Quick Facts
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Height at Maturity: 60-90 Feet
Usage: Fruiting
Shipped As: Bare-root
Planting Zones: 4-8
Product Details
Our hickory trees come in two native species, shagbark (Carya ovata) and pignut (Carya glabra). Both are long-lived nut trees with compound leaves and golden fall color. Bare-root trees ship in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 foot sizes, in packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500, and you choose the species when you order.
Hickory Tree Size, Zones and Sun
The two species differ in scale. Shagbark is the bigger one, 70 to 90 feet tall with a crown 50 to 70 feet wide, hardy in zones 4 to 8, and it can live 200 to 300 years. Pignut tops out nearer 60 to 80 feet and slims down to 25 to 40 feet across, and it is hardy a zone further, to 9. Neither is in a hurry. Both grow slowly, take sun or part shade, and do best in deep soil that drains well.
Hickory Bark and Nuts
Shagbark is named for its bark, which peels into long plates that curve away from the trunk. Pignut bark stays light gray, smooth and shallowly cracked when young, then forms diamond-shaped ridges with age. Shagbark nuts are sweet and edible, and pignut nuts are edible too but can taste bitter. Shagbark may take around 40 years to bear, so plant it for your grandchildren as much as yourself.
Hickory and Wildlife
Squirrels, chipmunks and black bears eat the nuts, and pignut feeds deer, foxes and wood ducks as well. Hickories are host trees for luna moth, banded hairstreak and hickory horned devil caterpillars. Our wildlife trees for backyard habitats list shows what to plant beside them.
Good to Know About Hickory
Hickories grow a deep taproot and resent being moved, so pick the permanent spot before you plant. Leaves and husks drop in fall, and hickory bark beetle, pecan weevil and twig girdler visit now and then. Leaves turn yellow to golden brown. For more autumn planting ideas, see our fall color tree picks.
Hickory Tree Sizes, Packs and Shipping
Hickory trees ship bare-root in November, in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 foot sizes and packs of 25, 50, 100 and 500, in shagbark or pignut. Volume pricing available. Browse more trees for sale in our wholesale collection.