Native plants are plants that originated in our region. Native plants benefit wildlife including pollinators providing food and shelter. As awareness grows more gardeners are choosing native plants over non-native plants for their landscapes.

The best source for information on native plants in North Carolina is the NC Native Plant Society website. The website has a very useful list of native plants for the state. Their well-organized chart divides plants by their use and size in the landscape.

Native Plant List for Henderson County

Small trees up to 25′ – (deciduous) service berry, hornbeam, redbud, dogwood, fringe tree, Carolina silverbell, hornbeam

(evergreen) red cedar, arborvitae, American holly, Savannah holly, small southern magnolia cultivars

Large Trees over 25′ – (deciduous) red maple, sugar maple, river birch, yellowwood, beech, birch, cucumber tree, oaks

(evergreen) spruce, hemlock, fir, pines, Atlantic white cedar, arborvitae, red cedar, southern magnolia

Shrubs under 4′

(deciduous) St. John’s wort, lowbush blueberry, cranberry, maple leaf viburnum, hydrangea, American beautyberry

(evergreen) leucothoe, American boxwood, quince

Mid-sized Shrubs over 4′ under 10′

(deciduous) sweetshrub, red-twig dogwood, hearts-a-bustin’, fothergilla, hypericum, winterberry, Virginia sweetspire, spicebush, native azaleas, elderberry, highbush blueberry, deciduous viburnum, leatherleaf viburnum, spirea,

(evergreen) mountain laurel, rhododendron, inkberry

Large shrubs over 10′ – (deciduous) smooth sumac, arrowwood viburnum, bottlebrush buckeye, witch hazel. oakleaf hydrangea, ninebark

(evergreen) rhododendron, mountain laurel,

Vines

(deciduous) crossvine, trumpet creeper, climbing hydrangea, coral honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, fox grape

Grasses

bluestem, broomsedge, river oats, switch grass, pink muhly grass, lovegrass (more grasses)

Groundcovers

(deciduous) pussy’s toes, wild ginger, partridge berry, pachysandra, phlox, golden aster, Christmas fern, Oconee bells, yellow root, green and gold

(evergreen) shore juniper, blue rug juniper,

Wildflowers

annual wildflower mix for the south from Eden Brothers or American Meadows websites

Perennials

black-eyed Susan, coneflower, milkweed, asters, false indigo, coreopsis, Joe Pye weed, Carolina geranium, swamp sunflower, bee balm, Carolina phlox, Cardinal flower, mountain mint

Exotic Invasive plants to avoid – English ivy, vinca, Asiatic jasmine, leriope, Japanese stiltgrass, miscanthus grass, Chinese wisteria, oriental bittersweet, euonymous, gooseneck loosestrife

Questions?

Contact:

Steve D. Pettis
Commercial and Consumer Horticulture Agent
N.C. Cooperative Extension of Henderson County
100 Jackson Park Rd. Hendersonville, NC 28792
Email – steve_pettis@ncsu.edu
Office – (828) 697-4891