Whether you’re gardening within the confines of a small landscape or your yard requires height and mass, consider selecting a native plant or tree for your next project. “Because native plants are already acclimated to a region’s conditions, this makes them easier to cultivate, more resilient, and beneficial to native fauna,” says Hayley Howard, outreach and education coordinator for the Missouri Prairie Foundation. We talked to four local experts to get their take on the natives they would choose.
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- Lessons from the garden with Marcella Hawley
- Digging into native plants and gardens with local plant experts
- Tree expert Mike Sestric of Trees, Forests, and Landscapes
The Experts
- Justine Kandra, horticulturist, Kemper Center for Home Gardening, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Daria McKelvey, supervisor of home gardening information and outreach, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Susan Leahy, native plants manager, Greenscape Gardens
- Lane Richter, owner, River City Natives
Top-performing native herbaceous perennials
Blue star (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
A herbaceous perennial with upright, leafy stems topped with terminal clusters of pale blue, star-shaped blooms in late spring. “This is a good plant to bridge the gap between spring and summer bloom seasons,” says Kandra.
Mature plants will reach approximately three feet with a similar spread. It’s best grown in evenly moist soils in full sun to part shade. With too much shade, the stems tend to open up and flop over.
Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis)
“Although this perennial takes a few years to get established, once it does it suffers from very few pest or disease problems and will provide a consistent display of upright spikes of blue flowers in late spring or early summer,” says Kandra.
Mature plants will reach approximately three to four feet with a similar spread. This plant is a good choice for a sunny spot with soil that’s on the dry side. It’ll also tolerate rocky soils, clay soils, and can be planted on slopes.
Palm sedge (Carex muskingumensis)
A native sedge that can be grown in evenly moist or wet soils in full sun or part shade. This plant will slowly spread by creeping rhizomes to form a feathery, 2-to-3-foot tall mass, but it is not considered aggressive.
Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
This is a spectacular native vine that produces clusters of tubular orange blooms in late spring and early summer. “Plant near a fence, trellis, or arbor and this vine will climb up to 15 feet tall,” Kandra says. “Despite their similar common names, this plant is not invasive like other honeysuckles.”
Trumpet honeysuckle is best grown in evenly moist soils in full sun, and although some shade is tolerated, blooming will not be as profuse.
Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica)
“Tolerant of both sun and shade, this perennial features a showy, long-lasting display of trumpet-shaped, red and yellow blooms that are attractive to hummingbirds,” Kandra says. “This plant takes some time to get established, but once it does it makes for a care-free addition to the garden.”
Mature plants will reach approximately two feet tall with a slightly smaller spread.
Top performing native trees
Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
This underutilized small native tree can be a good replacement for flowering dogwoods in urban environments. In springtime, cloud-like clusters of white blooms cover the branches with a pleasant but subtle sweet-and-spicy fragrance, Kandra says.
Mature trees will reach around 20-feet tall with a similar spread. In the fall, watch the leaves turn yellow.
Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea)
A medium-sized tree that produces drooping clusters of fragrant white blooms in late spring. Mature trees will reach 30-to-50-feet tall with a rounded, slightly wider canopy. In the fall, leaves turn bright yellow.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
“This small tree produces clusters of white blooms in spring, followed by tasty berries in early summer. The edible berries are also a favorite of birds,” Kandra says. Serviceberry produces good fall colors in shades of yellow, orange, and red.
Best flowering and fruiting occurs in full sun, although some shade is tolerated. This tree can be grown in a wide variety of soil types and will reach 15-to-25 feet tall at maturity.
Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
This medium-sized tree is a good choice for wet areas but is quite adaptable and can be grown in drier soils and clay soils too. Mature trees will reach 30-to-50-feet tall with a 20-to-30-foot wide, pyramid-shaped to rounded canopy. “This tree will produce vivid, scarlet red fall color year after year,” Kandra says.
Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)
A medium to large sized oak tree in the white oak group that will reach up to 60 feet tall with a 70 foot-wide rounded, open canopy. The leaves have scalloped edges and will turn shades of brown or yellow in the fall.
Kandra sats this oak can be grown in alkaline soils and is relatively tolerant of drought, making this oak a good choice for residential areas in St. Louis.
Short natives
Sand phlox (Phlox bifida)
A mat-forming phlox that is covered in pale-blue flowers in spring. Mature plants will reach only 6 inches but slowly expand and form one-foot and wider colonies. Plant in a sunny area with rocky, well-draining soils.
Round-leaved ragwort (Packera obovata)
A low-growing groundcover for sunny or shady areas that will form large colonies. Bright yellow, daisy-like flowers bloom in spring above clumps of round, semi-evergreen basal leaves.
Brome-like sedge (Carex bromoides)
This small, clumping sedge will reach one-foot tall and just under two-feet wide.
“It can be used to edge a bed or pathway through a rain garden or other consistently moist and partly shaded area,” Kandra says.
Wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
A slow-growing, woodland perennial that thrives in evenly moist, well-draining soils in part to full shade. The blooms are mostly hidden by the heart-shaped foliage.
Three-leaved stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)
The creeping stems of this native sedum are topped with clusters of small, white blooms in spring. Tolerant of more shade and moisture than other sedums, mature plants will reach around six-inches tall.
Tall natives
Goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus)
This large perennial does best in part shade and moist soil. Plume-like spires of white blooms top the bushy foliage clumps in spring and can reach up to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
Clusters of pink blooms top the sturdy stems of this five-to-seven-foot tall perennial. Grows best in evenly moist, well-draining soils in full sun to part shade. Says Kandra: “This perennial can be used as a statement plant in a rain garden or the back of a mixed border.”
Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)
This long-lived prairie plant produces five-to-nine-foot tall flowering stalks with yellow, sunflower-like blooms. It can be allowed to naturalize in a prairie garden or planted at the rear of a sunny mixed border.
Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
This plant’s candelabra-like blooms are made up of small, white flowers and will reach four-to-seven feet tall. It can serve as a vertical summer accent in mixed border gardens, cottage style gardens, or naturalized areas.
Curlytop ironweed (Vernonia arkansana)
“The curly, twisting bracts covering the flower buds of this plant are almost as interesting as the bright pink-purple flowers themselves,” Kandra says. “A butterfly magnet, this perennial will reach up to 5 feet tall and can be planted in a sunny rain garden or mixed border.”
