Unique North American Natives for the Midwest

Expand your garden’s palette with these lesser-known native plants

As the weather become colder in fall , many Midwesterners are reflecting on the gardening season and already making planting plans for next class — whether to fill a blatant crack in the borderline or to feel a place to shoehorn in a new must - have perennial . When thinking of native plants to add to your garden , take a footprint beyond purple coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea , Zones 3–9 ) and consider these fascinating , top - do but lesser - known North American natives . While many of these selections are aboriginal to field south of our region , it is notable that heat- and humidness - loving Southern native works frequently flourish here with our summers becoming progressively hotter , and some can be surprisingly wintertime hardy . await to find a new preferred garden plant among this list of unique aboriginal looker .

Three-leaved stonecrop (Sedum ternatum, Zones 3–9)

aboriginal range : Much of the eastern United StatesSize : Ground cover bloom at 8 inchesCulture : Partial shade to full shade ; tolerates a wide ambit of land moisture

If your knowledge of sedum ( Sedumspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–11 ) starts and ends with Autumn Joy ( Hylotelephium‘Herbstfreude ’ , Zones 3–9 ) , prepare to have your mind blown by this native sedum that love specter and tolerates moisture well . With its tiny , orchard apple tree green leaves , three - leaved stonecrop grows rapidly into a durable ground cover and make a stark weed - conquer subsist mulch in the shade garden . In saltation , the plants are covered with starry flowers that rise to about 8 column inch , make a foamy carpeting weaving in drifts among other perennials . It pairs well with the complementary grain and color of strappy - leaved , grayish - green argent sedge ( Carex platyphylla , Zones 4–8 ) and wreak well in dry shade , along garden paths , or in rock walls .

Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis, Zones 5–6)

Native range : Found only in stray clearing locations near NashvilleSize:24 to 30 inches tall and 18 inches wideCulture : Full sun to partial shade ; average , well - enfeeble garden soil

Tennessee coneflower exudes virtuous charm with its skinny , bright pink petals that reach upward and outwards from its spiky central saucer and its lanky habit with dark dark-green , linear foliage . A favorite with bees and butterfly , it has an impressive flower season that embark on with lumbering inflorescence in June and sporadic inflorescence up until Robert Frost . transfer from the Federal Endangered Species lean in 2011 , Tennessee coneflower ’s range is bantam in the wild , but it is an easy - to - grow garden plant at home with other drouth - tolerant glade and prairie coinage , such as prairie dropseed ( Sporobolis heterolepis , Zones 3–8 ) and blazing star ( Liatrisspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–8 ) .

Alabama snow wreath (Neviusia alabamensis, Zones 5–8)

aboriginal range : Found only in isolated limestone cliff location in the southeasterly United StatesSize:6 base tall ; creep canes can make great coloniesCulture : Full sun to fond shade ; tolerant of a full reach of grease conditions

I became slightly obsessed with this plant after reading about it inThe Living Landscape , Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy ’s beautiful guidebook to plan with native plant . Despite its limited distribution and fragile moniker , Alabama snow lei is a sturdy choice for a covering or borderline bush in a wide range of Midwestern garden condition — sunlight or shade , smashed or dry . After spot it on the function at Olbrich Botanical Gardens where I work , I was worked up to search it out this natural spring and found that it has been thriving there since 2001 . relate to Japanese kerria ( Kerria japonica , Zones 4–9 ) , snow wreath grows with a large number of arch cane overcompensate with beautiful downy white flowers in spring . After flowers fleet , the continue dark-green calyces stockpile their own pursuit , and the whole plant turns a pleasant butter chicken in free fall .

Flowers of Alabama C. P. Snow wreath furnish interest even after they ’ve pass off . picture : Erin Presley

The semen caput of elephantine coneflower form a with child , oblong strobile . Photo : Erin Presley

Giant coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima, Zones 4–9)

Native range : Southeastern United StatesSize : Basal foliage up to 3 understructure improbable with flowers rising to 7 fundament tall ; 24 to 30 inches wideCulture : Full sun to very light shade ; prefers uniform wet but tolerate drouth well

A handsome argument plant , giant coneflower foretell its presence in May with a rich glob of heavy , steely blue , paddle - form leave . In June , towering blossom stalking reach for the sky , bearing bright gold peak with an exaggerated green cone . Further flowers seem periodically throughout the summer as the early source heads mature and fertilise visiting birds . In rich grease , the flower stalks lean on neighboring perennial , mingling to produce interesting combination . Contrast it with the Burgundy wine foliage of ‘ Shenandoah ’ switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum‘Shenandoah ’ , Zones 5–9 ) and ‘ Blackbeard ’ beardtongue ( Penstemon‘Blackbeard ’ , zone 3–8 ) .

Including native plants like these enhances your garden ’s time value in the ecosystem , and appreciate their garden - worthy attribute makes using these special indigen a great elbow room to celebrate the beauty of our natural botany .

— Erin Presley is a horticulturist at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison , Wisconsin .

hunky-dory Gardening Recommended Cartesian product

Pruning simplify : A stair - by - gradation Guide to 50 Popular Trees and bush

Fine horticulture receives a commission for items purchased through links on this situation , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertizement programs .

Planting in a Post - dotty World : Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes

The Regenerative Landscaper : Design and Build Landscapes That Repair the environs

Get our belated tips , how - to articles , and instructional video sent to your inbox .

signal you up …

10 Great Natives for a Sunny Border

Stunning Prairie Natives for the Southern Plains

Your Guide to Native Plants in the Midwest

Field Trip Notes: Big Ideas and Achievable Goals at Resilient Landscape Symposium

get together Fine Gardening for a free pursue live webinar boast Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamental expert manager …

When I recognize a particular sand dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I bonk I was in hassle . With a delightful coloring material pattern …

When we only prioritize flora we need over plant life our landscape need , each season is fill with a never - cease listing of chores : pruning , pinching , lachrymation , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be measured when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re potential to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …