Did you know?
Lone stands of shagbark hickory have been found near Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. They may have been planted by native people hundreds of years ago.
The shagbark hickory grows only in southern Ontario along the St Lawrence River and into Quebec. It can live for 200 years, grows to be 25 metres tall, and prefers rich, moist soil.
The leaves of the shagbark are 15 to 25 centimetres long, made up of 5 leaflets on a central stalk. They are green on top, and paler and hairy underneath. The tree’s bark separates into long plates as it gets older, which loosen from the trunk and give the tree a ‘shaggy’ look – that’s how it gets its name.
Nuts from the shagbark hickory are edible and are 3 to 4.5 centimetres long. They are sweet tasting and are a favourite food of squirrels.
Size: 20 to 30 metres tall, trunk is 30 to 80 centimetres in diameter
Moisture: Prefers moist soil
Shade: Prefers sun, but can tolerate some shade
Soil: Prefers rich soil
Where you can plant this tree in Ontario:
- Addington Central
- Addington Northern
- Addington Southern
- Belleville Northern
- Belleville Southern
- Brant Central
- Brant Northern
- Brant Southern
- Chatham Kent Northern
- Chatham Kent Southern
- Dufferin Eastern
- Dufferin Southern
- Dundas
- Durham Central
- Durham Northern
- Durham Southern
- Elgin
- Essex
- Frontenac Central
- Frontenac Northern
- Frontenac Southern
- Glengarry
- Grenville Central
- Grenville Eastern
- Grenville Western
- Haldimand
- Haliburton Southern
- Halton Northern
- Halton Southern
| - Halton Western
- Hamilton Eastern
- Hamilton Northern
- Hamilton Southern
- Hamilton Western
- Hastings Central
- Hastings Southern
- Hastings Southwestern
- Huron Central
- Kawartha Lakes Central
- Kawartha Lakes Southern
- Kingston Eastern
- Kingston Western
- Lambton
- Lanark Eastern
- Lanark Western
- Leeds Central
- Leeds Eastern
- Leeds Western
- Lennox Central
- Lennox Northern
- Lennox Southern
- Middlesex Eastern
- Middlesex Northern
- Middlesex Western
- Niagara Northern
- Niagara Southern
- Norfolk
- Northumberland
| - Ottawa Eastern
- Ottawa Southern
- Oxford Northern
- Oxford Southern
- Peel Central
- Peel Eastern
- Peel Western
- Perth Southern
- Peterborough Central
- Peterborough Northern
- Peterborough Southern
- Prescott
- Prince Edward City
- Quinte West Northern
- Quinte West Southern
- Renfrew Southern
- Russell
- Simcoe Northern
- Simcoe Southern
- Stormont
- Toronto
- Waterloo Northern
- Waterloo Southern
- Wellington Southern
- York Central
- York Northern
- York Southern
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Planting tip: Shagbark hickories grow well on hillsides and in valleys – they prefer moist soil. More tips...
