Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The first place to go to find a list of potential plants is our Native Plant Database. Use the Combination Search feature instead of Recommended Species. This will provide a bigger selection with much more choice to narrow down. The volunteers and staff at the Wildflower Center who maintain the database have partners in different regions to help with these recommended species lists based on what is easy to access in local nurseries.

Under Combination Search, select the following categories: New Jersey, habits – tree, duration – perennial, light requirement – part shade, and height – 6-12 ft. You can narrow down this search further by indicating blooming time and soil moisture specifics.

Follow each plant link to our webpage for that plant to learn its growing conditions, bloom time, etc. At the bottom of each plant webpage, under Additional Resources, there is a link to the USDA webpage for that plant. Take a look there for more specific details about suitability before you put them on your final planting list. Think about picking a tree that has interest during a variety of seasons and with more than one attractive feature (flower, fruit, foliage, bark, etc.) so you can get more benefits out of one plant.

The native plant database search identified four small trees (or large shrubs) to consider:

Cornus rugosa (roundleaf dogwood)

Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)

Ilex verticillata (common winterberry)

Sambucus racemosa (red elderberry)

 All of these plants will have a tendency for their roots to gravitate toward your drainpipe. The most often recommended plant type for planting over septic systems (which is similar to your situation of being near a drainpipe) is perennials since their roots do not extend down as far. Here is an article from Purdue Extension about landscaping over septic systems with native plants that might give you some ideas for this situation or an adjacent planting.

Also, hot exhaust gasses from your tankless water heater will harm plants if they are close enough. Evergreen plants will be more susceptible to leaf damage (especially during winter). One suggestion that you might consider is an air deflector to help protect the plant.