Nursery scene

Welcome to the Macphail Woods Native Tree and Shrub Nursery.

Specializing in native trees, shrubs, ferns and wildflowers. Sales from our nursery help support our restoration and educational efforts. You support our Island environment and help support our work.

Here you will find information on purchasing, identifying, collecting, and growing your own native trees and shrubs. The Macphail Woods nursery has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, and has become a major source of native plants for other habitat restoration projects around Prince Edward Island. These have included many school ground plantings and riparian zones around streams.

We offer planting ideas and solutions for everyone, from woodlot owners wanting to restore native woodlands to the urban homeowners interested in attracting wildlife. We have a great selection of native trees and shrubs to choose from in a variety of sizes.

A fall red oak for sale: This nice red oak, in it's fall colors, ready for sale

2011 Nursery Schedule
OPEN THURSDAYS THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 28 to JUNE 4, 9am to 5pm
From Thursday, April 28th through Saturday, May 21th, we will sell both bare root (as long as the plants haven’t leafed out yet) and potted stock but after that all stock will be potted. Elderberries are only available as potted stock. After June 5, we are open only by appointment, but we try to be flexible. We will be using the extra time to work on the 2,000 acres of Public Forest Land we are now managing for the provincial government.

Macphail Woods Nursery Catalogue - Updated for 2011

This year, we are offering a number of broad-leaved trees in the 1 foot up to 8 foot range. Over 7 species to choose from. For example, a 2 foot yellow birch is only $5, or a four footer for only $12. We have a more limited selection of needle-leaved trees species for sale, ranging from 1 foot up to 6 feet. We continue to offer a large selection of native shrubs at affordable prices. Like a 3 foot red-osier dogwood for $12, or a 2 foot high witch hazel for $10. We also are offering a number of ferns and native wildflowers for sale. This is just a sampling. Make sure to checkout the complete pricelist PDF viewer required.
**PLEASE NOTE: We are a local nursery and do not ship anywhere**

Community Nurseries
Community nurseries are a source of inexpensive plants for environmental restoration, beautification or wildlife enhancement. The following pages lay out the steps you can take to start your own nursery, large or small.

Guide to Native Shrubs of PEI and the Guide to Native Trees of PEI

Native plants are usually very reliable - they have adapted to the climatic conditions of the area and serve a variety of functions within the ecosystem. The trees and shrubs selected are "native", but more important they are proven performers - hardy, fitting into a wide variety of habitats, valuable to wildlife, useful for stabilizing streambanks and/or controlling soil erosion.

Nursery Articles:

Many of the following series of Webpages is based on the booklet "Tree Sheets. How and Where to Plant Native Trees and Shrubs", by Gary Schneider and Ruth Richman, Environmental Coalition of P.E.I. If your interested in receiving a hardcopy of this booklet, please see our publications page.

Why Plant Native Shrubs?
One question often heard is "why plant shrubs instead of trees?" At Macphail Woods, we use a combination of trees and shrubs in all our plantings.

Growing Native Shrubs
One of the foundations of the environmental movement has been to "think globally and act locally". Growing and planting native shrubs is a wonderful example of acting locally to improve the environment.

How to Plant Trees and Shrubs
How to plant trees and shrubs from bare root stock, container stock and transplantings from the wild.

Nursery trees and shrubs in pots ready for sale.

Attracting Wildlife to your Backyard
The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project has been working for years to promote the values of native plants and forest restoration.

Planning a Productive Acre
The idea for "Planning a Productive Acre" comes from seeing many older Island farm homes tucked into a grove of mixed woods.

Hedgerows and Windbreaks
Hedgerows, also called windbreaks or shelterbelts, once divided Island farms into a pattern of small fields. They provided shelter for livestock, protected houses and barns from winter winds and helped cool the buildings in the summer.

Planting a White Spruce Hedge
Hedges provide privacy, protection from wind, and reduced erosion. On Prince Edward Island, white spruce is often planted and pruned for a hedge near a house.

Tips on Transplanting
Tips on transplanting native trees and shrubs from locating and collecting seedlings to transplanting bare and container stock.

Areas to be Planted and Appropriate Species
A species list for wet or dry areas as well as sunny versus shade. Species suitable for shore plantings are also provided.

Native Trees and Shrubs propagation methods
Some species are best propagated by seeds while others can be easily reproduced via cuttings. See a list of many native trees and shrubs and how to easily increase their numbers.