Native Plants

Indian paintbrush won’t survive alone — its roots need a host plant to tap. Here’s which natives work, and why most transplants die within a season.

Campsis radicans grows 40 feet tall and suckers 20 feet into your lawn. Here’s how to plant, prune, and contain trumpet vine — plus 3 cultivars that stay put.

Dig up a trailing arbutus and it dies within a season — the soil fungus its roots need never comes with it. Here are the only 2 propagation methods that work.

Anise hyssop blooms two months longer than lavender and brews into a naturally sweet licorice tea. Here’s the complete planting and care guide.

See why cardinal flower’s scarlet blooms pull hummingbirds in from across the yard — and why its wetland-adapted roots make dry soil the fastest way to lose it.

Rank desert genera by specialist bee count before you plant. Encelia anchors 32 oligolectic species, Prosopis 23, and Quercus locks in 9 butterfly specialists in zones 8-11.

A practical guide to identifying invasive ornamentals in your yard, choosing native keystone plant replacements by USDA zone, and making the ecological transition step by step.

Not all native plants are equal for wildlife. Keystone plants — oaks, wild cherries, willows, goldenrods, and asters — support hundreds of times more caterpillar and bird species than ornamental alternatives. Here’s how to choose them for your US garden.

Discover the highest-impact keystone plants for western US gardens across USDA zones 5-9. From Oregon white oak and ceanothus to rabbitbrush and serviceberry, these native species support hundreds of insects, birds, and pollinators in Pacific Coast and Mountain West gardens.

The Southeast is one of the richest regions in North America for native keystone plants — species that support disproportionately large numbers of insects and birds through millions of years of co-evolution. This guide covers the most impactful keystone trees, shrubs, and perennials for USDA zones 7–9, with zone-by-zone recommendations for NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY, AR, and LA.

If you plant one thing this year to restore biodiversity in your Midwest garden, make it a keystone plant. Research by University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy found that just 5% of plant species in any region support 75% of all native caterpillar species — and those caterpillars are the foundation of almost every food web. In the Midwest’s Prairie …

Discover the most impactful keystone native plants for Northeast gardens in USDA zones 4-7 — the trees, shrubs, and perennials that support the most wildlife, with planting guides for every state from Maine to Virginia.