Native Plant Selector
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
- Smells like licorice
- Can be used as an herb
- Steep leaves in hot water for delicious tea
- Full to part sun
- Dry to medium soil
- 2′ to 4′ tall
- Blooms July thru September
- Clump forming
- Pollinator magnet
- Extremely long bloom time
Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
- Grows 2 feet tall
- Full sun
- Medium to dry soil
- Blooms into October and November
- Keystone Plant
- Important plant for pollinators preparing to over-winter
- Very late blooming (into November)
Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
- Grows 6 to 10 feet tall
- Full sun to part shade
- Medium soil
- Blooms May and June
- Flowers attract pollinators
- Birds love the berries
- Takes well to summer pruning
- Larval host plant
- Good fall color
- Flowers smell unpleasant
- Will form colonies
- Not for small landscapes
Beak Grass (Diarrhena obovata)
- Medium, moist or wet soil
- Considered rare in parts of its range
- Grows 1 to 3 feet tall
- Naturally found in high quality woodlands
- Excellent ground cover for shady areas
- Very adaptive
- Full sun to deep shade
- Prolific
- Spreads easily from seed
Big Leaved Aster (Eurybia macrophylla)
- Large, heart-shaped leaves up to 8 inches
- Good for a shade groundcover
- Grows 12 inches tall
- Part shade to shade
- Dry to moist soil
- Non-showy bloom from August through October
- Shorter shade-tolerant aster
Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
- Grows 3 to 6 feet tall
- Full sun to part shade
- Medium moisture
- Blooms in May, June
- Larval host plant
- Berries rated as having one of the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruits
- This super fruit is also anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic
- Berry flavor is astringent – not sweet but also not bitter or sour
- Birds love this berry which ripens just in time for their fall migration
- Gorgeous red Autumn leaves
Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa)
- Grows 4 to 6 feet tall
- Medium to moist soil
- Part shade to shade
- Can bloom from June to September
- Shade-loving plant
- Can get rather large
- Showy white flowers
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Grows 1 to 3 feet tall
- Part to full sun
- Dry to moist soil
- Blooms June through September
- Long bloom time
- Attracts butterflies and other pollinators
- Seed heads attract finches and other birds
- Prolific
- Will spread easily from seed
Black-Haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
- Grows 6 to 12 feet tall
- Full sun to part shade
- Dry to medium soil
- Blooms May, June
- Flowers attract pollinators
- Berries loved by birds
- Takes well to summer pruning
- Larval host plant
- Good fall color
- Fragrant flowers and sweet fruit
- Forms colonies
- Tends to spread
- Beautiful red autumn leaves
- Large shrub – needs space
Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia)
- Grows 10 to 15 feet
- Part to full shade
- Dry to medium soil
- Blooms in May
- Attracts pollinators and birds
- Larval host plant
- Interesting bladder-like fruit and striated bark
- Black Walnut tolerant
- Not for small landscape
Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Attractive form in the landscape
- Full to part sun
- Medium Moisture
- 3′ to 5′ tall
- Blooms June, July
- Attractive flowers
- Great blue color
- Can be aggressive
- Tends to flop
Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica shrevei)
- Hardy plant for wet soil
- Grows 2 to 3 feet tall
- Blooms in June and July
- Full to part sun
- Excellent for low wet areas
- Loved by hummingbirds
- Great plant for gutter down-spout or rain garden
Blue Fruited Dogwood (Cornus obliqua)
- Grows 8 to 10 feet tall
- Part to full shade
- Moist soil
- Blooms June and July
- Attractive to our native pollinators
- Not a specimen plant
- Good to prevent erosion along a stream bank
- Larval host plant
- Birds love the fruit of this plant
- Fruit is edible but bitter
- Will tolerate poor drainage
Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
- Grows 1 to 4 feet tall
- Full to part sun
- Medium to moist soil
- Attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds
- Blooms July through September
- Not aggressive
- Good for damp clay
- Could be considered a short-lived perennial
- self-seeds and will move around
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
- Grows 2 to 4 feet tall
- Full Sun to Part Shade
- Medium to dry soil
- Long blooming
- Blooms July through September
- Important nectar source
- Great for butterfly gardens
- Larval host plant
- Non-aggressive
- Very drought resistant
- Good plant for rain garden swale or area with poor drainage
- Will self-seed and move around
Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)
- Grows 1 to 2 feet tall
- Full to part sun
- Moist to wet soil
- Blooms late into fall
- Slow growing
- Long-lived
- Unique closed flowers
- Pollinated exclusively by large bumblebees
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
- Grows 2 to 5 feet tall
- Part to full sun
- Medium to moist soil
- Very adaptable
- Larval host plant
- Will move around
- Can be aggressive
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Full sun
- Medium to dry soil
- 2′ tall
- Blooms June through August
- Important Milkweed species for monarchs and other butterflies
- Prolific orange blooms in hot sun
- Clump forming plant
Button Bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- Grows 5 to 12 feet tall
- Full sun to part shade
- Medium to wet soil
- Blooms in June
- Loved by pollinators
- Attracts hummingbirds
- Great for wet areas
- Takes well to pruning
- Larval host plant
- Attractive foliage and unique flowers
- Will even grow in standing water
- Not for the small landscape
Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis)
- Beautiful groundcover for sun
- Can be aggressive in the right location
- Full to part sun
- Medium to moist soil
- Grows 12″ tall
- Blooms May through July
Canadian Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis)
- Grows 3 feet tall
- Part to full sun
- Dry to moist soil
- Good nectar source for pollintors
- Larval host plant
- Blooms June through August
- Interesting white flower
- Has a tendency to sprawl