Plants that naturally grow with oak, ash, and maple

Plants that naturally grow with oak, ash, and maple

companion trees and shrubs, which naturally grow alongside oak, ash, and maple and complement their functions: they improve the soil, protect young trees, feed pollinators and birds, create a second layer, and increase forest stability.

Main compatibility table

Natural and restored broadleaf forests often combine oak, ash, field maple, linden, hornbeam, birch, and woody shrubs. This mixture of species reduces the risk of losing the entire ecosystem if one main species becomes diseased.Forest Research)

The best companion shrubs

Universal shrubs

Hazel, hawthorn, dogwood, euonymus, blackthorn, rosehip, buckthorn, wild apple and elm are indeed part of the undergrowth of oak-ash-maple communities.infoflora.ch)

Main companions of oak

The oak tree needs plants thatprotect its trunk, but do not block the upper light.

Oak-hornbeam forests naturally include field maple, linden, ash, bereka, wild apple, wild pear, hazel and a number of fruit bushes. (infoflora.ch)

The main companions of ash

Ash prefers rich, active soil. The best companion plants should maintain moisture but not increase waterlogging.

Moist broadleaf forests often form a stable combinationoak–elm–ash, and more drained slopes -ash–maple–hazel. (euforgen.org)

Main companions of maple

The composition depends on the type of maple.

For field maple

sessile and pedunculate oak;

small-leaved linden;

hornbeam;

ash tree;

bereka;

wild pear;

hazel;

hawthorn;

red;

beresklet;

privet.

This is the best complex for warm, dry limestone forest.

For sycamore

ash tree;

rough elm;

large-leaved linden;

beech - only in a sufficiently damp area;

merry;

rowan;

hazel;

elderberry;

honeysuckle.

It is a complex of cool slopes, ravines and mountain forests.

For the holly maple

linden;

oak;

elm;

ash tree;

hornbeam;

hazel;

beresklet;

viburnum.

However, Norway maple and sycamore can create dense shade. Their presence should be limited to prevent them from crowding out oak and the sun-loving herbaceous layer.

Schemes by site type

1. Dry limestone slope

2. Deep, fresh, fertile soil

3. Wet valley or floodplain

4. Cool mountain slope

Optimal long-lasting group around one oak tree

For one future old oak tree, you can create a group with a radius of about 15–20 m:

The main principle:the oak is left with free overhead light, and the satellites form lateral protection, soil and undergrowth.

What should not be mixed thoughtlessly

A beech tree next to a young oak tree: over time it can completely obscure it.

Too much sycamore or Norway maple: they quickly fill the windows and suppress oak undergrowth.

Alder on a dry slope: its nitrogen-fixing capacity does not compensate for unsuitable humidity.

Thorn inside the forest: can form impenetrable thickets; best used at forest edges.

Elderberry on poor dry soils: This is a plant of nitrogen-rich areas.

Ash-leaved maple: in Europe it is better to exclude it from natural plantings due to its invasiveness.

Ash monoculture: high risk due to ash drying out.

Tight geometric fit: natural groups and unequal distances are more stable than even rows.

The final universal composition

For a Central European mixed forest on normal fresh soil, a reasonable starting structure might look like this:

This does not mean that the percentages should be the same on every hectare. It is better to createmicrozonesOak-hornbeam forests in drier areas, ash-elm forests in damp hollows, maple-linden forests on fertile slopes, and shrubby forest edges. It is this mosaic, not a uniform mixture, that creates a stable forest ecosystem.