We grow native British trees at our woodland nursery in Oxfordshire, and one question comes up again and again: which tree should I plant for wildlife?

The honest answer is that “trees are good for wildlife” is too vague to be useful. Each native species feeds a different set of creatures, at a different time of year, in a different way.

When we looked into the recorded numbers, the differences between species surprised even us. Here is what the evidence shows, tree by tree.

Oak: The Foundation of the Food Web

English oak (Quercus robur) hosts at least 280 insect species, more than any other native tree in Britain. In total, oaks provide food, shelter and breeding space for around 2,300 wildlife species.

Those insects matter because they feed everything above them. Beetles, moths, butterflies and caterpillars living on an oak become the food supply for birds and bats. The stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), Britain’s largest beetle, uses oak roots and decaying timber for its larvae. Vapourer moth (Orgyia antiqua) caterpillars feed on oak leaves from May through August and are widespread across UK parks and gardens — a reliable, native food source that blue tits, great tits and pied flycatchers time their breeding to coincide with.

The comparison with non-native trees makes the point sharply. A horse chestnut, introduced from Greece in the 1600s, supports around 50 insect species. A sycamore or larch supports around 15. An English oak of the same size supports 280 or more.

💡 Why this matters for garden birds: caterpillars on oak, birch and hawthorn leaves are the primary food for blue tit chicks in April and May. A pair raising ten chicks needs 10,000 to 14,000 caterpillars over a three-week fledgling period. The tree you choose decides whether that food exists.

Rowan: A Winter Refuelling Station

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) earns its place through timing. Its bright red autumn berries feed blackbirds, thrushes, redstarts, redwings, fieldfares and waxwings.

The redwings and fieldfares arrive from Scandinavia and Russia when winter closes in there. Searching for food across British gardens and hedgerows, rowan is the tree that stands out to them.

Waxwings depend on it heavily. When rowan berries run scarce in their home range, they arrive in the UK and Ireland in large flocks. A single waxwing can eat two to three times its own body weight in a day.

Plant a rowan and you are stocking a winter larder for birds that have flown from another continent to reach it. That is a specific, seasonal role in the ecosystem, delivered by a tree that fits comfortably in a suburban garden.

Hazel: Survival Habitat for Dormice

The link between hazel (Corylus avellana) and the hazel dormouse goes beyond preference. It is survival. Dormice eat berries, seeds, flowers, pollen and insects through the year, then shift to fattier foods, above all hazelnuts, to prepare for hibernation.

The structure of the tree matters as much as the nuts. Dormice build woven nests, 100 to 150mm across, in low-growing shrubs, old coppice, dense hedgerows and tree holes. Hazel provides exactly that architecture.

⚠️ The context here is sobering. Hazel dormouse populations have fallen by 70% nationally since 2000. Every hazel planted in a garden or hedgerow adds back a small piece of the habitat this species is losing.

Silver Birch: The Overlooked Powerhouse

Silver birch (Betula pendula) rarely gets the credit it deserves. It supports 334 recorded insect species, along with fungi and birds including siskins, redpolls and greenfinches. Hole-nesting birds such as woodpeckers make their homes in the trunk.

Its open canopy does quiet work too. Light and air reach the ground beneath it, so other plants thrive there, which gives hedgehogs, squirrels and shrews a place to shelter, forage and feed.

For a UK garden, the recorded insect count makes silver birch one of the most ecologically valuable trees you can plant. We grow it because it combines that value with elegance and a manageable footprint.

Field Maple: Fast Results in Small Spaces

Not every garden has room for an oak. The good news is that smaller natives deliver measurable results, and quickly.

Field maple (Acer campestre) supports 51 insect species and reaches 4 to 8 metres in a garden setting. On the evidence, it is the best native tree for small gardens where space rules out anything larger.

What This Means When You Choose a Tree

Pulling these numbers together, a clear picture forms. Wildlife value belongs to the specific species and the calendar.

A garden supports living things in proportion to how deliberately you match the tree to what local creatures need across the year. Here is a simple framework:

• Spring insects and chick food: oak & birch

• Summer nectar: rowan flowers for bees and pollinating insects

• Autumn fattening: hazelnuts for dormice heading into hibernation

• Winter survival: rowan berries for redwings, fieldfares and waxwings

Plant with this calendar in mind and your garden could feed something in every season.

Why We Grow This Way

Everything above shapes what we grow at our Oxfordshire nursery and how we grow it. We raise native British species, peat-free, because peat-free growing protects the same habitats these trees support. There is little sense in growing a tree in a way that damages the habitats it is meant to support.

We also believe anyone can plant a tree in their lifetime, and that the choice deserves better information than a generic label. When you know your rowan will feed a redwing that flew here from Scandinavia, planting it feels different. You can take pride in knowing exactly what your tree does.

If you are choosing a tree for wildlife and want help matching species to your space and your local birds, get in touch. We are here to help, and we will happily send photographs and advice before you decide.