Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis laevigata var. reticulata) · Species Notes

Restoration Role

Upland wildlife tree. Netleaf hackberry is the dry-country member of the pair — tough on shallow limestone where sugarberry will not hold — carrying the same high wildlife value: berries for birds, foliage for insects, habitat structure. Named for the prominent net-like venation on the leaf.

Site Suitability

PrimaryUpland limestone, Eastern Shelterbelt high ground, Western Headwaters Savanna

SecondaryDry drainage edges and draws — where NPSOT actually places it — and working-land margins

AvoidPermanently saturated bottomland — that is sugarberry country

SoilsSeC, SuB; dry, rocky limestone

HydrologyDry, well-drained; the upland member of the pair

Propagation & Care

Seed collectionCollect ripe dark berries fall through winter when mature.

StratificationRecommended: 90–120 days cold stratification after cleaning pulp — longer than sugarberry.

PropagationClean fruit pulp thoroughly. Sow 1/4–1/2 inch deep.

Container progressionSeed → Bootstrap Cell → D40 Deepot → Field planting.

Nursery wateringLow to moderate. Very drought-hardy once rooted.

LightFull sun.

OutplantingBest age 6–12 months. Plant November–February.

Establishment Watering

Year 1: 5 gallons every 2–3 weeks during drought.
Year 2: drought only.

Field notesThe upland member of the pair. USDA PLANTS files it as Celtis laevigata var. reticulata (CELAR); NPSOT and many floras treat it as a full species, Celtis reticulata. Either name orders the same tree. It keys to dry limestone, and out west it concentrates along draws and drainage edges, so give it the dry edges of the corridor as well as the uplands.