Native Hackberry

Sugar Hackberry and Native Hackberry, or Common Hackberry as it is often called, are different species of the Hackberry (or Celtis) family. Native/Common Hackberry is more cold hardy and its native habitat ranges from Canada through the northern and eastern United States. Sugar Hackberry are native from central to southern United States- the ranges of the two trees do overlap in Illinois. Sugar Hackberry have smoother, narrower leaves, while Native Hackberry has rougher, toothed leaves. The Native Hackberry also has a more cork-like bark, and characteristic, harmless galls on the leaves (which do not affect the health of the tree). We have successfully grown and transplanted both in our nursery in Northern Illinois. The Sugar Hackberry do typically get larger, and they both have a fruit which is not messy. Sugar Hackberry is hardy to zone 5, while Native Hackberry is hardy to zone 3. While both are acceptable, Native Hackberry is more desirable in Northern Illinois due to its cold hardiness. Sorry for the delay in responding, our product questions system is new, and were still figuring it out!