Sugar Berry Tree (Celtis occidentalis)

We grow sugarberry for its resilience, ecological value, and versatility in both naturalized and cultivated landscapes. It’s a hardy native that supports wildlife, handles tough sites, and provides shade, shelter, and seasonal fruit with almost no maintenance. For food forests and regenerative plantings, sugarberry is a dependable backbone species that performs where more sensitive trees fail.

Sugarberry grows into a medium to large tree with a broad, arching crown and strong branching structure. It produces small, sweet drupes that ripen in late summer to fall, and its bark develops the distinctive warty, corky ridges characteristic of hackberries. This species thrives in heat, withstands drought and wind, and grows well in poor or compacted soils, making it highly reliable in difficult or variable conditions.

Size at Maturity- 40–60 ft tall in ideal conditions, 30–50 ft wide. Can persist as a small tree and be pruned to stay at a reasonable height

Current Size- 2 year old 1.5'-3'

Fruits are small but sweet and edible; historically used as a traditional food and valued for wildlife. Large seed but this can be ground up or chewed upon eating. Makes great fruit 'jerky' (because of the seeds there is more protein and grit)