Master Watershed Steward Native Tree and Shrub Sale

Benefits of Native Species

Native plants offer a variety of benefits to our communities, including environmental, social, and even economic benefits. Native trees, shrubs, and other plants improve air and water quality, reduce stormwater runoff and pollution, and provide property enrichment and enjoyment. Planting native trees and shrubs expands crucial habitat for pollinators, such as butterflies and bees, and countless resident and migratory bird species by providing nesting habitat and year-round direct and indirect food sources. By increasing the native plant diversity on your property, you may discover additional indirect benefits such as beneficial insects that control pests, increased wildlife diversity, including new-to-your-yard bird species that rely on caterpillars to feed their young, and plant features with multi-season interest. Once established, native plants require less watering and, when used correctly, fertilizer, saving both time and money. Having native trees and shrubs planted by waterways as riparian buffers provides many benefits. These plantings stabilize bank soil, thus preventing erosion, and shade streams keeping water temperatures cooler with higher oxygen levels that benefit fish and other stream organisms. Streamside trees provide an important food source for stream life when leaves drop in the fall. They further protect our waterways by filtering a portion of pollutants such as chemical residue and road salt from paved surfaces.

Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program helps residents across the Commonwealth access native trees and shrubs while raising money for projects that educate communities and promote healthy watersheds. The Annual Native Tree and Shrub Sale is an online pre-order sale allowing customers to make their purchase in August and pick up their orders in the fall. Each year, the program curates a different selection of native trees and shrubs to highlight based on watershed improvement goals, community interest, healthy stock and availability, and landscape needs. A Pennsylvania wholesale native nursery that strives for ecologically sound practices provides the species, which are sold in either 1-gallon, 2-gallon, or 3-gallon pots.

Please note that all species offered are native to at least some part of Pennsylvania but not necessarily native to all parts of Pennsylvania. We encourage you to select species that are native to your planting zone. For assistance in determining whether a species is native to your area, please contact the Master Watershed Steward hotline at AskAMWS@psu.edu.

The tree and shrub sale is open for ordering until August 28th.

Species Overview and Q&A Webinar

Selecting the right tree or shrub for the right spot on your property can be challenging. To make that a little easier, the Master Watershed Stewards offers a webinar before the sale opens, providing details about each species offered in the current sale, an opportunity for residents to ask questions about the species, and an introduction to the sale logistics. The webinar costs $5 and everyone who watches the webinar live or a recording of the webinar will receive a $5 coupon code toward their tree sale purchase.

Access the 2024 Native Tree and Shrub Sale Species Overview and Q&A Webinar.

Pre-Order Sale

The 2024 sale will launch in early August, with location-specific pickup dates between September 20 and October 19. This year there are 18 different native trees and shrubs to choose from and 27 locations across the state.

The tree and shrub sale is open for ordering until August 28th.

2024 Species List and Sizes

Shrubs

• black chokeberry – 2 gallon
• bottlebrush buckeye – 2 gallon
• elderberry – 2 gallon
• lowbush blueberry – 1 gallon
• nannyberry – 2 gallon
• Northern bayberry- 1 gallon
• purple raspberry- 1 gallon
• silky willow – 2 gallon
• snowberry – 2 gallon
• sweet pepperbush – 2 gallon

Trees

• American plum – 2 gallon
• American sweetgum – 3 gallon
• bald cypress – 2 gallon
• honey locust – 2 gallon
• hop hornbeam – 3 gallon
• red buckeye – 2 gallon
• river birch – 2 gallon
• swamp white oak – 3 gallon

Costs

• 1-gallon pots: $20
• 2-gallon pots: $30
• 3-gallon pots: $40

Download the 2024 species spreadsheet complete with planting requirements and species-specific notes.

There are 27 customer pickup locations to choose from this year. Proceeds from the Annual Native Tree and Shrub Sale support the Master Watershed Steward activities in that region.