Why native plants are easier
A plant that evolved with your rainfall, soil, and winters does not need pampering. Once established, most natives need no fertilizer, little supplemental water, and no pest spraying.
They also feed the local food web. Native insects often cannot digest exotic foliage, and the songbirds that raise their young on caterpillars depend on those insects.
Find your list in three steps
First, look up your ecoregion or plant hardiness zone. Second, search for your state's native plant society or your county extension office plant list. Third, filter that list by your light and moisture conditions.
Skip cultivars bred purely for flower color or doubled petals when you are planting for pollinators. Doubled flowers often hide or eliminate the nectar and pollen insects came for.
Build in layers
A resilient native planting has a canopy or small tree, a shrub layer, a perennial layer, and a groundcover that replaces the mulch over time. Layers shade the soil, hold water, and leave fewer gaps for weeds.
Plant in groups of three to seven of the same species rather than one of everything. Drifts read as intentional design and are far more visible to pollinators.
The first year is the work year
Water new natives deeply once a week through their first growing season while roots establish. After that, taper off and let the weather do the work.
Resist tidying in fall. Standing stems and leaf litter are where native bees and butterflies overwinter. Cut back in late spring instead.
Take these away
- Start from your state native plant society or extension list.
- Prefer straight species over showy doubled cultivars for pollinators.
- Plant in drifts of three to seven, not one of each.
- Water weekly the first year, then let them be.