Gardening with Native Plants

Why grow native plants?

• Native plants are better-adapted to regional climates.
• Native plants require less water once they are established.
• Once established, native plants are low maintenance because many of them are perennial.
• Native plants are simply beautiful and unusual.
• Regional native plants attract regional pollinating insects, which are the food source for most baby birds.  Your garden can be a buffet for wildlife.  

How do I know what native plants to use?

• Search for native plant nurseries that collect seeds and grow plants for your local area or ecoregion.
• Avoid inexpensive cans or packages of wildflower seeds from big box stores, catalogs, or nation wide promotions. These seeds likely contain non-native weedy plants that do not hold any nutrition for your local insects or birds.  
• Collect seeds from native plant prairies or hay meadows near your home. With permission of course.
• Always ask a nursery or seller where their native plants originated to determine if the plants are appropriate for your location.

Could I dig plants from the wild?

• In many states this practice is illegal.
• Most mature plants do not survive the transplanting.
• The conditions in the wild probably do not match the conditions in your backyard garden.
• It is better to leave the plants where they are growing so they can continue making seeds.  
• Buy or collect seeds to get the best value for your landscaping.  

How do I use native plants in my landscaping?

• Native plants can be used as a small “wildflower meadow” or “pollinator garden”. Buy good quality native plant mixes with forbs and grasses for this type of landscaping.
• Introduce a few new native plants to your existing garden each year.
• Plant grasses in drifts surround and support your showy blooming forbs.  Grasses mature through three seasons and come in many heights for front or back of the bed.  Many offer terrific fall and winter color.
• Include woody shrubs and trees if you have space in your planting plans.

What are suggestions for sun-loving native plants in my backyard?

Plants that naturally grow in your ecoregion. In eastern Kansas try plants noted with the letter E.
In western Kansas try plants noted with the letter W.

• Ashy Goldenrod – Solidago mollis EW
• Ashy Sunflower – Helianthus mollis E
• Big-flower Coreopsis – Coreopsis grandiflora E
• Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta EW
• Blanket Flower – Gaillardia pulchella W
• Blue Grama – Bouteloua gracilis W
• Blue Sage – Salvia azurea E
• Blue Wild Indigo – Baptisia australis E
• Buffalo Grass – Buchloe dactyloides W
• Butterflyweed – Asclepias tuberosa E
• Canada Wild-rye – Elymus canadensis EW
• Dakota Vervain – Verbena bipinnatifida EW
• Eastern Gamma Grass – Tripsacum dactyloides E
• Gray-headed Coneflower – Ratibida pinnata EW
• Hairy Grama – Bouteloua hirsuta W
• Indian Grass – Sorghastrum nutans EW
• June Grass – Koeleria macrantha EW
• Large-flower Butterfly-weed – Gaura longiflora EW
• Little Bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium EW
• Louisiana Sagewort – Artemisia ludoviciana W
• Missouri Goldenrod – Solidago missouriensis EW
• Narrow-leaf Purple-coneflower – Echinacea angustifolia W
• New England Aster – Aster novae-angliae E
• Pale Purple-coneflower – Echinacea pallida E
• Prairie Dropseed – Sporobolus heterolepis E
• Purple Poppy Mallow – Callirhoe involucrata EW
• Rocky Mountain Zinnia – Zinnia grandiflora W
• Rose Vervain – Verbena canadensis E
• Rough Gayfeather – Liatris aspera EW
• Serrate-leaf Evening-primrose – Calylophus serrulatus W
• Shell-leaf Beardtongue – Penstemon grandiflorus E
• Side-oats Grama – Bouteloua curtipendula EW
• Stiff Goldenrod – Solidago rigida EW
• Switch Grass – Panicum virgatum EW
• Western Wheat Grass – Agropyron smithii EW

What native woodland plants are recommended for shady areas in eastern Kansas?

• America Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
• Canadian Brome – Bromus pubescens
• Drummond’s Aster – Aster drummondii
• Elm-leaf Goldenrod – Solidago ulmifolia
• Golden Ragwort – Packera obovata
• River Oats – Chasmanthium latifolium
• Solomon’s Seal – Polygonum biflorum
• Wild Bergamot – Monarda fistulosa
• Wild Ginger – Asarum canadense
• Wild Sweet William – Phlox divaricata

How do I get started?

• Check your city ordinances. There may be restrictions on height of plants in your front yard.
• Get ideas from the references listed below.
• Start small.
• Choose shorter plants for edges and borders, near sidewalks and driveways. Taller plants that may flop are better away from walkways and street corners.
• Encourage your neighbors to join you in native plant landscaping.

How should I prepare my yard for Native Plants?

The best preparation for native plants is to duplicate, as much as possible, the natural conditions where the plant grows. However, the soils, moisture, and micro-organisms in the garden will likely not be the same as a woodland or prairie. So, adjustments may be necessary to simulate a native plant’s acceptable growing conditions.

Download PDF Guides:

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• Xerxes Society – Small Habitat Plantings in Urban Areas
• Xerxes Society – Why a Hive Won’t Help Native Bees

Resource Books

• Prairie Up – Unlawning America by Benjamin Vogt. www.prairieup.com
• How Can I Help? Saving Nature With Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy, and other native plant reference books available at HomeGrownNationalPark.com.
• 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants: For American Gardens in Temperate Zones by Lorraine Johnson, Firefly Books, 1999.
• Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden by Xerces Society, Smithsonian Institution, Sierra Club Books; 2nd edition, 1998.
• Gardening with Prairie Plants by S. Wasowski, The Univ. MN Press, 2002.
• Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers by H. R. Phillips, The Univ. NC Press, 1985.
• Growing Native Wildflowers by Dwight R. Platt and Lorna Habegger Harder, Kansas Native Plant Society, 1997. For more information or to order,  contact Dyck Arboretum in Hesston, Kansas, at (620) 327-8124.
• Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants by William Cullina, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
• Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities by John Diekelmann, Robert M. Schuster, Renee Graef (Illustrator), University of Wisconsin Press; 2nd edition, 2003.
• The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada by William Cullina, Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
• A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction by Carl Kurtz, The Univ. of Iowa Press, 2001.
• The Prairie Garden by J. R. Smith with B. S. Smith, The Univ. WI Press, 1987.
• Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie by Shirley Shirley, The Univ. of Iowa Press, 1994.
• The Tallgrass restoration handbook for prairies, savannas, and woodlands by S. Packard and C.F. Mutel, Island Press, 1997.

Resource websites

• Dyck Arboretum of the Plains – Landscaping with Native Plants – Design Ideas
• The Deep Middle Blog by Benjamin Vogt
• Gardening with Native Plants of Kansas – Archive of Jeff Hansen’s website
• Grow Native
• Iowa Prairie Network
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Prairies Forever – Midwest prairies to visit
• Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses – searchable database with photos and information about Kansas native plants.
• USDA Plant Database – Natural Resources Conservation Service – searchable database.