Why Native

What is a native plant?

A plant is native if it has occurred naturally for thousands of years in a region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. These plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, meaning that many native animals are dependent on these particular species to survive. Native plants are always the best bet when it comes to supporting their local wildlife.

Ideally, a habitat space should consist of 100% native plants. We recommend first striving for 70% native species in your planting location.

Why are they so important?

Including native plants on your property has a huge impact on wildlife, climate, and even people.

Monarch butterfly drinking nectar from the bright orange flowers of the butterfly milkweed.

CREDIT: HELEN ANDERSON

Native plants have these far-reaching effects because they:

Are the foundation of the entire food web that all animal life relies on.
Are essential host plants for many insects, including the caterpillars of butterflies and moths which themselves are an extremely important part of web as well as pollinators.
Thrive in the soils, moisture, and weather of your region, which means less supplemental watering and fertilizing.
Often have deeper root systems which help reduce watering needs, manage rainwater runoff, and maintain a healthy soil structure.
Can sequester more carbon by taking it out of our atmosphere and storing it in the soil through their deep root systems than many non-native ornamental garden plants do.
Are less prone to pest problems that may require toxic chemicals that can enter our ecosystems and waterways.
Provide a sense of place and space that ties our gardens to the unique regional natural history of the land where we live and honors the importance of these species in Indigenous culture.
Support birds, pollinators and other wildlife that are under increasing stress from climate change. Native plants provide the best possible habitat for native wildlife.

Why are they a better choice than non-native plants?

Non-native plants are species that evolved in other parts of the world or were cultivated by humans into forms that don’t exist in nature. These plants do not support native wildlife as well as native species and can occasionally even escape into the wild and become invasive species that destroy natural habitat.

A native oak species can support over 550 caterpillar species in just one region.

A non-native tree like a ginkgo supports zero.

Bee enjoying nectar and pollen from the yellow flowers of a goldenrod, a keystone species of native plants.

CREDIT: TYLER MOORE

Goldenrods are a keystone species in many areas of the United States, serving as a host plant to over 100 caterpillar species and supporting over 20 species of pollen specialist bees.

Keystone Plants

Keystone plants are native plants species that have the maximum amount of habitat benefit to wildlife. They typically provide habitat to many species of wildlife. Without keystone plants in the landscape, wildlife from butterflies to native bees to birds simply won’t have the habitat they need to survive. Planting keystone plants maximizes the benefit to wildlife that your garden or landscape can provide.

“Keystone plant genera are unique to local food webs within ecoregions. Remove keystone plants and the diversity and abundance of many essential insect species, which 96% of terrestrial birds rely on for food sources, will be diminished. The ecosystem collapses in a similar way that the removal of the “key” stone in ancient Roman arch will trigger its demise.” –Dr. Doug Tallamy

For example, the research of entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy and his team at the University of Delaware have identified 14% of native plants are keystone species for 90% of butterfly and moth lepidoptera species. The research of horticulturist Jarrod Fowler has shown 40% of native plants are keystone species for the 15-60% of North American native pollen specialist bee species that can only eat pollen from those plants.

How do you know what plants are native to your region?

Bumblebee resting on a cluster of purple aster flowers.

Keystone Native Plant Lists

Get a specific list of the keystone plants native to your ecoregion.

Find by Ecoregion

Vibrant orange blooms of the butterfly milkweed.

Native Plant Finder

Get a customized list of the keystone native plants native to your zip code. These plants support the highest numbers of butterflies and moths and attract the birds and other fauna that rely on those insects as a key food source.

Find by Zip Code