake Bixoma! Nice location. I rode up and then down to the water a few times. Pretty steep on a bicycle.

Sorry, no real idea on trees... other than, I like fruit trees. Kinda like two birds with one stone... :)

Moni