Dwarf Hackberry
Celtis tenuifolia
Dwarf hackberry is the hackberry that fits a residential lot. growing to 10 to 20 feet where the full species reaches 60. It keeps the same ecological profile as its larger relative: host plant for multiple butterfly species, including question marks and hackberry emperors, small dark berries for birds in fall, and a tough adaptability to poor soils that makes it genuinely useful in challenging conditions. Warty, corky bark gives it distinctive year-round texture. It grows in thin soils over rock, on dry sandy banks, and along roadsides where other trees fail. For a small property with a dry or difficult spot, dwarf hackberry delivers real wildlife value in a package that won't outgrow its space in a generation.
We grow a range of sizes and prices. Add the plant to your list, then pick your size when you visit.
Final price confirmed at pickup, depends on size and season.
- Thu, Jul 238 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Jul 248 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Jul 258 AM – 2 PM
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown dwarf hackberry propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 10'–20'
- Bloom
- Warty corky bark texture year-round, small dark berries for birds in fall.
- USDA zones
- 5-9
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside dwarf hackberry.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle 9–12 species that work together. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Butterfly Package
Host and nectar plants chosen to feed monarchs, swallowtails, and fritillaries spring through fall.
Hummingbird Package
Tubular-flowered natives that pull ruby-throats through your yard April through October.
S.O.S. Package
Save Our Songbirds, berry- and seed-bearing natives that feed nesting and migrating birds.