If you are preparing for an emergency, whether that’s a natural disaster or economic collapse, your property – including your garden – will be a large part of that effort.
Planting trees that will provide you with sustenance, building and crafting materials, and medicine is vital for any prepper or survivalist.
I want to guide you through some of the best trees for a survivalist garden or homestead orchard, based on species I’ve grown or harvested myself.
12 Must-Have Trees for Your Survival Garden
These trees may not be typical choices for a home orchard, but they will provide for you and your family in times of crisis – when you need them most.
1. Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
The large white pine adds a striking, graceful element to any property, but it’s so much more than just ornamental! It also provides a variety of uses that make it essential for a survivalist’s property.
These uses include:
- Its strong, light-weight wood which makes it an excellent source of timber for building shelters and even tools
- Its needles, young pine cones, pine nuts, and inner bark can all be harvested and consumed in different ways
- White pine is an invaluable source of vitamin C, containing 5 times the amount of vitamin C as most citrus fruits
- None of the tree is toxic so you can harness all of its nutritional and medicinal properties
- USDA Growing Zone: 3-8
- Mature Size: 50-80 feet tall, 20-40 feet wide
2. Birch (Betula)
Beautiful birch trees don’t just look good, they also provide some life-saving properties for those who find themselves in harsh living conditions.
One of the best-known uses for birch is its sap.
While it may not be as sweet as maple sap, birch sap is refreshing, hydrating, and slightly energizing – perfect if you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have ready access to drinking water.
Twigs, leaves, and catkins can be used to make a vitamin C-rich tea.
The bark of the birch can also be used to make flour and tea, though this should be done with knowledge of proper foraging techniques to avoid damaging the tree. Birch wood can be used to make tools and utensils.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 40-70 feet tall, 30-50 feet wide
3. Maple (Acer)
Speaking of sap, maple trees should be near the top of the list for a survivalist’s home orchard.
Maple sap contains high amounts of sugar that can be converted into maple syrup, making it an invaluable source of energy, especially when times are tough.
While sugar maple is the best source of maple syrup, many maple species can be tapped successfully.
Maple seeds and young maple leaves are also edible and can be eaten in salads or stews, while tea is sometimes made out of the bark as a cold remedy. Maple trees also provide excellent wood for timber and firewood.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 60-90 feet tall, 30-50 feet wide
4. American Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
If you live in the eastern US your survival orchard may harbor the perfect growing conditions for the American Pawpaw, a native understory shrub that produces the largest native fruit in North America.
Not only are pawpaws great for increasing biodiversity and boosting the native population, but their fruits are an incredible source of nutrition for survivalists.
These huge fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, and healthy fats. And of course, they taste amazing.
Pawpaw bark is also useful as it can be stripped and made into rope and cordage.
- USDA Growing Zone: 5-8
- Mature Size: 15-30 feet tall, 15-20 feet wide
5. American Basswood (Tilia americana)
Also known as linden, the virtues of the American Basswood tree are underrated by the general populace, but should be essential knowledge for survivalists.
Like the white pine and other trees, the basswood has a stunning number of uses that will come in handy for anyone preparing for an emergency.
These include:
- Edible leaves and shoots which can be eaten straight from the tree or cooked
- Edible flowers that can be made into tea
- It’s small fruits and seeds can be dried and ground down into a paste that makes a surprisingly tasty chocolate substitute.
- Its sap can be tapped and boiled into syrup, though it requires a much larger amount of sap to create syrup and may require a vacuum pump to extract.
- Softwood that can be easily carved into tools and furniture
- Inner bark fiber is easy to harvest and can be turned into durable cordage you can use to build traps, nets, and baskets.
- USDA Growing Zone: 3-8
- Mature Size: 60-80 feet tall, 30-60 feet wide
6. Willow (Salix)
Wild willows are well-known to expert survivalists and foragers because they are helpful in identifying good sources of water.
But willows are also well worth considering for survivalist orchards too, due to their chemical and practical qualities.
Most notably for survivalists, willow bark contains salicin, especially White Willow (Salix alba). When metabolized salicin converts salicylic acid, a key component of aspirin.
For decades willow bark has been used as a folk painkiller and antirheumatic medicine, making it an invaluable resource for survivalists.
Willow branches and saplings can also be used to weave baskets, traps, and even fencing, and garden trellises.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 30-60 feet tall, 20-40 feet wide
7. Oak (Quercus)
We tend to think of oaks as being most useful for shade and beautification, but they have far more utility beyond landscaping.
In particular, acorns are an invaluable resource for survivalists because they are so rich in fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
White oak and bur oak are particularly suited for acorn harvesting, as their acorns contain less tannins than other types of oak, so they take much less time and effort to process and make edible.
White oak acorns also have unusually large acorns that are easier to deshell.
Dense, heavy oak wood is perfect for firewood, tools, furniture, and construction. Oak leaves and bark also have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent properties.
- USDA Growing Zone: 3-10 (can vary widely depending on type)
- Mature Size: 60-100 feet tall, with a similar spread
8. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Black walnut trees have been a historically important resource for Native Americans for centuries, so undoubtedly survivalists should make note of this native tree while planning their home orchards.
Its most notable benefits include:
- Black walnuts, which are calorie and nutrient-dense and can be stored for long periods
- Nut production begins after just 5 years of growth
- Walnut hulls can be used to create poultices, medicinal tinctures, and even textile dye
- It contains high levels of juglone, a compound with antimicrobial and antibacterial effects
- It’s dark, close-grained wood is favored by woodworkers
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 50-75 feet tall, 30-50 feet wide
9. Hickory (Carya)
An important hardwood tree in the US, hickory trees are an underrated source of survival tools.
They bear excellent durable wood for crafting tools and weapons, nuts that are high in proteins and fats, and bark that can be used to make a delicious, smoky sap.
This sap can be used to complement both sweet and savory meals and has nutritious and edible properties. Its wood can also be used to smoke meats.
Avoid growing bitternut and pignut hickories as their nuts are considered, if not inedible, quite unpleasant to eat. Shagbark, shellbark, and red hickory typically bear the tastiest hickory nuts.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 60-100 feet tall, 40-75 feet wide
10. Mulberry (Morus)
Not all survivalist food has to be difficult to process, or worse – difficult to eat. That’s why mulberry trees can be a major lifesaver in times of difficulty.
Every year mulberry trees produce huge amounts of delicious and nutritious berries that you can eat raw, or process into longer-lasting preserves and powders.
Mulberry trees also have some lesser-known uses. For example, its young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, and the soft bark of younger branch stems can be made into a fiber for textile weaving.
The tree also has a long history of medicinal uses, some of which have been supported by modern research.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-8
- Mature Size: 30-50 feet tall, 20-35 feet wide
11. Elder (Sambucus)
You probably aren’t going to use the small bushy elder tree for shelter or timber, but that’s ok because it offers so much more for survivalists.
Elder flowers and berries have been staples in folk medicine for centuries. They are often used to treat colds, flu, respiratory issues, and other conditions.
Elderberries and flowers can be used to make delicious teas, wines, preserves, jellies, and even pies that will be invaluable in tough times.
If flavor is a priority for you, American elderberry has the tastiest berries of the elder varieties. Please note that unripe berries, as well as elder stems and leaves, are highly toxic.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-8
- Mature Size: 5-12 feet tall, 6-12 feet wide
12. Chestnut (Castanea)
Before the spread of chestnut blight, native chestnuts were an important food staple for both Native Americans and settlers.
While the native American Chestnut tree is no longer a great option for survivalist orchards, European, Chinese, and hybrid varieties can still fill that space.
Chestnuts are delicious, healthy, and versatile. These large nuts are packed with nutrients, particularly healthy oils, carbohydrates, and B vitamins.
They are also versatile, able to be boiled, roasted, and ground down into flour, and they are fantastic in both sweet and savory meals.
Chestnut trees are also a source of lightweight, rot-resistant wood that can be used to build shelters and smaller constructions.
- USDA Growing Zone: 4-9
- Mature Size: 40-80 feet tall, 30-60 feet wide
These versatile trees are must-haves for any self-reliant homestead, offering food, shelter, and natural remedies. They provide medicinal bark, calorie-rich nuts, and more.
To bolster your food security even further, consider adding fast-growing fruit trees and survival crops for your vegetable garden alongside these trees.
