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HIGH 1:28 AM
Low 7:51 AM
Park Hours and Info
Park is Open 7 Days a Week | 6AM - 1AM
Entry is Free!
Brooklyn Bridge Park is home to not just New Yorkers but over 12,000 species of plants and wildlife. Meet some of our residents below.
Lindera benzoin
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
MediumNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
A Large and wild looking shrub. Small early spring blooming yellow flowers provide important resources for pollinators. The leaves, twigs and fruit are all fantastically fragrant when bruised and in that way great for connecting people to nature. It is a host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Spicebush Swallowtail and the fruit is a food source for a variety of wildlife. The soft yellow fall color provides its most standout moment in the landscape.
Rhus typhina
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Dry MediumNative Range
New York CityNotes
Not a good choice for confined soil volume plantings. It will colonize an area by suckering roots and can bust through asphalt if not given room. After a rambunctious period of establishment the planted population at BBP has settled down. Plant size and stand density can be managed by coppice. Weak wooded. Susceptible to Botryosphaeria canker. Maintaining airflow may help. The fruit is a high value food source for overwintering birds and can be brewed into a delicious tea.
Clethra alnifolia
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Needs moisture for establishment and average soil moisture to really thrive. Can resprout from root stock following dieback from drought. Attracts pollinators. Fragrant. Ornamental potential. ’Hummingbird’ is the culivar most widely used at BBP.
Asclepias incarnata
Sun
Full sunWater
Medium WetBloom Season
SummerColor
Pink, WhiteNative Range
New York City North AmericaQuercus bicolor
Sun
Full sunWater
Medium WetNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
White oaks are more resistant to oak wilt as they rarely produce spore mats and their roots do not graft like red oaks do. Obscure scale damage affects red oaks more than white as well. High wildlife value, including beetles, leafhoppers, insects, many mammals and birds. Felled leaves are said to deter garden pests.
Liquidambar styraciflua
Sun
Full sunWater
MediumBloom Season
SpringColor
Green, YellowNative Range
New York CityNotes
Not salt or flood tolerant. Needs sun. Strong roots can significantly lift sidewalks and fruit needs to be removed from walkways. High wildlife value for birds. Prone to bagworms, webworm, borers. Ornamental leaves, fall colors and interesting fruit good for educational purposes.
Magnolia virginiana
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetBloom Season
SpringColor
WhiteNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Evergreen understory or small specimen tree. Evergreen cultivars especially stunning. Handles wet to dry soil. Tolerates sun to shade, but prefers some light windows. Seeds in and can send up suckers. Great spring interest with long bloom time. Plant where flowers can be accessible for public interaction. High ecological value for birds, butterflies, moths, beetles.
Magnolia virginiana
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetBloom Season
SpringColor
WhiteNative Range
New York City North AmericaNyssa sylvatica
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetBloom Season
Spring, SummerNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Slow growing. Longest lived native in eastern US. Not recommended for Lawn planting; fungal issues from heavy water. Intense, variable fall color. Fruits important for birds, often develops cavities good for nesting and small mammals.
Carex stricta
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Great sedge with enough moisture. Does best in flooded sites.
Mertensia virginica
Sun
Full shade Part shadeWater
MediumBloom Season
SpringColor
BlueNative Range
New York StateNotes
Bluebells might be spring’s most exciting park flower. This spring ephemeral emerges in May with tiny pink flower buds that shift to blue as they grow and open. A pH shift in the flower’s cells changes the color, signaling to spring bumblebees that flowers are ready for visiting. A true spring ephemeral, there is no sign Mertensia when summer hits, which makes it a great plant to tuck under and around plants that leaf out later. Will seed in when happy.
Itea virginica
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetNative Range
NE USANotes
’Henry’s Garnet,’ with its gracefully arching branches and loose open form, is the most widely used and best proven cultivar at BBP. ‘Sprich’ (trade name: LITTLE HENRY) is less proven in the Park but shows promise as a smaller more compact form. Both will tend to slowly colonize an area by root suckers. Control suckers to maintain a formal look or allow them to intermingle with other plants for a more natural aesthetic. It will grow in full shade but Itea’s best features, fragrant showy spring flowers and brilliant fall color, are diminished in the shade.
Elymus virginicus
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
MediumNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Nice seedhead, best suited for a more naturalized meadow garden.
Quercus alba
Sun
Full sunWater
Dry MediumColor
Green, WhiteNative Range
Kings CountyCarex albicans
Sun
Full shade Part shadeWater
MediumNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Similar to C. pennsylvanica or Sporobolis heterolepsis. Delicate clumping form. Tolerates drought. Does well on slope. Best in part-shade.
Geranium maculatum
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
MediumBloom Season
SpringColor
Pink, PurpleNative Range
Native to North America and occurring naturally in the Northeast New York CityRhus coppalina
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Dry MediumNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Seriously underutilized plant. More ornamental that R. typhina and better behaved.
Ilex verticillata
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
Medium WetNative Range
Kings CountyNotes
Look out for cultivars with berries ALL winter. That means birds are not eating them. One of the main points of this plant is for birds to eat the berries after the sugars ferment by freeze. Known to result in drunken robins. We’ve also found rare moths boring into the stems. Not all borers are bad! Berries also provide excellent winter interest in the landscape. Dioecious. Must plant both male and female plants to get berry production.
Aesculus flava
Sun
Full sun Part shadeWater
MediumBloom Season
Fall, SpringColor
YellowNative Range
Long IslandNotes
Strong, fast grower, beautiful urban tree. Susceptible to borers when first planted. Must prune for airflow and remove duff for anthracnose. Large fruit, eaten by squirrels, make it unsuitable for tree pits. Seedling removal is essential each spring.