The 36 Trees That Will Change Your Life Forever - (From seed to Legacy) - Part 2

Never plant a tree by digging a hole in the ground and dumping your valuable young tree there - alone, exposed, and suffocated by grass.

In part 1 of this series 'from seed to legacy' you have cracked the code of planting tree that thrive for generations. You can carefully design the tree’s implementation and prevent many negative factors from cutting the tree’s growth and potential by half. You learned that, although these techniques are very sophisticated, they only take 20 minutes to plant a tree that can live and produce for 200 years, while doubling its growth rate. With all that established, it begs the question:

What trees am I supposed to plant that are worth planting? Which ones form a good team (guild)?

Here is a curated list of the most useful trees for each climate, handpicked by Bill Mollison himself, the father of Permaculture, during his 88 years of life.

In this edition, in 6 minutes or less:

#1 Cold climate (temperate/cool) — 12 Tree species

#2 Tropics/subtropics — 12 Tree species

#3 Arid regions — 12 Tree species

Cold climate (temperate/cool) — 12 species

• Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) — [timber; windbreak; bee forage; nitrogen-fixer; poultry pods]
• Why: Extremely fast-growing N-fixing timber with durable poles; pods/flowers support bees and poultry; hardy in cool climates.
• Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) — [food pods/flour; fodder; windbreak; animal-barrier hedge]
• Why: Protein-rich pods for stock or meal, tolerates pruning into stock-proof hedges and serves as a shelter belt.
• Chestnut (Castanea sativa; C. dentata) — [nuts (storage/flour); timber]
• Why: High-calorie nuts that dry/store well and a long-lived tree yielding useful timber.
• Oaks (Quercus spp., e.g., Q. alba) — [acorns (storage/stock feed); timber; windbreak]
• Why: Long-lived shelter trees giving abundant mast for animals and strong timber.
• Hazel/Filbert (Corylus avellana, C. maxima) — [nuts; hedge]
• Why: Reliable cool-climate nut that forms dense living hedges and shelter.
• Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) — [hedge/windbreak; bee forage]
• Why: Classic spiny stock-proof hedge and shelter belt with nectar for pollinators.
• Apple (Malus spp.) — [fruit; windbreak (humid belts); bee forage]
• Why: Productive fruit plus blossom for bees; integrates into humid-belt windbreaks.
• Prunus (plums/cherries) — [fruit; windbreak/hedge]
• Why: Edible fruit on trees that clip into dense windbreaks/hedges (e.g., damson, sour cherry).
• Alder (Alnus spp.) — [nitrogen-fixer; hedge/shelter]
• Why: Actinorhizal N-fixer that stabilizes soils and forms fast, durable shelter belts.
• Willows (Salix spp.) — [foliage fodder; bee forage; wetland shelter belt]
• Why: Coppiceable fodder and basketry poles that thrive in wet sites and support early pollinators.
• Siberian pea shrub (Caragana arborescens) — [poultry pods; hedge; nitrogen-fixer]
• Why: Tough N-fixing hedge with seed valued in poultry systems and for light human use.
• Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) — [windbreak/hedge; edible fruit; nitrogen-fixer]
• Why: Salt/snow-hardy spiny hedge with vitamin-rich fruit and actinorhizal N-fixing roots.

Cold climate guild companions

• Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) — [dynamic accumulator; chop-and-drop mulch; bee forage]
• Clover (Trifolium spp.) — [nitrogen-fixer; living mulch; bee forage]
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) — [insectary; drought-hardy; living mulch edges]
• Borage (Borago officinalis) — [bee forage; mineral accumulator; edible flowers/leaves]
• Dill (Anethum graveolens) — [insectary; attracts beneficial wasps; umbellifer guild support]
• Nasturtium ( Tropaeol ummajus ) — [ edible ground cover ; trap crop for aphids ; flowers attract beneficials ]

Tropics/subtropics — 12 species

• Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) — [food; oil; front-line coastal windbreak]
• Why: Multi-use coastal pioneer yielding copra, water and fibre while shielding salt winds.
• Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) — [food; front-line coastal windbreak]
• Why: Staple fruit for hot belts that also stands in the first line against coastal winds.
• Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia) — [coastal windbreak; nitrogen-fixer; timber]
• Why: Tough salt-wind tolerant shelter tree with actinorhizal N-fixation and useful poles.
• Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) — [fodder (foliage/pods); nitrogen-fixer; windbreak]
• Why: Protein-rich leaf fodder with rapid regrowth; clips into shelter/hedges and builds soil.
• Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) — [fodder; nitrogen-fixer; living fence/timber stakes]
• Why: Classic tropical living-fence tree ideal for chop-and-drop fodder and green manures.
• Ice cream bean (Inga edulis) — [food (sweet pulp); nitrogen-fixer; shade]
• Why: Edible pods plus canopy shade and N-fixation—great nurse for orchard systems.
• Sesbania (Sesbania grandiflora, S. bispinosa) — [fodder; nitrogen-fixer; edible flowers]
• Why: Very fast N-fixing fodder tree with edible blooms; valuable in poultry and mixed systems.
• Citrus (Citrus spp.) — [fruit; bee forage]
• Why: Year-round fresh fruit and nectar for pollinators in warm belts.
• Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) — [food; fodder; nitrogen-fixer]
• Why: Short-lived tree/shrub that feeds people and animals while fixing nitrogen and offering quick shelter.
• Albizia (Albizia lophantha, A. julibrissin) — [nitrogen-fixer; windbreak/hedge; poultry pods]
• Why: Rapid N-fixing nurse tree that forms thickets/hedges and contributes seed/fodder.
• Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) — [food (pods); shade/shelter]
• Why: Long-lived shade tree with nutritious pods and strong canopy for shelter belts.
• Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) — [fruit; hedgerow]
• Why: Resilient, spiny hedge tree with durable, storable fruit suited to warm/dry subtropics.

Tropics/subtropics guild companions

• Lab-lab bean (Lablab purpureus — syn. Dolichos lab-lab) — [nitrogen-fixer; living mulch/vine; fodder]
• Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) — [green manure; nematode suppression; nitrogen-fixer]
• Marigold (Tagetes spp.) — [pest control; nematode suppression; insectary]
• Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) — [edible groundcover; erosion control; living mulch]
• Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) — [mulch source; barrier against invading grasses; aromatic pest deterrent]

Arid regions — 12 species

• Mesquites (Prosopis spp.) — [fodder (pods); bee forage; nitrogen-fixer; very dry sites]
• Why: Iconic dryland N-fixer with abundant stock feed pods and nectar under extreme drought.
• Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) — [flour/meal; poultry pods; hedgerow; drought-hardy]
• Why: Sweet pods mill to flour, feed stock, and trees shape into durable hedges in Mediterranean/arid belts.
• Tagasaste/Tree lucerne (Chamaecytisus palmensis) — [fodder; windbreak (garden belts); very dry sites; nitrogen-fixer]
• Why: High-protein evergreen fodder tree that coppices for shelter and soil building.
• Mulga (Acacia aneura) — [windbreak (dry belts); fodder; nitrogen-fixer; poultry pods]
• Why: Keystone arid Acacia for shelter, browse and seed for poultry in drylands.
• Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) — [food pods/flour; fodder; windbreak; animal-barrier hedge; very dry sites]
• Why: Deep-rooted drought performer giving fodder pods and stock-proof hedges.
• Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) — [timber; bee forage; nitrogen-fixer; very dry sites]
• Why: Durable pole timber and bee plant that thrives on poor, dry soils while fixing nitrogen.
• Holm oak (Quercus ilex) — [acorns (storage/stock feed); very dry sites; windbreak]
• Why: Evergreen oak for hot, dry sites producing reliable mast and dense shelter.
• Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) — [fruit; hedgerow; very dry sites]
• Why: Spiny, drought-proof fruit tree ideal for edible shelter hedges.
• Olive (Olea europaea) — [food/oil; shelter species (coastal); very dry sites]
• Why: Long-lived dryland food and oil tree tolerating wind and salt exposure.
• Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) — [food; coastal/arid front-line windbreak]
• Why: Salt/wind-tolerant staple fruit for deserts and coasts that also shelters inner belts.
• Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia) — [windbreak (dry/coastal); nitrogen-fixer; timber]
• Why: Tough actinorhizal shelter tree for dunes and arid coasts with useful poles.
• Tamarisk (Tamarix aphylla, T. parviflora) — [hedge/thicket; windbreak (dry belts); salt tolerant]
• Why: Hardy, salt-tolerant thicket-former for stabilizing and sheltering arid margins.

Arid regions guild companions

• Lucerne/alfalfa (Medicago sativa) — [nitrogen-fixer; deep-rooted fodder; soil builder]
• Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) — [grain/greens; heat/drought tolerant; poultry feed]
• New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia spp., incl. T. implexa) — [very dry sites; edible groundcover; wind/salt tolerant]
• Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) — [edible; drought-hardy groundcover; poultry forage]
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) — [very dry sites; aromatic pest deterrent; bee forage; low hedge]

We leave our success on the planet to chance if we fail to plan a useful, productive, and pragmatic assembly of trees and plant companions (a guild) with proper technique.

I see no reason not to design the planting of useful trees. No other action yields greater results for the effort involved. We can build upon the work.

Would it be a bad idea to include one of these species in your garden?

See you next Tuesday!

Alexandre and Marina

P.S.: Trees and home-gardens work amazingly together.

The trees can be used to build a hedge or a windbreak, for example, blocking damaging wind, which is one of the main causes of damage in annual gardens. Not only that, imagine planting a nitrogen-fixing tree, that builds soil and fertility automatically, while bringing pollinators. Don’t leave this potential untapped.

If you don’t know where to start to convert a normal home-garden into a permaculture home-garden, we created a guide that helps you do just that.

€11.96 Transform your Home Garden Vegetable Beds through Permaculture Solutions:​Grow More, Buy Less and Ditch Chemicals 30 pages. Instant Access. Lifetime Use. Cost less than one bag of fertilizer.

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P.P.S.: Would you like to have Bill Mollison's full plant list? Send us an email, and if you’re interested, I’ll create a PDF.