Native plant selector

Echinacea purpurea

Zones:

3-9

Size:

2-4 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jun-Sep · Pink-purple

Leave seed heads up all winter — finches strip them clean.

Rudbeckia hirta

Zones:

3-9

Size:

2-3 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jun-Oct · Golden yellow

Short-lived but reseeds freely. Great first native for beginners.

Asclepias tuberosa

Zones:

3-9

Size:

1-2.5 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

Jun-Aug · Orange

🐛 Host plant for Monarch butterfly

Deep taproot — plant it once and never move it. Slow to emerge in spring.

Asclepias incarnata

Zones:

3-9

Size:

3-5 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Medium to wet

Bloom:

Jul-Aug · Rose pink

🐛 Host plant for Monarch butterfly

The milkweed for rain gardens and soggy corners.

Asclepias syriaca

Zones:

3-9

Size:

3-5 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jun-Aug · Dusty pink

🐛 Host plant for Monarch butterfly

Spreads by runners — give it a wild corner, not a tidy bed.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Zones:

3-8

Size:

3-6 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Aug-Oct · Purple

🐛 Host plant for Pearl crescent butterfly

Critical late-season nectar. Pinch in June to keep it from flopping.

Solidago speciosa

Zones:

3-8

Size:

2-4 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Aug-Oct · Yellow

Does not cause hay fever (that's ragweed). Clump-forming, unlike Canada goldenrod.

Monarda fistulosa

Zones:

3-9

Size:

2-4 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Lavender

Give it airflow to reduce powdery mildew. Leaves make a fine tea.

Lobelia cardinalis

Zones:

3-9

Size:

2-4 ft

Sun:

Part shade

Water:

Wet

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Scarlet red

The single best hummingbird plant east of the Rockies. Never let it dry out.

Eutrochium purpureum

Zones:

4-9

Size:

4-7 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium to wet

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Mauve

Back-of-border giant that hums with butterflies in August.

Schizachyrium scoparium

Zones:

3-9

Size:

2-4 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

Aug-Oct · Copper seedheads

🐛 Host plant for Skipper butterflies

Turns bronze-orange all winter. Zero irrigation once rooted.

Panicum virgatum

Zones:

4-9

Size:

3-6 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Airy tan

Windbreak and winter cover. Cut back in late March, not fall.

Aquilegia canadensis

Zones:

3-8

Size:

1-3 ft

Sun:

Part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Apr-Jun · Red & yellow

Earliest hummingbird nectar in shade. Self-sows politely.

Mertensia virginica

Zones:

3-8

Size:

1-2 ft

Sun:

Shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Mar-May · Sky blue

Spring ephemeral — goes dormant by July, so pair with ferns.

Amelanchier canadensis

Zones:

3-8

Size:

15-25 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Apr · White

Edible June berries that taste like blueberry-almond — if birds leave any.

Sambucus canadensis

Zones:

3-9

Size:

6-12 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium to wet

Bloom:

Jun-Jul · Creamy white

Plant two varieties for fruit set. Berries must be cooked.

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Zones:

4-10

Size:

6-12 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Wet

Bloom:

Jun-Aug · White pincushions

Handles standing water — perfect for pond edges and drainage swales.

Lindera benzoin

Zones:

4-9

Size:

6-12 ft

Sun:

Part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Mar-Apr · Tiny yellow

🐛 Host plant for Spicebush swallowtail

Understory shrub with fragrant leaves and red fall berries.

Quercus alba

Zones:

3-9

Size:

50-80 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Apr-May · Catkins

🐛 Host plant for Hundreds of moths & butterflies

The single highest-value wildlife tree in North America. Plant one if you have room.

Cercis canadensis

Zones:

4-9

Size:

20-30 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Mar-Apr · Magenta

Blooms on bare wood before leaves — key early forage for bumblebee queens.

Lonicera sempervirens

Zones:

4-9

Size:

10-15 ft vine

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Apr-Sep · Coral red

Well-behaved native replacement for invasive Japanese honeysuckle.

Zizia aurea

Zones:

3-8

Size:

1-3 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Apr-Jun · Yellow

🐛 Host plant for Black swallowtail

Blooms in the spring gap when little else feeds beneficials.

Pycnanthemum muticum

Zones:

4-8

Size:

2-3 ft

Sun:

Sun to part shade

Water:

Medium

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Silver-white

Repeatedly wins pollinator-count trials. Runs a bit — edge it.

Baptisia australis

Zones:

3-9

Size:

3-4 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

May-Jun · Indigo blue

🐛 Host plant for Wild indigo duskywing

Nitrogen fixer, shrub-like, lives for decades. Don't transplant.

Coreopsis lanceolata

Zones:

4-9

Size:

1-2 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

Apr-Jul · Yellow

Florida's state wildflower group — thrives in poor sandy soil.

Liatris pycnostachya

Zones:

3-9

Size:

3-5 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Jul-Sep · Purple spikes

Blooms top-down. Monarch magnet during fall migration.

Dalea purpurea

Zones:

3-8

Size:

1-3 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

Jun-Aug · Rose-purple

Nitrogen-fixing prairie legume that improves poor soil.

Helianthus maximiliani

Zones:

3-9

Size:

5-10 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry to medium

Bloom:

Aug-Oct · Yellow

Late-season wall of gold; spreads by rhizome so give it space.

Amorpha canescens

Zones:

2-8

Size:

2-3 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

Jun-Aug · Purple & orange

🐛 Host plant for Dogface butterfly

Roots go 15 ft deep — indestructible once established.

Achillea millefolium

Zones:

3-9

Size:

1-2 ft

Sun:

Full sun

Water:

Dry

Bloom:

May-Aug · White

Best all-around beneficial-insect insectary plant; also a mowable lawn substitute.