Hi, everyone!
I have an enormous white oak in my yard that sadly needs to come down due to rot/instability. I would like to replace it with a native plant if possible, such as black cherry or wild plum. I am open to either trees or shrubs. I already have serviceberries, nannyberries, and pawpaws. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also, does anyone have experience with native black cherry trees?
Depending on your definition of native, I’d recommend a persimmon.
I have an American black cherry, but this is my first year owning the property so I don’t have anything to report other than it seems to have survived the winter!
I’d recommend a persimmon as well.
I actually have two Nikita’s Gift and one Elmo persimmon already. I would prefer a more vigorous plant. How quickly does native persimmon grow?
Consider the lofty Maples. Whose Samara’s are quite edible, full of protein and carbs. And are a great source to feed pollinating insects when most trees are till dormant.
The black cherry (Prunus Serotina) is technologically edible, but there isn’t much to eat. Its almost all pit. It does make a pretty descent wine if you have the time to collect enough fruit.
I had several of them in my yard at my previous house, nice trees, I enjoyed having them around.
A negative side is, if you have a swimming pool the flower pedals and pollen is a major pain cleaning out of the pool. The cherry pits laying on the ground attract the chipmunks and mice.
If you are looking for a native that has a USEFUL edible fruit I would consider, persimmon, mulberry, or pawpaw.
Or, for something smaller, Aronia
That’s very good to know about the black cherry, thank you!! I didn’t even consider the fruit to pit ratio.
We have native black cherries growing here in the woods. Be also aware that they are prone to black knot. Be warned that native plums tend to sucker a lot. If you plan on mowing near the trunk this won’t be such an issue. Have you considered red mulberry as a native edible tree that won’t get ridiculously large?
You might also want to consider a seaberry tree, but you’d need 2. But those aren’t native.
Maybe the beach plums?
Mulberries and persimmon can get pretty big, if you were looking to replace the canopy.
“Native” is always a strange term when it comes to trees and edibles though, since they have been selected and bred to be different from their wild forms, and they are generally planted outside of their “native” range. I could plant a paw paw in my backyard that is in a 50 mile radius where paw paws where never wildly growing, is that still native? What if it was a cultivar that came from Maryland, and I plant it in New Jersey? If I take a beach plum from Cape May and plant it in my backyard, is that native?
As long as the tree isn’t invasive, like a callery pear, I kind of just write off the benefits of “native” but that is my opinion.
I have an Everbearing mulberry and ordered a Lavender mulberry awhile ago that still hasn’t shipped yet. But I was planning on keeping them potted because my understanding was that they were non-native white mulberries.
Also, thank you everyone for your help! I may have just impulse-bought a Prok persimmon from Stark Bros. 
I was hoping to get a larger tree, especially because this white oak has been shading my baby pawpaws and without it they will be blasted with full sun all day long. And that is a good point regarding what native actually means!
I did consider them but I don’t think they would do well during the summers, which regularly get up above 90F where I live.
The bugs and birds can’t tell the difference between native red and non native white mulberries at the end of the day. They do have aggressive roots so don’t plant it if you have underground infrastructure nearby but otherwise I think it would be a great fit (especially the white if you’re worried about the fallen berries getting on your shoes and staining things you walk on
OGW has them listed as zone 3-9
Best and worthy Sea Buckthorn Varieties?
There’s a topic about them.
@ABugInAHug I hope your Prok tastes better than mine. I’d trade it any day of the week for Lehman’s Delight, a fabulous taste.
Mulberry or persimmon are probably your best bet since I think they get the largest out of the fruit trees I can think of in non tropical zones. One that I saw (while collecting a bunch of its fallen fruit off of the street, brushing off the ants but not caring much if I ate a few) was definitely over seventy feet because it dwarfed the service pole it was next to. It had a very dense canopy with a wide spread about the size of the house it was in front of.
The persimmons I have collected from have all been massive trees as well, but they are a bit more scraggly. Maybe it was because they were crowded, but the foliage didn’t look as dense.
You can also consider a nut tree like walnut or something, lots of animals/wildlife would benefit from a good nut tree from a food sorce and habitat standpoint. If you wanted something smaller, check out Rutger’s release of blight resistant hazelnuts.
Black cherries are still pretty wild and don’t taste that great IMO, but they are practically bullet proof and can be very pretty. Also huge trees.
Of course, I have to plug apple trees. If you pick a vigorous cultivar, it may get pretty tall on seedling rootstock, but probably not more than 40 -50 feet max.
How about hackberry? Native, but I am personally not sure about the quality of the fruit.
You know, I know that there is one of these growing by me but I never thought it was edible. I am not sure about the taste or ease of harvest since I have never eaten any of the fruits, but the wikipedia page says they are edible and nutritional. Probably a good one for wildlife too, but I remember those berries being pea sized on the ones I have seen.
American persimmons are some of the best pieces of fruit I have ever had. If they fix the astringency, which I can’t stand in any food, they would be even better.
Mulberries are really great fruits too. I don’t like the white ones as much, but they have a fine cream soda/ vanilla like flavor. The darker mulberries have a flavor like a good blackberry, without any bitterness. I bet they would make a great pie.
Apples are my favorite fruit because of their versatility, so I always like to see people growing apples. A vigorous tripliod like winesap, gravenstein or Ark black may suit OP well for a shade tree, though they would need other trees for best pollination.
I personally like Prok. I believe you will be happy with your Persimmon selections.
Just keep an eye on your Pawpaw’s. Hopefully they are ready for the sun, if you see a kind of iridescent look to the leaves they still need some shade.
Roots spread far and wide just underground if they even stay underground. Tree will eventually get huge.The fruit is for the birds.