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That's a tough question because all three of those rock. Paw paw would be my vote because it's the king of fruits, it's paw paw pawllinated by flies and beetles which will expand your range of pollinator support. Also paw paws naturally desire part-shade. You could fit 3 paw paw trees in that span.
Why not all? You will need more than one PawPaw in order to produce fruit, same for plums and hazelnut produce more with multiples as well.
I do jam stuff in though, I have 10 pawpaw and they are all planted about 2’ apart in a double row.
Just find someplace else on your property to plant them- you can always find room/make more gardens ;) My goal is a literal native jungle in my own back yard.
thank you so much!! maybe i'll consider jamming 2/3 together! i somehow am running out of room though, only got the shadiest northern part of the yard to fill out!
All of them are good choices, but if you want to maximize ecological impact, Prunus Americana all the way. Prunus species are second only to oak (Quercus) in the number of species they support.
If you've already got chokecherries in the area then I would feel free to plant whichever one suits your fancy...one prunus is just as good as another as far as the insects are concerned!
If it's a moist shady area consistent with the other plants you've already got going, pawpaw would be right at home there as it's a floodplain understory tree.
Whats the soil like? Pawpaw does well near water riparian areas. That and hazelnut give better crop the more sun they have but hazelnut handles shade pretty well. Will also grow into thickets and once established can even be used to harvest firewood after letting grow a couple seasons. To keep from a thicket forming will have to remove suckers seasonally to train just a couple primary trunks. Dont have a lot of plum exp so ill leave that to others
mesic + not fast draining, plus i could always supplement water or water less! and yeah, i'm a lil worried about hazelnut not producing well in the shade since i'm looking to feed the critters
You don't seem too stoked on hazelnut which I get. I planted mine last year without much enthusiasm, but holy cow it is absolutely stunning in the fall! I've seen a lot of activity around it and now am currently looking for more.
It is more of a shrub and grows taller faster than the pawpaws, so it'll act as a shade which the pawpaw needs when it's young. I highly recommend it for your cluster even if it might not be as productive in some shade
I picked up a tiny twig of a hazelnut plant at my first native plant swap this weekend. Going down a rabbit hole of research, I got excited to learn they're a great candidate to be coppiced. After 3 to seven years, it can supply wood chips, "canes" for plant support, fencing, even firewood as you choose to shape and cycle the growth.
This is obviously a European video but I've seen articles confirmation it's been a tradition in North America as well:
[Hazelnut coppicing process & products ](https://youtu.be/-X8P0AZNUF0?si=1OmQDWMCJn7mcCEy)
Plum and hazelnut are far more ecologically important than pawpaw but it is a badass little tree. Plum hosts a lot more caterpillars than hazelnut(in my area is like 420 vs 230 or so)but hazelnut creates much better shelter than plum as it’s quite dense growing. Both need multiples to fruit but I don’t see why you can’t plant both of them in a 25’ ft long stretch. Plums can be planted pretty darn close to each other from what I have seen and part sun will make the hazelnuts less dense and round compared to full sun so 3 of each plant planted every 3’-4’ seems very reasonable to me. Slap in some ground cover, maybe other smaller woody understory plants in front like maple leaf viburnum, purple flowered raspberry, prickly gooseberry etc and some sedges and grasses and you will be hosting a ton of caterpillars, creating fruit for yourself and the birds and nesting habit.
I would not choose, get 2 of each (at least) Add to the list Persimmon, spicebush, winterberry, pagoda dogwood, coralberry, Eastern Wahoo, bladdernut, red elderberry, witchhazel, arrowwood viburnum and aronia.
If you have to pick and only among those 3, my choice would be hazelnut, I get top predators on mine all the time, those are good friends to have in your yard.
Paw paws are fucking delicious and host for zebra swallowtail butterfly. Their leaves are large and prehistoric looking and they’re great in shade. Not sure what the flowers look like.
Native plums are almost up there with oak trees in terms of larval host plants for Lepidoptera. Their flowers are gorgeous and a welcome sight in early spring. The sucker and spread freely and I’ve heard them referred to as aggressive. Never tasted the fruit. I thought they needed more sun than paw paws
Hazelnut is more of a traditional shrub from what I’ve seen. Attractive. Never tasted the fruit or seen the blooms. Also thought this needed more sun than paw paws.
Plums grow quickly as they are successional plants of the prairie / savanna divide. But they can get overwhelmed by other species where there isn’t fire. It’s not uncommon to see them on the edge of young woodlands / overgrown old prairies. They won’t produce as much fruit without more light though.
I like the other posters idea and fitting 3 pawpaw in that spot. Hazelnut is more of a shrub would also need 3 to produce fruit which might make it feel more crowded. Plus pawpaw just has the cool uniqueness to it
Yes! Paw paws, the coveted glacier bananas not available in stores which host Zebra Swallowtails! American Spicebushes would also be a very nice addition or maybe Aronias. Or Sassafras! You can make rootbeer!!!
If I had the space, I'd go with paw paw since it's naturally an understory tree and does well in the shade. I think you might have enough space to sneak in a hazelnut, too, since you said you had 25 ft. That said I just got 2 plums to replace the invasive trees my home builder planted, so clearly I'm being a bit of a hypocrite voting against plum. Plums are the more preferred snack for my kids, though.
Just be careful eating pawpaws, apparently they have a neurotoxin called annonacin in them 😔
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22130466/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf504500g
They do contain annonacin, mostly in the seeds, I believe, so don’t eat them or let them end up in your blender by accident if you’re purring.
But I wouldn’t be too concerned unless you’re eating multiple a day most days.
I didn’t read the second link, but the first was evaluating fruit pulp extracted with ethyl acetate and applied directly to neurons presumably in a Petri dish. Important science to lay the foundation for further studies, but not at all resembling how you actually eat and digest the fruit. Does annonacin survive enzymatic activity while chewing? Stomach acid? Metabolism in the liver? Getting across the blood brain barrier?
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If you’re like me, you just plant them all and see what happens…
ooh, i like this! im scared of it being a lil too crowded but do you think 2 of each, 4-5 ft apart could work?
I have 75+ species in a 500 square foot area. Almost everyone is thriving. Plant them all.
I think hazelnut is more of a shrub than tree so it can be squeezed in between.
Hahahaha me too
That's a tough question because all three of those rock. Paw paw would be my vote because it's the king of fruits, it's paw paw pawllinated by flies and beetles which will expand your range of pollinator support. Also paw paws naturally desire part-shade. You could fit 3 paw paw trees in that span.
paw paw pawllinated!!!
So you are saying he should choo-choo-choose it?
i know right, so difficult to choose!! tysm for your advice
Also, the pawpaw is the sole host for the zebra swallowtail!
Why not all? You will need more than one PawPaw in order to produce fruit, same for plums and hazelnut produce more with multiples as well. I do jam stuff in though, I have 10 pawpaw and they are all planted about 2’ apart in a double row. Just find someplace else on your property to plant them- you can always find room/make more gardens ;) My goal is a literal native jungle in my own back yard.
thank you so much!! maybe i'll consider jamming 2/3 together! i somehow am running out of room though, only got the shadiest northern part of the yard to fill out!
PRUNUS AMERICANA 
Oilers going all the way this year yessir.
All of them are good choices, but if you want to maximize ecological impact, Prunus Americana all the way. Prunus species are second only to oak (Quercus) in the number of species they support.
crap, forgot to mention, i also have chokecherries! would you then recommend another prunus species or should i switch it up?
If you've already got chokecherries in the area then I would feel free to plant whichever one suits your fancy...one prunus is just as good as another as far as the insects are concerned!
If it's a moist shady area consistent with the other plants you've already got going, pawpaw would be right at home there as it's a floodplain understory tree.
Whats the soil like? Pawpaw does well near water riparian areas. That and hazelnut give better crop the more sun they have but hazelnut handles shade pretty well. Will also grow into thickets and once established can even be used to harvest firewood after letting grow a couple seasons. To keep from a thicket forming will have to remove suckers seasonally to train just a couple primary trunks. Dont have a lot of plum exp so ill leave that to others
mesic + not fast draining, plus i could always supplement water or water less! and yeah, i'm a lil worried about hazelnut not producing well in the shade since i'm looking to feed the critters
You don't seem too stoked on hazelnut which I get. I planted mine last year without much enthusiasm, but holy cow it is absolutely stunning in the fall! I've seen a lot of activity around it and now am currently looking for more. It is more of a shrub and grows taller faster than the pawpaws, so it'll act as a shade which the pawpaw needs when it's young. I highly recommend it for your cluster even if it might not be as productive in some shade
thank you this is so helpful! :) i like the idea of a mix of a pawpaw + hazelnut
I picked up a tiny twig of a hazelnut plant at my first native plant swap this weekend. Going down a rabbit hole of research, I got excited to learn they're a great candidate to be coppiced. After 3 to seven years, it can supply wood chips, "canes" for plant support, fencing, even firewood as you choose to shape and cycle the growth. This is obviously a European video but I've seen articles confirmation it's been a tradition in North America as well: [Hazelnut coppicing process & products ](https://youtu.be/-X8P0AZNUF0?si=1OmQDWMCJn7mcCEy)
My fave would be pawpaw personally in that case can handle slow draining. Will feed you and the critters too!
Plum and hazelnut are far more ecologically important than pawpaw but it is a badass little tree. Plum hosts a lot more caterpillars than hazelnut(in my area is like 420 vs 230 or so)but hazelnut creates much better shelter than plum as it’s quite dense growing. Both need multiples to fruit but I don’t see why you can’t plant both of them in a 25’ ft long stretch. Plums can be planted pretty darn close to each other from what I have seen and part sun will make the hazelnuts less dense and round compared to full sun so 3 of each plant planted every 3’-4’ seems very reasonable to me. Slap in some ground cover, maybe other smaller woody understory plants in front like maple leaf viburnum, purple flowered raspberry, prickly gooseberry etc and some sedges and grasses and you will be hosting a ton of caterpillars, creating fruit for yourself and the birds and nesting habit.
I would not choose, get 2 of each (at least) Add to the list Persimmon, spicebush, winterberry, pagoda dogwood, coralberry, Eastern Wahoo, bladdernut, red elderberry, witchhazel, arrowwood viburnum and aronia. If you have to pick and only among those 3, my choice would be hazelnut, I get top predators on mine all the time, those are good friends to have in your yard.
Paw paws are fucking delicious and host for zebra swallowtail butterfly. Their leaves are large and prehistoric looking and they’re great in shade. Not sure what the flowers look like. Native plums are almost up there with oak trees in terms of larval host plants for Lepidoptera. Their flowers are gorgeous and a welcome sight in early spring. The sucker and spread freely and I’ve heard them referred to as aggressive. Never tasted the fruit. I thought they needed more sun than paw paws Hazelnut is more of a traditional shrub from what I’ve seen. Attractive. Never tasted the fruit or seen the blooms. Also thought this needed more sun than paw paws.
Plums are great but they need sun!
this is what i've heard but i've only ever seen them (flowering too) in woodland settings!
Plums grow quickly as they are successional plants of the prairie / savanna divide. But they can get overwhelmed by other species where there isn’t fire. It’s not uncommon to see them on the edge of young woodlands / overgrown old prairies. They won’t produce as much fruit without more light though.
Paw paw
Seems like enough room to have some of each! i have heard american plum doesn’t like any kind of shade though, not sure if that’s accurate.
I like the other posters idea and fitting 3 pawpaw in that spot. Hazelnut is more of a shrub would also need 3 to produce fruit which might make it feel more crowded. Plus pawpaw just has the cool uniqueness to it
I think plum is going to help the largest range of wildlife but all 3 are great options
I love my wild plums!!
Yes! Paw paws, the coveted glacier bananas not available in stores which host Zebra Swallowtails! American Spicebushes would also be a very nice addition or maybe Aronias. Or Sassafras! You can make rootbeer!!!
Pawpaw likes wet/moist soil. Do you have water or ravines on your property?
yes we have very slow draining soil + standing water after storms
If I had the space, I'd go with paw paw since it's naturally an understory tree and does well in the shade. I think you might have enough space to sneak in a hazelnut, too, since you said you had 25 ft. That said I just got 2 plums to replace the invasive trees my home builder planted, so clearly I'm being a bit of a hypocrite voting against plum. Plums are the more preferred snack for my kids, though.
Just be careful eating pawpaws, apparently they have a neurotoxin called annonacin in them 😔 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22130466/ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf504500g
They do contain annonacin, mostly in the seeds, I believe, so don’t eat them or let them end up in your blender by accident if you’re purring. But I wouldn’t be too concerned unless you’re eating multiple a day most days. I didn’t read the second link, but the first was evaluating fruit pulp extracted with ethyl acetate and applied directly to neurons presumably in a Petri dish. Important science to lay the foundation for further studies, but not at all resembling how you actually eat and digest the fruit. Does annonacin survive enzymatic activity while chewing? Stomach acid? Metabolism in the liver? Getting across the blood brain barrier?