Trees of Power

Ten Essential Arboreal Allies

Foreword by Samuel Thayer
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

The organic grower’s guide to planting, propagation, culture, and ecology

Trees are our allies in healing the world. Partnering with trees allows us to build soil, enhance biodiversity, increase wildlife populations, grow food and medicine, and pull carbon out of the atmosphere, sequestering it in the soil.

Trees of Power explains how we can work with these arboreal allies, specifically focusing on propagation, planting, and individual species. Author Akiva Silver is an enthusiastic tree grower with years of experience running his own commercial nursery. In this book he clearly explains the most important concepts necessary for success with perennial woody plants. It’s broken down into two parts: the first covering concepts and horticultural skills and the second with in-depth information on individual species. You’ll learn different ways to propagate trees: by seed, grafting, layering, or with cuttings. These time-honored techniques make it easy for anyone to increase their stock of trees, simply and inexpensively.

Ten chapters focus on the specific ecology, culture, and uses of different trees, ones that are common to North America and in other temperate parts of the world:

Chestnut: The Bread Tree
Apples: The Magnetic Center
Poplar: The Homemaker
Ash: Maker of Wood
Mulberry: The Giving Tree
Elderberry: The Caretaker
Hickory: Pillars of Life
Hazelnut: The Provider
Black Locust: The Restoration Tree
Beech: The Root Runner

Trees of Power fills an urgent need for up-to-date information on some of our most important tree species, those that have multiple benefits for humans, animals, and nature. It also provides inspiration for new generations of tree stewards and caretakers who will not only benefit themselves, but leave a lasting legacy for future generations.

Trees of Power is for everyone who wants to connect with trees. It is for the survivalist, the gardener, the homesteader, the forager, the permaculturist, the environmentalist, the parent, the schoolteacher, the farmer, and anyone who feels a deep kinship with these magnificent beings.

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Life Fountains

Reviews and Praise

  • “More than just a how-to book, Trees of Power offers a glimpse into an inspired way of working from someone who has found his calling. Whether you want inspiration or information, this handbook is a simple and profound gem about being a force for positive change. Akiva uses trees as his medium, but the lessons here are timeless and translate into any other context.”—Ben Falk, author of The Resilient Farm and Homestead


More Reviews and Praise


  • “In these times of discouraging news, it is heartening when a book like Trees of Power comes to the fore. Informative, inspirational, and practical, this timeless work will draw the reader in wonder into the selflessly giving world of ten significant tree allies. Inside you’ll find not only information about the trees, but instructions on how to collect and store seed and propagate trees through techniques such as grafting and cuttings. All for the purpose (to paraphrase the author) of inspiring us to follow our inspirations, not our fears. Not to hope for change, but to create change!”—Mark Shepard, author of Restoration Agriculture

  • Trees of Power turned out to be so much more than I expected. The chapters on growing and propagating trees will be of great use to both amateurs and professionals wanting to grow woody plants, written as they are by a commercial nursery owner who really knows his stuff. The ten chapters that cover some of the most useful trees to grow glow with Silver’s enthusiasm and knowledge.”—Martin Crawford, founder, Agroforestry Research Trust

  • “The underlying message of this book is crystal clear: Anyone can grow their own trees. Akiva Silver’s writing is refreshingly straightforward and full of encouragement, offering readers a humble vision of connecting our lives more closely with trees. Emphasizing keen observation, a love for the local landscape, and a toolkit of simple propagation and planting skills, Akiva gives readers little to do after reading this book but get on with planting!”—Steve Gabriel, author of Silvopasture

  • Trees of Power is an intensely practical book that doesn’t read like a textbook. It is a passionate testament to Akiva Silver’s arboreal friends and a joyous celebration of how he works with nature’s terrestrial giants to earn a living. Akiva assumes little existing knowledge. He offers tips to improve your tree identification skills and covers the full range of tree cultivation techniques. There is plenty in here for the experienced orchardist. However, even if you have no intention of rolling up your sleeves and joining him in the orchard but simply love trees, this book is for you, too.”—Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture, Soil Association

  • “From shoots to nuts, Akiva Silver provides helpful details on every aspect of each of the trees in the book. The lyrical writing makes me, after forty years in California, miss the deciduous forests of Missouri. I hope there will be a sequel, one that covers even more than ten arboreal allies.”—Robert Kourik, author of Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally

  • “Certainly treeculture could have been a word in its own right. Trees are sentient beings charged with regulating the breath of this living planet. Contemplating the ten important species spotlighted in Trees of Power has me excited to keep on planting. Here are trees worthy of every regenerative landscape. Trees that provide us with food, nutrient cycling, fungal havens, and diverse ecosystems that support yet even more life. In the classic Tree Crops, J. Russell Smith spoke about how farming should fit the land, how crop-yielding trees can fill in all those nooks on challenging terrain. Akiva Silver’s insights into the essentials of arboreal care provide the how-to guide to successfully establish those tree friends. Take to heart his tree wisdom, and make your special place complete.”—Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard and Mycorrhizal Planet



About The Author


About Akiva Silver

Akiva Silver owns and operates Twisted Tree Farm, a homestead, nut orchard, and nursery located in Spencer, New York, where he grows around 20,000 trees per year using practices that go beyond organic. His background is in foraging, wilderness survival, and primitive skills. He has been observing nature intensively for the last 20 years, cultivating a deep appreciation for life. Akiva lives on his farm with his wife and three young children.

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Books By Akiva Silver

Pages:288 pages
Book Art:Full-color photographs and illustrations throughout
Size: 6 x 9 inch
Publisher:Chelsea Green Publishing
US Pub. Date: March 18, 2019
UK Pub. Date: March 18, 2019
Paperback: 9781603588416

Available In/Retail Price

Paperback, 288 pages, $29.95USD, £19.99GBP