Use Native and Adapted Plants

Enhance your landscape with regionally adapted choices

Native plants are defined as the species that exist in a region without human introduction. About 20,000 plant species are native to the United States, growing in an amazing range of habitats from the tropical rain forests of Hawaii to the deserts of Arizona. Unfortunately, native plants are disappearing at an alarming rate. Fortunately, we can bolster native plant populations by selecting from the many native plants that do well in garden settings.

Why Native Plants?

Native plants can add beauty to a garden along with other important benefits:

• Native plants that are well suited to site conditions do not require soil modifications or fertilizers and, once established, can thrive without regular watering. That reduces maintenance costs associated with irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides.
• Native plants are the foundation of the biodiversity that maintains our own life support systems. They nurture important pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
• Native plants create a distinctive sense of place, preserving the natural character of your region.

Which native plants should I include in my garden?

Native plants provide a variety of benefits, but they must be well-suited to the growing conditions of a site to be successful. Just because a plant is native doesn’t mean it will grow in any garden. As with all plants, gardeners should consider the soil type, pH, sun and shade requirements and watering needs of native vegetation before planting.

You might start by compiling a diverse list of plants native to the region that are attractive in garden settings and can be purchased at local nurseries. You will discover a variety of plant types — trees, shrubs and perennials — that grow in sunny, shady, wet and dry settings. This gives you a multitude of choices.

Find native plants.

Find plants native to your ecoregion in the following online databases:

• Wildflower Center Native Plant Database
• NWF Native Plant Finder

Should you consider adapted plants?

Adapted plants are not native and not invasive but are able to thrive in the local climate and soil conditions. Scout local nurseries for adapted plants that work well in your area.

Know your hardiness zone

Most plants available for sale at nurseries or through online suppliers have been assigned a hardiness zone based on a hardiness zone map. This is one of the most basic tools gardeners have used for decades to determine if a particular plant can survive winter in their area. Probably the best-known hardiness zone map was produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The most recent USDA map, published in 2023, divides the country into color-coded bands or zones that represent a 10-degree Fahrenheit difference in average annual minimum temperature — the higher the number, the warmer the temperatures for gardening in that zone.