Hey garden lover! It’s Whit from NatureHills.com, back to introduce to you some native plants that do well in the Midwestern states! Knowing exactly how to handle the weather and climate of the Midwest, the natives always do their best and support entire ecosystems where they grow!
5. Red Osier Dogwood
The Redosier Dogwood is very well known as the Red Twig Dogwood because of its bright red stems in the winter! Growing pretty large, these 8-12 foot tall and nearly as wide shrubs handle moist to average garden conditions in the sun. Redosier is a great pollinator and bird-friendly bushes because of their flat-topped white spring flower clusters and white berries in the fall. All growing season, you will enjoy privacy and screening from their green leaves before going burgundy to purple in the fall before showing off those red stems all winter long! #5 Red Osier Dogwood - Growing zones 2-8, pretty flat-topped white flowers, red winter stems, cold-hardy, and low-maintenance.
Learn more: www.naturehills.com/dogwood-r...
4. Great Blue Lobelia
A big blue version of the Cardinal flower, the Great Blue Lobelia has big spikes of clear purplish-blue flowers with fancy, lipped florets. A big hit with the butterflies and hummingbirds, this is a fantastic water garden plant that supports nectar-seeking pollinators. A perennial that grows almost 3 feet tall when it is in flower, Great Blue is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and with a range like that you know this native will do just fine in your midwestern garden or by ponds and streams. While they like sun, they will sometimes die back in very hot summers, but they do reliably bloom from July to September for years and years! #4 Great Blue Lobelia - Growing zones 4-9, tall purple-blue flower spikes, Perennial, and very adaptable.
Learn more: www.naturehills.com/lobelia-g...
3. Swamp Rose
In our number three spot, we have the Swamp Rose, which is a pretty single-petalled pink rose with yellow centers. Nectar-feeding butterflies and pollen-feeding native bees love these flowers as much as you will! The 3-6 foot tall and wide shrubs have great green foliage and when fall arrives you get fancy red rose hips too! Did I mention these have a classic rose fragrance too? With a name like Swamp Rose you know those roots can take higher moisture environments and even wet soil from flooding. They’ll thrive near water features and in rain gardens. #3 Swamp Rose - Growing zones 3-9, fragrant pink single-petalled roses with yellow centers, red rose hips in fall, and incredibly adaptable to your native landscape.
Learn more: www.naturehills.com/swamp-rose
2. Aromatic Aster
If you are in the market for a fall-blooming perennial, then the Aromatic Aster is right up your alley! Pollinators, especially bees and migrating Monarch butterflies benefit from these late-season sky blue flowers with sunny yellow centers! The tiny petals look like fringe and these perennials look like blue mist in the late-season garden. Plus they smell amazing! These prairie plants handle about anything and are quite drought-resistant. #2 Aromatic Aster - Growing zones 3-8, fringy sky blue flowers, bloom from August to September, and are cold-hardy fragrant wildflowers!
Learn more: www.naturehills.com/aromatic-...
1. Purple Coneflower
If you don’t know the native wildflower Purple Coneflower, then let me introduce you to the queen of the prairie. Pinkish petals surround a spikey domed crown in the center of each flower on 2-5 foot tall stems. These perennials have deep roots that sprout coarse green leaves with lots of branching. Not only are these wildflowers tough, but they feed beneficial insects, and the spikey centers are full of seeds in the fall that feed songbirds and offer winter interest. Those deep roots make this a drought-tolerant champ that you’ll love from summer to fall! #1 Purple Coneflower - Growing zones 3-8, spikey raised purple centers with pinkish-purple petals, hardy and adaptable, and bird and bee-friendly prairie natives.
Learn more: www.naturehills.com/purple-co...
Interested in learning the difference between Midwest natives, nativars, and cultivars? The specifics are fascinating and you can learn all about them and more on our #ProPlantTips blogs. I’ll link some resources down in the description.
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Until next time, happy planting!