Thank you for choosing native plants!

Your garden is on its way to becoming a safe haven for pollinators, a filter for clean water, and a beautiful, endlessly fascinating place to explore.

How do I choose the right native plants for my garden?

Different plants prefer different conditions, with varying needs for sunlight, water, and soil quality, so you’ll want to select plants that will thrive in the location you’ve chosen for your garden. You can use our plant database to search for the plants that will do best in your garden.

How do I prepare a site for planting native plants?

Before you put your new native plants into the ground, you’ll want to assess what’s already growing there to determine what, if anything, needs to be removed. If your new garden will replace a section of lawn, for example, you have a few options for removing it, depending on how much time you have. The quickest option is to cut out and dig up the section you’re turning into garden. A less labor intensive option is to solarize the grass — basically killing it by covering it with a weighted tarp or with cardboard covered in mulch, which can take a few weeks or months, depending on the time of year.

Once the area is clear of other plants, your site will be ready to plant. There’s usually no need to add amendments to the soil, since native plants typically prefer nutrient poor soil. You’ll especially want to avoid fertilizing as these extra nutrients can disrupt native plants’ typical growing cycles. Your best bet is to leave any leaves that fall in the garden, as those will provide natural mulch.

How do I plant my new native plants?

Before planting it’s important to keep your potted plants watered so that their roots don’t dry out. And then you’ll want to plant them in the ground as soon as possible. Simply dig a hole about the size of the pot or plug. Slide the plant gently out of its pot. If the roots are very tightly bound, gently spread them apart. Place your plant into the hole and then fill in around it. The top of the plant should be level with the surface of the soil. Once your new plants are planted, you’ll want to water them deeply.

Planting in spring or fall is preferred, since lower temperatures and more rainfall help young plants develop strong, deep root systems. If planting during the summer, you will need to carefully monitor that your plants do not dry out in the additional heat.

What kind of maintenance is needed in a native plant garden?

A well-established native plant garden requires minimal maintenance beyond these few strategies that will help native plants look their best:

  • Watering is the most essential maintenance task, especially for a newly planted garden. For the first season, water for 30-40 minutes every 5 days or so, depending on soil and weather conditions. Ideally, plants should receive about 1 inch of rain per week. (A rain gauge can help you keep track of local rainfall.) You can also monitor soil moisture by digging a small hole and observing how far down you need to go until the soil is moist. If it’s still dry below 3 inches, new plants should be watered. When plants are well-established, they will likely not need any additional watering except in times of extreme drought.

  • Many of our native plants can be cut back (or “Chelsea Chopped”) in mid-June to early July, particularly species that can get very tall and floppy such as many asters and goldenrods. This will help plants grow more compactly and bloom more profusely. Check our database to confirm your plant is well-suited for the Chelsea chop. Consider “chopping and dropping,” the practice of leaving the trimmed foliage in place, which acts as mulch and creates needed habitat for pollinators.

  • Weeding out any non-native plants that might show up in your new garden ensures that they don’t out-compete your native plants. Identifying seedlings as they come up in the spring can be a bit of challenge, so it’s helpful to learn what plants looks like at their different life stages. This will become easier as you watch your plants grow each year, and you can also visit LINPI’s greenhouse in the spring to see the seedlings. A good resource to confirm whether a species is invasive is the LIISMA PRISM’s invasive tier list- https://liisma.org/species/liisma-tier-list/. You can further decrease weed pressure by covering the bare soil with mulch like wood chips or straw. As your new plants grow in and fill the space, there will be less room for weeds.

The final task is to enjoy your garden and all its visitors!