Fruit Trees Native to Kentucky
Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, peaches, and grapes ─ we eat these common fruits every day. Local sources for these fruits, however, can be difficult to find due to their preference for a longer, warmer growing season. Kentucky native fruit trees are adapted to grow in our varying soil types and withstand our unpredictable weather.
KY Native Fruit Trees
American Plum (Prunus americana)
The winter-hardy American Plum is a small tree, reaching a mature height of only fifteen feet. It grows wild across the eastern two-thirds of North America, forming thorny thickets that provide habitats for birds and other wildlife. The red to yellow fruit is popular with deer as well as humans. Kentucky plums can be eaten fresh or using in baking and canning. Due to unreliability of fruit production in Kentucky, plums are usually only commercially grown as a secondary crop.
Other names for the American Plum include American wild plum, Osage plum, river plum, thorn plum, wild yellow plum, red plum, August plum, and goose plum.
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
The Black Cherry Tree produces Kentucky’s largest cherries which ripen in August and September. The bitter-sweet fruit is popular for jelly and wine making. Birds help spread Black Cherry seeds, but it also readily self-seeds. It can tolerant a wide variety of soils and conditions, the exception being full shade. Mature trees often reach a height of fifty to sixty feet. Black Cherry wood is hard, close-grained, and strong, making it popular in woodworking.
Farmers should note that this tree’s bark, leaves, and twigs are poisonous to livestock. Deer, however, can eat the leaves without problem.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Found in wooded areas, the Kentucky native Pawpaw is the largest native fruit in North America. Pawpaws are commonly described as tasting like a mix of banana and mango or pineapple. The fruit has high nutritional value, being an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and protein. Pawpaw fruit surpass apples, grapes, and peaches in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. Wildlife such as birds, raccoons, and opossums enjoy the fruit, and zebra swallowtail butterfly larva feed on young pawpaw foliage. With some effort, you can grow pawpaws from seed.
Most pawpaw trees grow fifteen to twenty feet in height but can reach up to forty feet if conditions are optimal. The champion Kentucky pawpaw is in Letcher County.
Kentucky State University, one of Kentucky’s land-grant universities, is home to the world’s only full-time pawpaw research program. In 2009, the horticulture program released ‘KSU-Atwood,’ a new pawpaw variety named after Rufus B. Atwood who served as college president from 1929 to 1962. This variety is a heavy producer ─ more than 150 fruits from a single tree!
Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Native Persimmon trees grow in Kentucky’s woodlands. Tolerating a range of pH levels, persimmons prefer moist, well-drained soil but can flourish in dry areas as well. Its interesting bark is thick, grey to black in color, and broken up in scaly, square blocks. The wood is very hard and has found use as golf clubs and flooring. When the berry ripens in the fall, the skin turns wrinkly, and persimmons become edible to humans. Persimmons taste similar to dates and can be used in breads, cakes, puddings, and beverages. You can also eat persimmons fresh or dried.
Cooking oil can be extracted from persimmon seeds. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers boiled the seeds in substitution for coffee.
Winter-hardy and adaptable, Kentucky persimmon trees suffer few pests and diseases. Some trees further south may be susceptible to vascular wilt. It can develop black leaf spot, and tent caterpillars can be problematic.
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Common across Kentucky, Native Sassafras is readily seeded by birds which love its fruit. The dark blue berries contrast beautifully to the bright red stems on which they grow. Sassafras trees thrive in moist, well-drained, acidic soil with full sun to partial shade but can also tolerate drier, rockier soil. Filé, a Creole spice used in gumbo, is made by grinding dried sassafras leaves. The fragrant bark and roots have been used to make tea and root beer but contain an oil called safrole, a proven carcinogen in mice and rats. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration banned direct use of safrole in food although spices are still permissible.
Most sassafras trees mature to a height of thirty to sixty feet with a spread of twenty-five to forty feet. The national champion sassafras ─ located in Owensboro, Kentucky ─ is seventy-eight feet tall with a sixty-nine-foot spread.
KY Native Berry Fruits
American Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Only four to twelve feet in height, the American Black Elderberry forms thickets that provide habitat to more than fifty species of birds and small mammals. White-tailed deer feed on the twigs, foliage, and fruit. Purple-black American elderberries taste slightly bitter and make a crimson juice, finding use in wine, jellies, and pies. The shrub grows best in full sun but can also be found along streams and on forest floors. Its hard wood can be crafted into combs, spindles, and pegs. The twigs can fruit are also used as dyes in basket-making.
Elderberry trees grow best from seed which must be scarified prior to planting due to the hard seed coat. Without scarification, the seed may not germinate for two to five years after planting. The hard coat protects the seed when wildlife ingest the fruit. If properly stored, elderberry seeds may remain viable for up to sixteen years.
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)
Hardy Red Mulberry trees prefer full sun but will tolerate shade as well as a variety of soil and weather conditions. They thrive in moist, deep, rich soil. Birds love the sweet fruit which resemble thin blackberries. Red mulberries can be eaten fresh or used in jellies, wines, and desserts. These native trees can grow over sixty feet tall and require heavy pruning to maintain a suitable height for fruit harvest, so red mulberry trees are not commercially grown for fruit production. Some varieties, however, are grown for their ornamental value.
The mulberry, once known as the “King of the Tree Crops,” is now considered a messy, weedy tree unsuitable for the well-manicured landscape.
Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
Of the three Kentucky native serviceberries, Downy Serviceberry is mainly planted as an ornamental. Its wood is both heavy (the heaviest in the U.S.) and hard, making excellent tool handles. Serviceberry trees grow in full sun or partial shade and prefer moist but well-drained soil. The red-purple fruit tastes somewhat like blueberries. Serviceberries can be eaten fresh, baked in pies, or dried like raisins. Forty or more bird species favor serviceberries as well as mammals big and small. It is a common understory tree.
The serviceberry gets its name from funeral/memorial services. Kentucky serviceberries flower in early spring (two weeks before the dogwood) and has been used as an indicator, legend has it, that it is warm enough outside to dig a grave for a funeral service. The nickname “sarvisberry” comes from the Appalachian pronunciation of the word “service” as “sarvis.”
Photographs used under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Photographers: Julie Makin, Homer Edward Price, Rasbak, Phyzome, Scott Bauer, MONGO, Asit K. Ghosh, VasiDgallery, sbmdstock, Franz Eugen Köhler, James Steakley, H. Zell, and Аимаина хикари.
Written by Lauren State, Oldham County Master Gardener. Reviewed by Michael Boice, Oldham County Horticulture Assistant.
Oldham County Cooperative Extension Blog 
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My partner and I stumbled over here by a different web address and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to looking over your web page again.
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Thanks for the follow!
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Hi Lauren – how can I follow/sign up for your blog? Very informative!
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Thanks, Kristen! If you’re on a computer, look in the bottom-right of your screen for the “follow” button while viewing any page of our blog. If it’s not showing up, try scrolling the page up or down.
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Whoa, those Kentucky Pawpaw fruits are wacky! Pineapple banana flavored? Interested in finding one to try it for myself.
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It’s difficult to find well-informed people in this particular subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
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Thank you, Jeremy. We’re glad you’re enjoying the Oldham County Extension blog! Let us know if you have any other comments or suggestions.
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Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this post plus the rest of
the website is also very good.
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Thank you, James! Glad to hear you enjoyed reading about some of Kentucky’s native trees. We hope you find the Oldham County Extension blog useful and informative. Let us know of any questions or suggestions you might have.
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Hey! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
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Hi, Deidra! I’m sorry to hear that you have had issues with WordPress. That’s the platform the Oldham County Extension blog uses, but we’ve never had those kinds of issues. Perhaps there is a troubleshooter you could contact. Best of luck!
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I have been checking out some of your posts and it’s clever stuff. I will definitely bookmark your blog.
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Thanks, Myrtis! We hope you find lots of useful information on the Oldham County Extension blog.
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Youre so cool! I dont suppose I’ve read anything like this before.
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Thanks, Norris! We hope our 4-H, Agriculture, and Family and Consumer Science articles are useful to you. Feel free to suggest related topics that you’re interested in.
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Thanks for making the effort to go over this particular topic, which I haven’t found elsewhere in my research. If at all possible, as you gain knowledge, would you mind updating your blog with more info? It is very helpful for me personally.
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Glad to hear you’re finding the Oldham County Extension blog helpful! We try to make multiple posts each month on Agriculture, Horticulture, 4-H, and Family and Consumer Sciences topics. If it’s information on trees that you are most interested in, try using the search feature. Also feel free to suggest topics and/or ask questions.
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Agreed! This Kentucky fruit post has also helped me in my native fruit research. My husband and I are starting a native tree fruit farm in central Kentucky, and we’re reading everything on the subject we can find.
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Howdy fantastic gardening website! Does running a blog like this require a massive amount of work? I’ve very little understanding of programming however I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if you have any recommendations or techniques for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off topic but I just wanted to ask. Appreciate it!
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Thanks, Johny! It does take some upkeep. I try to check in on it once a day to answer comments and check stats. Writing and editing articles like Kentucky Native Fruit Trees can take me several hours which I fit into my schedule wherever I can. I believe this post was written bit by bit over several weeks. That part will depend on how often you post and the depth you go into a topic. My best recommendation is to find something you’re passionate about, like gardening or cooking, and read everything you can about it. Best of luck with your blog!
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Hey there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look
forward to all your posts! Carry on the superb work!
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I am just starting to learn about all of this tree fruit business. Thanks!
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Always glad to share research-based information!
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Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group? There’s a lot of people that I think woulⅾ really appreciate your gardening/plants content. Please let me know. Many thanks
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Thanks, Shay! Please do share whatever information you deem valuable, helpful, useful, etc.
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“I am just starting to learn about all of this. Thanks for your help!”
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Always glad to spread research-based information!
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Is aucumn a fruit tree
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Well, that isn’t a name I’m familiar with, nor did I have success Googling it. Could you provide any information on this tree/plant? You might also consider calling (502) 222-9453 to talk to our tree guru Michael.
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One other note on Paw Paws. The blossoms are not pleasant to smell. A good close-up sniff may cause you to lose your last meal! The “voice of experience” here. I grew up in Pike County which is far Eastern Kentucky. The odor of the bloom is certainly not indicative of the creamy smooth flavor of the fruit!
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Lauren, What can you tell us about a “chink-a-pin” at least that’s the phonetic spelling? It is a shrub similiar to a hazelnut and grows in Eastern Ky. The nut is encased in a tough outer skin but the flesh of the nut is almost identical to the hazelnut I used to enjoy them very much when growing up
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Hi, Bill! Thanks for sharing about the paw paw. I haven’t had the pleasure of trying one yet but look forward to the day one crosses my path! As for your chink-a-pin, I’ve come across two possibilities. There is a chinkapin oak native to Kentucky (http://www.uky.edu/hort/?q=Chinkapin-Oak), and another chinquapin/chinkapin found across the eastern United States (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/castanea-pumila/). Do either of these trees look familiar?
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can red mulberry be found at red river gorge?
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Horticulture Assistant Michael says, “Yes. They would more likely to be found along the edges of wooded areas and not in densely wooded areas because of their growth characteristics.”
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Thanks for this great list! Awesome that it includes pictures and ripe times.
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