Hackberry Growth

Size

• Hackberry trees growing in their natural habitat have a mature height of up to 80 feet with a 60-foot spread. The tree canopy is ascending or spreading in form and the crown is large and rounded in open areas. When growing in urban settings, the tree achieves a height of 40 to 60 feet with a trunk diameter of 1 to 2 feet.

Description

• The gray, smooth bark of the tree is quite similar to beech trees. There are clusters of 1/4-inch, twisted, wart-like growths on random spots on trunk. Hackberry develops tangled masses of twisted twigs at the end of the branches. The deciduous, 2- to 4-inch-long and 1- to 2-inch-wide foliage with tapered tips is light green in color. The tree blooms with separate male and female, small, green flowers in spring. The female flowers are followed by small, round, green fruits that eventually change to a purple or brown color by fall and attract birds.

Cultural Requirements

• Hackberry tree grows in areas of full sun and a wide range of soils including clay, dry, rocky and poorly fertile. The tree prefers a well-drained, moist soil. The trees planted in alkaline soil tend to be shorter and grow at a slower growth rate. Hackberry trees adapt well to urban stress such as smog and dirty water runoff. The tree is hardy in USDA zones 2 to 9 and is easily propagated from seed.

Problems

• A number of twig and leaf disorders are likely to afflict hackberry. However, the majority of these problems are cosmetic in nature and do not pose serious threats to tree health. These include the powdery mildew fungus, nipple gall and witches' broom. Trees growing in high pH ground often suffer from chlorosis or yellowing foliage.