We are south of you in Stone county ...Some of the mostly native things that grow really well here and probably near you are persimmons (our favorite fruit, wild or domestic), muscadines( produce really well if you can prune a bit and give them sun and support), sumac, mulberry, pawpaw, the coveted black and
honey locust, some gooseberries and currents, wild blackberries and raspberries. All survive without irregation but I think in the wild they all produce
alot of seedlings to allow the heartiest to survive. Between odd late freezes and frosts,
deer and
rabbits and woodchucks and squirrels it is really amazing what the forest can provide.
We have found that anything we plant needs deer protection and
watering at least for a year or so especially now. We tend to work with what is already native to our forest and give it a little help. Smaller mostly
native plants that do well here with no extra
water are echinacea, passion flower vine, yarrow ,elder flower, St johns worts, self heal, bergamot, redbuds...I forgot huckleberries...thirty to forty years ago we picked and picked, they were wonderful but rarely has there been a good year since but the plants are everywhere.
Some things you just won't know without trying. Trees and shrubs may be right for the zone but not be able to surive the humidity or the insect population let alone the periods of heavy rains then drought..
