Native Perennials for Wildlife | Habitat in Every Season

No single native perennial supports a wildlife garden all year, but a well chosen combination can. Choose at least three perennials native to your region whose flowers, seeds and stems peak at different times, then leave them standing through winter. Spring and summer blooms feed pollinators, fall seedheads feed birds, and old stems give native bees places to nest. Below are picks for five US regions, with their native ranges and the winter care that keeps their value.

For a full season by season nectar plant list, see our guide to nectar rich flowers for butterflies.

Quick picks by region

Northeast and Midwest: New England aster, wild bergamot, purple coneflower
Southeast: swamp sunflower, orange coneflower, purple coneflower
Great Plains: Maximilian sunflower, wild bergamot, blanketflower
Southwest and Mountain West: Rocky Mountain penstemon, blanketflower, California fuchsia
Pacific Coast: woolly sunflower, Pacific aster, California fuchsia

Details for each plant follow. Confirm that any pick is native to your state before planting.

Why no single perennial covers every season

Each perennial has its own season of use. Woolly sunflower, a western native, blooms from May through July. New England aster, an eastern native, blooms from August into October. Many plants then give a second benefit as their seeds ripen and their stems dry.

That is why Extension guidance treats a wildlife garden as habitat that changes with the seasons. Clemson Extension recommends a year round food supply and plants with varied bloom seasons rather than relying on a single plant.

Native plants also matter for the insects that birds feed their young. In a study of six pairs of suburban properties in southeastern Pennsylvania, yards landscaped with native plants supported about four times as many caterpillars and three times as many caterpillar species as conventionally landscaped yards. The result comes from one region, but it shows why native plant choice reaches beyond flowers.

Native perennials for wildlife, by region

“Native” always means native to a particular area. The ranges below come from USDA NRCS plant guides, NC State Extension and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. A plant listed for a region is not necessarily native to every state or site within it, so confirm your state (see the last section).

Northeast and Midwest

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Native range: from Quebec and Maine south to South Carolina and west to the eastern Great Plains, with populations in the mountains of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
What it gives wildlife: late summer and fall flowers that bees and butterflies use, nectar for monarchs, and leaves that feed pearl crescent and checkerspot caterpillars.
Keep in mind: the Wildflower Center notes it can be aggressive.

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Native range: upland woods, thickets and prairies from Quebec to Manitoba and British Columbia, south to Georgia, Louisiana and Arizona.
What it gives wildlife: June to September flowers that bees, butterflies and hummingbirds use for nectar. Its stems also matter later: yellow-faced bees use the hollow stems of bee balms, and NC State Extension found small carpenter bee nests in wild bergamot stems.
Keep in mind: it spreads by rhizomes and can become aggressive, according to NRCS.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Native range: the central and eastern United States, though its native range does not include every state in this region. Confirm it for your state before planting.
What it gives wildlife: summer nectar for bees and butterflies, and leaves for silvery checkerspot and wavy-lined emerald caterpillars. Its seed is eaten by songbirds, especially American goldfinches. NRCS notes that goldfinches can clear a coneflower seed crop in a few days.
Later value: NC State Extension records small carpenter bees and yellow-faced bees nesting in its dead stems.

Southeast

Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

Native range: from New York to Florida and Texas.
What it gives wildlife: nectar from July until the first frost, and leaves for silvery checkerspot caterpillars. Songbirds, quail, mourning doves and small mammals are attracted to its seeds, and NC State suggests leaving dead flowers standing into winter as natural bird feeders.
Keep in mind: it spreads aggressively and can grow up to 8 feet tall, so give it room. Its stems can flop in windy spots.

Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Native range: the eastern United States.
What it gives wildlife: late summer and fall nectar, and leaves for wavy-lined emerald and silvery checkerspot caterpillars. Songbirds, especially American goldfinches, eat the seeds in fall. NC State notes a rosette of leaves at the base that persists through winter. It is the only pick in this guide whose sources describe winter foliage.
Keep in mind: it spreads by rhizomes. NC State notes that garden centers usually sell named cultivars rather than the wild species.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Native in parts of the Southeast too; NC State Extension lists it as a North Carolina native. See the Northeast and Midwest entry for its wildlife value.

Great Plains

Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)

Native range: NRCS describes it as native to the central United States, from Ontario, Michigan and Ohio west to Alberta, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, and south to Texas.
What it gives wildlife: September and October flowers whose nectar and pollen feed butterflies, beetles and bees. Butterfly caterpillars feed on the leaves. Upland game birds, small songbirds and some waterfowl eat the seeds, and dense clumps give birds and small mammals cover.
Keep in mind: NRCS notes that it spreads by rhizomes into dense clusters, releases chemicals that slow neighboring plants, and can become top heavy on rich soil.

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Its NRCS range extends across the Plains. See the Northeast and Midwest entry.

Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)

Native range: NRCS describes a range from south central Canada across the northern third of the United States, plus parts of California, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. On the Plains, that means mainly the northern states.
What it gives wildlife: a long bloom period. NRCS reports a high pollinator visitation rate, support for specialist bees, and nectar for adult Edwards fritillary butterflies.
Keep in mind: NRCS notes it can reseed heavily and become weedy if not managed.

Southwest and Mountain West

Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus)

Native range: NRCS describes it as a species of the southern Rockies.
What it gives wildlife: summer flowers. NRCS describes penstemons as a group as desirable to deer, antelope and birds, as foliage or seed, and as providing some cover for small birds. These notes cover the genus, not this species alone.
Keep in mind: it needs well drained soil.

Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)

Native in parts of this region too. See the Great Plains entry.

California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)

Native range: NRCS describes it in most western and southwestern states, mainly arid and mountainous areas, including California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming.
What it gives wildlife: NRCS calls it an important nectar source for hummingbirds in the western United States, because it blooms from August to October when most other nectar is scarce.
Keep in mind: its subspecies differ by region, and two of them occur only in California. NRCS notes that locally adapted plants are available from local nurseries.

Pacific Coast

Woolly sunflower, also called Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum)

Native range: both sides of the Cascades from British Columbia south through Washington, Oregon and California, and east to Nevada, Idaho, northwestern Utah, western Wyoming and western Montana.
What it gives wildlife: May to July flowers visited by beetles, flies, bees, moths and butterflies. NRCS notes that Fender’s blue, an endangered Oregon butterfly, relies on it for nectar.
Keep in mind: it is a prolific seeder and spreads into open ground.

Pacific aster (Symphyotrichum chilense)

Native range: coastal areas from southwest British Columbia to Southern California, below about 1,600 feet.
What it gives wildlife: blooms that can run from June to October. NRCS describes native asters as good late season pollinator plants that supply pollen to bees active in late fall, including new bumble bee queens, and as nectar and host plants for checkerspot and crescent butterflies.
Keep in mind: NRCS warns that vigorous rhizomes and wind borne seed let it outcompete weaker neighbors, and that it is hard to remove once established.

California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)

Native along much of the Pacific Coast, including California and Oregon. See the Southwest entry.

Fall and winter care: seedheads, stems and cutting back

Most of the fall and winter value of these perennials disappears if they are cut down in autumn.

Leave seedheads standing. UNH Extension notes that perennial seedheads feed winter seed eaters such as finches, chickadees, juncos and sparrows. American goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively, mainly from the aster family, which includes sunflowers and asters. Several picks above belong to that family.

Know which stems bees can use. Hollow and pithy stems give nest sites to small native bees. The Xerces Society lists small carpenter bees, yellow-faced bees and leafcutter bees among them. NC State Extension explains that these bees need a cut or broken end to get inside. Its study of North Carolina gardens found no nests in stems during their first winter, when stems are still intact. Nests turned up in older, cut or broken stems the following year, though only about 1.5 percent of sampled stems held nests.

Trim to a stubble, not to the ground. Sources broadly agree on leaving a stubble of old stems rather than clearing beds completely. They differ on timing and height:

The Xerces Society suggests cutting dead stalks in spring and leaving stubble of varying height, from 8 to 24 inches.
NC State Extension, based on its North Carolina study, recommends trimming stems in their first winter, between the first fall frost and the last spring frost, to a 12 to 24 inch stubble. It notes that the common advice to wait until late spring had little hard evidence behind it.
UNH Extension suggests leaving stems through winter and cutting back to about 15 inches in spring.
Clemson Extension, writing for South Carolina, suggests waiting until night temperatures consistently reach 50°F and then cutting to about 18 inches.
For Pacific aster specifically, NRCS says plants can be cut to the ground after the first hard frost. The fact sheet does not discuss wildlife use of the stems.

Where the sources agree: leave seedheads up for as long as birds use them, leave a stubble of varying heights when you trim, and leave older stubble alone in later winters. NC State advises cutting only the previous season’s growth each winter. For timing, follow the Extension service in your state.

For the full case for leaving leaves and stems, see our guide to overwintering habitat for butterflies and beneficial insects.

Straight species or cultivars?

Many native perennials are sold as cultivars, sometimes called nativars, bred for color, size or form. Researchers note that most native plants in the nursery trade are available as cultivars, based on a survey of mid-Atlantic wholesale nurseries. The evidence on their wildlife value is mixed.

In a Vermont field study comparing 12 native perennials with cultivars, the dissertation summary reports that insect pollinators visited seven of the native species more often than their cultivars. Four were visited equally, and one cultivar was visited more. The author concluded that cultivars should be judged one at a time, and that flowers altered furthest from the wild form are the most likely to fall short.

The tree and shrub study above found that cultivars bred for red, purple or blue leaves consistently reduced insect feeding, while other traits showed no consistent pattern. That study covered woody plants, so it is a guide rather than proof for perennials.

A reasonable default is to buy the straight species where you can find it. If you choose a cultivar, prefer one that looks close to the wild plant.

How to check what is native where you live

Regional labels are a starting point. Before buying, confirm that a plant is native to your state, and ideally to your part of it.

Look up the species in the USDA PLANTS database to see its state distribution and native status.
Check your state’s Cooperative Extension service for local suitability and growing advice.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plant database adds bloom times, growing conditions and wildlife notes.

Popular “native” plants are not always native everywhere they are sold. NC State Extension, for example, notes that lanceleaf coreopsis is well established in North Carolina but probably naturalized rather than native there. NRCS also advises that it is best to plant species from your local area, adapted to your site.

Native Perennials for Year Round Wildlife Gardening