Native plants have survived for generations without supplemental water, fertilizers, or soil amendments. Many are showy, and provide a natural, pleasing look to the backyard landscape.
Gardening With Native Plants of the South
Whether you are adding native plants among your cultivated perennials, shrubs and trees, or are planting a wildlife garden or pollinator garden, or even a wildflower meadow, here are the best native plants for the Southern gardens of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Oklahoma Native Plants
Amsonia hubrichtii – Arkansas bluestar Aquilegia canadensis – eastern columbine Asclepias tuberosa – butterfly weed Baptisia australis – blue false indigo Baptisia sphaerocarpa – yellow wild indigo Callirhoe involucrate – purple poppy mallow Camassia scilloides – wild hyacinth Coreopsis palmata – prairie coreopsis Echinacea pallida – pale coneflower Echinacea paradoxa – yellow coneflower Echinacea purpurea – purple coneflower Eryngium yuccifolium – rattlesnake master Euphorbia cyathophora – fire-on-the-mountain Eutrochium purpureum (syn. Eupatorium purpureum) – sweet Joe Pye weed Gaillardia pulchella – Indian blanket Helianthus maximiliani – Maximilian’s sunflower Liatris pycnostachya – prairie blazing star Rudbeckia subtomentosa – sweet black-eyed Susan Salvia azurea – blue sage Spigelia marilandica – Indian pink Symphyotrichum novae-angliae – New England aster Tradescantia bracteata – prairie spiderwort
Texas Native Plants
Acacia schaffneri – Twisted acacia Agave americana – Century plant Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii – Big bluestem Cephalanthus occidentalis – Common buttonbush Chamaecrista fasciculata – Partridge pea Conoclinium spp. – Mist flower Cordia boissieri – Mexican olive Gaillardia pulchella – Indian blanket Helianthus annuus – Common sunflower Hibiscus cardiophyllus – Heart-leaf hibiscus Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon Lantana urticoides – Texas lantana Lesquerella spp. – Bladderpods Ratibida columnifera – Mexican hat Rudbeckia hirta – Brown-eyed Susan Ruellia nudiflora – Wild petunia Schizachyrium scoparium – Little bluestem Sphaeralcea lindheimeri – Woolly globemallow Verbesina microptera – Frostweed Yucca treculeana – Spanish dagger Zanthoxylum fagara – Lime prickly-ash
Arkansas Native Plants
Aesculus glabra – Ohio Buckeye Amorpha canescens – Leadplant Andropogon gerardii – Big Bluestem Asclepias tuberosa – Butterflyweed Bignonia capreolata – Crossvine Callicarpa americana – American Beautyberry Castilleja coccinea – Indian Paintbrush Ceanothus americanus – New Jersey Tea Clematis pitcheri – Purple Leatherflower Coreopsis grandiflora – Common coreopsis Cornus drummondii – Roughleaf Dogwood Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa – Yellow Coneflower Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower Eutrochium fistulosum – Joe-pye Weed Gaillardia pulchella – Indian Blanket Ilex decidua – Possumhaw Liatris punctata – Dotted Blazing Star Lonicera sempervirens – Coral Honeysuckle Passiflora incarnata – Passion vine Penstemon grandiflorus – Large Penstemon Ratibida pinnata – Grayhead Coneflower Sambucus nigra ssp. Canadensis – Common elderberry Viburnum rufidulum – Rusty Blackhaw
Louisiana Native Plants
Andropogon gerardii – Big Bluestem Muhlenbergia capillaries – Gulf Coast Muhly Grass Panicum virgatum – Switchgrass Schizachyrium scoparium – Little Bluestem Amsonia tabernaemontana – Eastern Bluestar Asclepias tuberosa – Butterflyweed Baptisia sphaerocarpa – Wild Yellow Indigo Chamaecrista fasciculata – Partridge Pea Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower Eryngium yuccifolium – Rattlesnake Master Hibiscus coccineus – Scarlet Rosemallow Liatris pycnostachya – Kansas Blazing Star Oligoneuron nitidum – Shiny Goldenrod Physostegia intermedia – Slender False-Dragonhead Rudbeckia grandiflora – Rough Coneflower Salvia azurea – Blue Sage Symphyotichum lateriflorum – Calico Aster
Mississippi Native Plants
Aesculus pavia – Red Buckeye Amsonia tabernaemontana – Eastern bluestar Aquilegia canadensis – Eastern red columbine Asclepias tuberosa – Butterflyweed Asimina triloba – Pawpaw Bignonia capreolata – Crossvine Callicarpa americana – American beautyberry Calycanthus floridus – Caroline allspice Catalpa bignonioides – Southern catalpa Coreopsis lanceolata – Lanceleaf coreopsis Dracopis amplexicaulis – Clasping coneflower Echinacea pallida – Pale coneflower Echinacea purpurea – Purple coneflower Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus – Joe-Pye Weed Gaillardia pulchella – Indian blanket Gelsemium sempervirens – Carolina jessamine Glandularia canadensis – Rose vervain Hibiscus coccineus – Texas star hibiscus Iris brevicaulis – Zigzag iris Kosteletzkya virginica – Seashore mallow Liatris elegans – Blazing star Lindera benzoin – Spicebush Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal flower Lonicera sempervirens – Trumpet honeysuckle Penstemon digitalis – Smooth white beardtongue Phlox divaricata – Blue woodland phlox Polystichum acrostichoides – Christmas fern Ratibida columnifera – Mexican hat Stokesia laevis – Stokes aster
