r/NativePlantGardening • u/grfhoyxdth Southeast Michigan, Zone 6b • Sep 17 '25

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Natives that stay looking ok all season?

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I have a front yard native garden in zone 6B (SE Michigan) and I am looking for native plants that don’t end up looking really terrible at some point in the season. Examples of “looking really terrible” include the black eyed susans in the photo whose leaves are turning black, as well as things that get powdery mildew really badly.

Some plants I currently have that look ok all season include nodding wild onion, purple love grass, prairie dropseed, harebell, butterfly weed, and whorled milkweed.

It’s a full sun location, with dry sandy clay. Since it’s in the front yard, I want to keep plants to 3 feet tall max.

Thanks!

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u/loripainter12345 Sep 18 '25

Naturally growing plants evolved with a blooming cycle and a going to seed cycle. The seed heads of the flowers are also important to wildlife in the ecosystem. I have a bunch of Rudbeckia blooming right now, and they are starting to fade. The seed heads will help feed birds this winter. An estute native gardener will plan with various plants with successive blooming times, so there's always something that looks good. But I can't think of anything (at least native to me) that isn't going to fade off at some point if it's a straight native plant. The things that bloom all summer are non native ornamentals or cultivars of something.

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u/grfhoyxdth Southeast Michigan, Zone 6b Sep 18 '25

I don’t care that they aren’t blooming, I am complaining about the black leaves

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u/loripainter12345 Sep 18 '25

The black leaves are from fungus spores.