Native Plant Primer

What is a native plant?

Bumble bee on my false indigo (baptisia australis) For more info: https://xerces.org/blog/bumble-bees-and-baptisia-pollination-story

In a word, evolution is what makes a plant native to a certain region. Native plants are plants that evolved in place with local insects after the Ice Age. The plants and insects evolved together over thousands of years. Consequently, many of our beneficial native insects can survive only on our native plants. A few plants, such as ferns, survived the Ice Age untouched–they did not evolve with the insects. They might be considered “too native”! (We still love native ferns for their beauty and ability to provide shelter to wildlife.)

Human migration from the time of the Ice Age to the Age of Exploration brought plants (and insects) to new areas, but it was nice and slow. However, from 1418 on, plants were exchanged and intentionally introduced between continents on a dizzying scale. These plants were often edible or ornamental but ecologically useless in their new environments. At times they were destructive. Botanists call those plants “invasives.” (They are only invasive outside of their native ranges. Japanese knotweed, for example, is beneficial in Japan and insidious in the States, where it has few predators to keep it in check and, consequently, it destroys ecosystems.)

Cultivated plants are grown for certain attributes, such as novelty, resistance to disease (because they tend to be vulnerable to disease), and long-lasting blooms. Annuals fall into this category, but also many perennials. Names like “knock out” roses indicate cultivation. Nativars are native plants that have been cultivated in the same manner. When the leaf and bloom colors and bloom shape are changed, native insects cannot use them. For this reason, Forb & Finch uses straight species, Michigan genotype, native plants from New Leaf Natives in Manchester, MI. https://newleafnatives.com/collections/shop-all

Why native plants?

Monarch butterfly on my rose milkweed (Asclepius incarnata). Monarchs use rose milkweed both as host for caterpillars and nectar source for butterflies: https://plantersplace.com/wild-life-gardening-journal/swamp-milkweed-valuable-to-more-than-just-monarchs/

The simple answer is the food web. Our native insects require native plants, and we require native insects. Native bees pollenate both our native plants and our food crops. Birds and dragonflies rely on other native caterpillars and insects. One single brood of chickadees can require up to 9,000 caterpillars from birth to flight! Milkweed is the only host of the monarch caterpillar, but monarch butterflies consume the nectar of echinacea, joe pye, goldenrod, and asters.

Native plants are the backbone of a healthy landscape: they bring insects, caterpillars, butterflies, bees, and birds. When they arrive, your landscape is buzzing with life and an important part of larger migrations that need (and provide!) sustenance across thousands of miles. Doug Tallamy started Homegrown National Park to track residential native plantings across the U.S. Our designs qualify your land to get on the map: https://homegrownnationalpark.org

Native plants are also hearty. They are designed by nature to withstand extremes of flooding and drought. “Right plant right place” means that native plants simply need the right conditions to thrive–no amendments like manure or fertilizer are necessary or even desirable. They are self-sustaining without human effort. Native plants with tap roots break up clay to allow underground insects to improve your soil. Other plants, like the Baptisia australis pictured at top, put nitrogen into the soil. Forb & Finch has the knowledge base to know which native plants will thrive on your site and enrich your soil for you.

Working with nature, not against it

What is a native plant?

Why native plants?

Further reading: