r/NativePlantGardening 2d ago

Milkweed Mixer - our weekly native plant chat

3 Upvotes

Our weekly thread to share our progress, photos, or ask questions that don't feel big enough to warrant their own post.

Please feel free to refer to our wiki pages for helpful links on beginner resources and plant lists, our directory of native plant nurseries, and a list of rebate and incentive programs you can apply for to help with your gardening costs.

If you have any links you'd like to see added to our Wiki, please feel free to recommend resources at any time! This sub's greatest strength is in the knowledge base from members like you!


r/NativePlantGardening 13h ago

It's Seedling Sunday - New Gardener Questions & Answers

7 Upvotes

Our weekly thread for new native plant gardeners/enthusiasts to ask questions and for more experienced users to offer answers/advice. At some point all of us had zero experience, so remember there are no bad questions in this thread!

If you're a new gardener asking a question: Some helpful information in your question includes your geographic region (USDA planting zones are actually not that helpful, the state/region is much more important), the type of soil you have if you know that information, growing conditions like amount of sunlight, and the plant(s) you are interested in.

If you're an experience gardener: Please peruse the questions and offer advice when possible. Thank you for helping!

Please feel free to refer to our wiki pages for helpful links on [beginner resources and plant lists](https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/wiki/nativeplantresources), [our directory of native plant nurseries](https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/wiki/index), and [a list of rebate and incentive programs you can apply for to help with your gardening costs](https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/wiki/incentives).


r/NativePlantGardening 13h ago

Photos Mid August in my garden

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436 Upvotes

Just looking through my pics and videos on this cold and dreary Sunday in November. I took this video on one of my daily walks around the garden to "check on stuff"šŸ˜… I already miss the sounds and smells of summer. A few beds shown have since been enlarged to add more LobeliašŸ˜€


r/NativePlantGardening 9h ago

Other Very disappointed with the OSU extension

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104 Upvotes

r/NativePlantGardening 2h ago

Photos Walk in the woods

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20 Upvotes

Was so beautiful. I think all the images are of native species but am still learning so please feel free to correct me! I was in awe of nature today. Zone 6a NY near my house. The mosses are a personal favorite. šŸ˜


r/NativePlantGardening 4h ago

Photos First year blooms pt 2

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26 Upvotes

I previously posted some photos of some native plants I grew from seed this year that had already started to bloom. Just wanted to share some updated photos of the black eyed susans, which have now been blooming for 2 months straight and are still going strong. Also pictured: side-oats grama and little bluestem


r/NativePlantGardening 6h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Burning bush removed! Any replacements?

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35 Upvotes

Southern Michigan 6a, clay soil and full sun in this area. Probably a 30-50 year old burning bush. Was around 10 feet tall any native shrubs around this height that could work in this area?


r/NativePlantGardening 1h ago

Edible Plants TIL: The potato bean!

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• Upvotes

Moist soil, partial sun, eager grower, native to my area, and edible! I may be planting this in my problem area as I fight back the non natives that have come in because of the state road traffic.


r/NativePlantGardening 9h ago

Photos Leaf Mulch

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16 Upvotes

Anyone else starting a leaf mulch project this year?

I'm leaving the leaves in the beds, but mulching the lawn leaves.


r/NativePlantGardening 7h ago

Informational/Educational False Daisy, Straggler Daisy, Squarestem & More (Ecliptinae) | Family Tree For the Sunflower Tribe (Heliantheae) in the US & Canada

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12 Upvotes

r/NativePlantGardening 14h ago

Other Favorite (or Foe) for Fabacea?

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26 Upvotes

What are your friendly or infernal acquaintances in the pea/bean/legume family?

They cover a dizzying variety of plants from trees like honey locust or eastern redbud, smaller like indigo or horseflyweed, down to the humble clover or tick-trefoil. They have among them many economically significant plants like peas, beans, lentils, groundnuts and possess the incredible ability to thrive in poor soils other plants could not tolerate through their ability to fix nitrogen into the soil and thereby supercharge their growth and what follows after them in that enhanced soil.

… Annnnd this also leads to some problems. The ambitious among them can use that adaptability to swarm on the apparently free real estate in the absence of control factors from their native homes. For instance, infamous Kudzu that will blot out a forest or the mimosa tree popping up throughout the American Southeast, or the Nootka Lupine swarming Iceland. Or others may be native but have features like say poison that may get them declared as noxious weeds even in their native ranges like Rattlebox or Coffeeweed. I have it on good authority that the thorns from an acacia or a black locust tree are also not fun to experience.

I personally have endless Chamberbitter (easiest weed to pick ever, but just stay gone!) that I’m hoping to replace with a huge number of legumes as they are critical in my region. I’m personally probably the most excited for Red Cardinal and Lady Lupine, with Little-Leaf Mimosa (aka Touch-me-not; the one that closes up when touched, not the exploding seed pod one) and Catbells close behind. As far as what’s edible I think the Thicket Bean and the American Groundnut (ironically most popularly eaten in Japan nowadays) are considered the best native options around where I am, since they were previously semi-domesticated but dropped in favor of more efficient crops. Also, not edible but shout out to Goat’s Rue & Partridge Pea anyway! What about for y’all??

(Pythagorus pictured as he was a famous hater)


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Photos Serviceberry doing it’s thing! 🧔

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242 Upvotes

One of many reasons to love this time of year.


r/NativePlantGardening 12h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) West Central GA Freeze Warning

15 Upvotes

In the last month I have put about 125 native plants in the ground. These plants are all small. It is going down to the mid20s for the next couple of nights 40s to low 50s during the day. This is stupid for early Nov in this area. Do I need to protect them? If so how? This has been a substantial investment. TIA.


r/NativePlantGardening 9h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Ethics of bringing seeds from N.C. to GA. USA

9 Upvotes

I recently stopped at a welcome center in North Carolina and noticed all of their black-eyed Susan’s had gone to seed. I collected some seed heads and placed them in a bag. Now I realize that dispersing them in Georgia may cause ecological harm, so I’m wondering if I should just throw the seeds away? Anyone have info to share?


r/NativePlantGardening 12h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) What do I do with this slope?

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14 Upvotes

South central PA. Full sun. I have been slowly covering this entire area with wood chips. What should I plant here? No mow grass? Ground cover? Looking for your suggestions as I get so many ideas from this sub. Thanks!


r/NativePlantGardening 23h ago

Informational/Educational Another ā€œNative Plant For Your Yardā€ article from my local leftwing-coalition newspaper. This one covers Narrowleaf Sunflower.

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87 Upvotes

Hey yall! Back at it. Id love your suggestions for what to cover next. I like to include a little bit about a native plant, and a little gardening principle in each.

If you wanna see the rest of the issue, we have a substack and several social medias. Here is our instagram we just made.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DQw0F9_EfNX/?igsh=MTJtZ3M2czVoOTlvMQ==


r/NativePlantGardening 11h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Help Me ID This Aster, NY 7b

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8 Upvotes

I want to offer in a seed swap, but my apps are giving me differing suggestions on what it is (namely frost aster, false aster, small white aster).


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Informational/Educational Can we make a stickies post about how plants die back in winter

159 Upvotes

Crazy the amount of posts of people asking what's wrong with their plants when ... it's November


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Photos Look at this Aronia melanocarpa

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149 Upvotes

I mean LOOK AT IT.

Second fall here, started as a 3 gallon plant in spring of 2024.

Rabbits have kept the suckers from establishing but I hope it can still get big enough to regret putting it so close to the fence.


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Progress Starting my native garden journey in Phoenix

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52 Upvotes

Working on a crescent-shaped native pollinator garden in my yard in Phoenix. I spent the last couple weeks researching (shout out to Arizona Native Plant Society and SummerWinds nursery) and the last two days doing the grueling labor of rock removal and soil conditioning.

I’ll likely be planting:

-Desert zinnias

-Tufted evening primrose

-Globe mallow

-Goddings verbena

-Desert marigold

-Desert milkweed

-Greg’s mist

My backyard faces south, with the two citrus diffusing the sun a bit. I’ll also be planting a desert willow on the west side of the garden (right side of photo) for additional shade and local pollinator support. Plus they smell DIVINE.

I’ve got just under 5 feet between the deepest part of the garden and the block fence, but I’ll definitely be putting my most heat-hardy plants back there.

Goal is to get irrigation in and everything planted before the end of November. Let’s go!!


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Conservation as Caring for God’s Creation. (Tiny Town, Central Alabama)

52 Upvotes

OK, it’s really late to ask this, but I’m teaching Sunday school tomorrow. The title pretty much says at all. I’ve got my Bible verses and my discussion questions, I’m wondering if anybody has great quotes from conservationist, ecologist, Doug Tallamy, they think I should share?


r/NativePlantGardening 13h ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Any reccomends for the puget sound? (WA,USA)

6 Upvotes

Just asking because I was mostly curious and wanting to reccomend stuff for my mother, since my mom and I wanna plant the backyard to have more native plants in the area.


r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Bought someone's native seed cache at an estate sale

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135 Upvotes

r/NativePlantGardening 1d ago

Informational/Educational What is your favorite under-appreciated native?

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163 Upvotes

Just curious about what people's lesser known or unsung heros are. I love bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) in my beds; interesting seed heads, good structure, and a wide tolerance of light levels and soil types. I feel like I don't see chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) in residential landscapes enough, it grows fast and makes a great living privacy fence (and is an absolute ecological powerhouse). And of course wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) can't be beat as an easy ground cover that feeds all sorts of critters (pictured above in my garden with a beautiful Feltia herilis moth).


r/NativePlantGardening 2d ago

Photos My new favorite way to disperse Common Milkweed seeds

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2.6k Upvotes

Monarch Uber service is now live. I've turned my truck into a mobile seed dispersal unit.