Best native perennials for sun
Compared to those $2 annuals at the garden center, perennials tend to be a little pricier, and they generally don’t provide color for as many continuous weeks or months as annuals might. But perennials more than make up for it by coming back for you reliably, year after year, so you aren’t stuck in an endless loop of purchasing-and-planting-and-pulling-out annuals! Most perennials can also either reseed themselves or be divided once established to create lots of new, free plants for your garden (or to give to friends!). Over time, perennials can provide major blooms for your buck. In addition, pollinators count on perennials, which all bloom at various times, for nectar throughout the growing season. Even in the winter when many perennials are dormant, birds eat the seeds and beneficial insects use their idle stems and leaves for cover and habitat. Here are a few of my favorite perennial performers that love their sunshine, in no particular order:
Coneflower, Echinacea: Zones 3a-8b
Pink-purple, daisy-like flowers bloom from June to August. Some cultivars come in colors including white, red, pink, orange, and yellow (although typically pollinators tend to prefer the “straight” variety). The seed heads provide a good winter food source for birds. Native to most of the US and often used for medicinal purposes. Tolerates hot, sunny conditions as well as partial shade, and has deep roots which are good for stormwater and erosion control.Anise Hyssop / Hummingbird Mint, Agastache foeniculum: Zones 5a-9b
Purple-blue spikes of flowers are irresistible to hummingbirds and other pollinators in Summer and Fall. This striking, colorful, easy-to-grow edible herb smells of anise and self-seeds easily. Hybrids and dwarf varieties of Agastache come in other colors and heights. In addition to the tall, purple, straight species, I have the ‘Poquito Butter Yellow’ which grows only about 1ft tall and smells absolutely divine!Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia: Zones 3a-9b
Prolific bloomers from around July to October. They are similar to coneflowers and provide many of the same fantastic benefits to wildlife. Native to much of the US, and thrives in sun or partial shade. Some varieties can spread assertively by rhizomes and by reseeding. Some varieties are technically annuals or biennials, but since they reseed easily you will likely end up with them year after year anyway. I have mostly Rudbeckia Triloba (AKA Brown-eyed Susan) and it comes back beautifully in my yard.Garden Phlox, Phlox paniculata: Zones 4a-8b
Native to most of the eastern USA over to Arkansas and Iowa, it features showy, fragrant blooms in late summer that are usually white, pink, or purple. It can take full sun to part shade but it needs plenty of airflow to avoid powdery mildew. Spreads out and reseeds generously, so it’s a good idea to divide it regularly to keep it from getting too crowded. Beautiful in bouquets and great for pollinators. Creeping phlox and moss phlox are also great low-growing, flowering groundcovers for sun.Wild Bergamot / Beebalm, Monarda fistulosa: Zones 3a-9b
Bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies cannot resist this cheerful purple flower which blooms from August to October. A member of the mint family, it spreads very easily and some people use it for teas. It’s deer and rabbit resistant.Avens, Geum: Zones 3a-7b
Beautiful, delicate flowers form in Spring and Summer on long stems above large, interesting evergreen leaves. Loves sunny, dry areas, and may struggle in intense heat or very wet conditions. A member of the rose family, but also closely related to strawberries, its poppy-like flowers are usually yellow, pink, orange, or red. Look for a variety native to the US as there are many different species within this genus. Great for borders, won’t spread much on its own, but usually needs to be divided yearly (free plants!).Penstemon / Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis: Zones 3a-8b
Tall white blooms from around May to July, attracting lots of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Native to much of central and eastern USA. Can take full sun to part shade.Butterflyweed, Asclepias tuberosa: Zones 3a-9b
A host plant for the endangered monarch butterfly, this plant is crucial to their survival. It also attracts lots of other butterflies, and is deer and rabbit resistant since it’s poisonous to most animals. With a deep taproot, it can help stabilize a sunny slope. While it can take a few years to flower when started from seed, it can reseed easily after that (remove seed pods before they open if you don’t want it to spread). Its bright orange blooms appear from around May to August, and it’s native to most of the eastern and southern US.Coreopsis, Coreopsis grandiflora, lanceolata, auriculata: Zones 4a-9b
There are many wonderful species of coreopsis that are native to most of North America. With bright, sunny yellow, daisy-like flowers in Spring and Summer, this perennial is invaluable to pollinators and other wildlife, plus it makes a great cut flower! It tends to like dry, sunny conditions, but can be adaptable. Lanceleaf (lanceolata) can spread assertively and needs space to roam, but Common Coreopsis (grandiflora) is easier to keep in check. Dwarf ‘Nana’ (auriculata) can spread slowly as a well-behaved border plant or groundcover.Georgia Aster, Symphyotrichum georgianum: Zones 3a-9b
Its daisy-like flowers are some of the brightest blue-purple blooms found in nature! A threatened species due to habitat loss, this is a great plant to add to your landscape to support wildlife. It’s native to the entire Southeast and blooms in October and November when most other flowers are fading. Many Asters are fall-blooming and can be a wonderful native alternative to mums, incuding New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) and Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium).
Another great resource for choosing the most beneficial native plants for your specific area is The National Wildlife Federation’s Keystone Plants by Ecoregion. The basic idea is that just a handful of “keystone” plants support 90% of caterpillar and insect species, which birds depend on for food sources. Without these few critical plant species, the whole ecosystem would collapse. If you only have a balcony or patio, this website from Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park has a list of keystone plants specifically for containers.
Native plants are amazing for supporting wildlife, but they also offer many other benefits! They often require much less maintenance than non-native plants because they were perfectly designed by mother nature to thrive in your local ecosystem. Native plants are adapted to your local soil and rainfall, and can be great for erosion control. They are usually better protected than non-natives against pests and diseases, and more likely to survive using only your natural soil nutrients and normal levels of rainfall, without the headache and cost of adding a lot of synthetic chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, or extra irrigation. Last, some native plants can sequester as much as 9 times more carbon than invasive species. If you are considering adding a new perennial to your landscape, I hope you’ll start with the list above and/or the keystone species lists for your ecoregion!
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