Planting native plants such as bur oak, pasque flower, and showy milkweed help your garden survive Nebraska’s icy winters and provide beauty during the growing season. Here we bring you the best Nebraska native plants for your landscape, including grasses, flowers, trees, and shrubs.
Nebraska native grasses
Prairie junegrass
Found across Nebraska, prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) occurs in all of the state’s habitats, except wetlands. With light-colored inflorescences, prairie junegrass can be used as a border or as an accent plant in a rock garden.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9
Sun: Full sun
Soil: Grows in clay to sand, but prefers sandy, well-drained soils. Prefers a soil pH of 6.0 to 8.0.
Duration: Cool-season perennial
Flowering period: May to August
Water needs: 12 to 20 inches of water per year (rainfall included)
Mature height: 0.5 to 2 feet tall
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Little bluestem
The official state grass of Nebraska, little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is distributed statewide. With its flowy inflorescence, this grass adds charm to landscapes when used as a border. In the fall, its greenish-blue color becomes reddish, adding fall interest to your garden.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9
Sun: Full sun
Soil: Prefers well-drained soils but can adapt to different textures (tolerates clay soils and poor soils)
Duration: Warm-season perennial
Flowering period: July to October
Water needs: Low to medium
Mature height: 2 to 4 feet tall
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Blue grama
Adapted to a variety of soil types, blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) is most common in central and western Nebraska. It works perfectly as a specimen plant in a rock garden, and you can easily match blue grama with wildflowers in this list for a beautiful composition. Blue grama usually develops a purple hue in the frost, creating an interesting winter visual.
A Curious Note: Blue grama can be used as turfgrass because of its tolerance to heat, cold, and drought. However, our article on “The Best Grass Seed for Nebraska Lawns” shows you some better options for Nebraska homeowners. And if you’re wondering the perfect time to plant, see our guide: “When to Plant Grass Seed in Nebraska.”
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-10
Sun: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained clay, silt, and sand. Tolerates poor soils.
Duration: Warm-season perennial
Flowering period: June to August
Water needs: Low
Mature height: 1 to 2 feet tall
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Nebraska native pollinator plants
Wild bee balm
A member of the mint family, wild bee balm or wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is commonly known for its medicinal properties, including the ability to soothe bee stings (hence the name). This hardy perennial blooms starting in mid-summer, and when combined with summer-into-fall bloomers (for ex., Achillea and Phlox), you can get a smooth transition from summer to fall color.
Expert Tip: For this article, we interviewed Bob Henrickson, Horticulture Program Coordinator at the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Henrickson suggests combining wild bee balm with narrowleaf mountain mint and gray-headed coneflower to form an attractive native trio in full sun areas.
USDA hardiness zone: 3a-9b
Duration: Perennial
Sunlight needs: Full sun to partial shade
Soil preferences: Dry, but seasonally moist soils
Water needs: Low to moderate
Mature size: 2 to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Bloom time: July to August
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Purple poppy mallow
Also known as prairie winecup, the purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) offers bright purple flowers with petals that resemble a cup. This hardy perennial can be grown as a ground cover, among prairie grasses, or even on slopes and spreading over stone walls.
Expert Tip: Henrickson suggests combining purple poppy mallow with leadplant and butterfly milkweed in full sun landscapes.
USDA hardiness zone: 3a-8b
Duration: Perennial
Sunlight needs: Full sun, partial shade
Soil preferences: Well-drained soils
Water needs: Medium
Mature size: Up to 1 foot
Bloom time: Late May through June
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Pasque flower
A great addition to your wildflower garden or cultivated as a specimen in your home landscape, the pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens) can bloom in white, violet, yellow, blue, or even red. Its seed heads have a feathery appearance, adding even more ornamental value to your landscape.
USDA hardiness zone: 4-8
Duration: Perennial
Sunlight needs: Part shade to full sun
Soil preferences: Prefers well-drained, dry to medium soils with a gritty texture
Water needs: Average
Mature size: 9 to 12 inches tall
Bloom time: April to May
Potential hazards: All parts of the plant are toxic and may cause stomach upset if ingested.
Maintenance: Low
Planting Tip: For inspiration, check out “Design Ideas for Your Wildflower Garden” if you plan to add pasque flower and other wildflowers to your landscape.
Showy milkweed
Occurring naturally in sunny fields and prairies across Nebraska, the showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is one of the many milkweed species in the state. It blooms in clumps of white and pinkish star-shaped flowers. Perfect for a pollinator garden, the showy milkweed is a host plant for the monarch butterfly.
USDA hardiness zone: 3-9
Duration: Perennial
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Prefers moist, dry to slightly wet soils. Can grow in sandy to loamy soils.
Water needs: Average
Mature size: 4 to 5 feet tall
Bloom time: June to August
Potential hazards: Toxic when ingested, especially to dogs, cats, and horses
Maintenance: Low
Dotted blazing star
The dotted blazing star (Liatris punctata) is the shortest liatris species in Nebraska. Blooming in September, dotted blazing star adds summer and fall interest to your garden. With flowering spikes that “cut” through the landscape, dotted blazing star complements your native garden design with a vertical accent.
Attracting bees and butterflies, this plant is also a great addition to a pollinator garden.
USDA hardiness zone: 4-9
Duration: Perennial
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Likes well-drained, dry to moist soils. Tolerates alkaline soils.
Water needs: Low to medium
Mature size: 12 inches to 18 inches tall
Bloom time: September to early October
Potential hazards: Very low toxicity
Maintenance: Low
Nebraska native trees
Bur oak
The most common native oak in Nebraska, the bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) can be planted as a shade tree in urban settings, as it is tolerant of city smoke and air pollutants. Also suitable for suburban lawns, this drought-tolerant tree is long-lived and offers ample shade to homes. Its acorns are eaten by local wildlife, and the large tree is also a shelter for squirrels and birds.
A Curious Note: A 500-year-old bur oak can be found at Ponca State Park.
USDA hardiness zone: 3-9
Foliage: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Prefers rich soils, but tolerates poor, dry, or clay soils
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Medium
Mature size: 50-75 feet tall and wide
Potential hazards: Low-severity poison
Maintenance: Low
Hackberry
The hackberry tree (Celtis occidentalis) is a great choice for those who love a stunning fall color, as its leaves turn into an interesting yellow-green or yellow-brown. A fast grower, the hackberry drops small branches on windy or stormy days, so keep this in mind when choosing where to plant. Its rounded crown makes hackberry the best shade tree for Nebraska.
USDA hardiness zone: 2-9
Foliage: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Full sun, but can adapt to partial shade
Soil preferences: Prefers rich, well-drained soils, but tolerates dry soils and occasional drought
Bloom time: April or May
Water needs: Low to moderate
Mature size: 65 feet tall, 50 feet wide
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low to moderate
Nebraska native shrubs
American hazelnut
The American hazelnut (Corylus americana) grows abundantly in forests and prairies in Nebraska. Its beautiful bronze fall color adds interest to your garden, and edible nuts make it a wildlife favorite. Why not use them in your native garden as a screen or shrub border?
USDA hardiness zone: 4-9
Foliage: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Prefers full sun to partial shade. It can grow in full shade, but growth and fruit production are reduced.
Soil preferences: Likes average, well-drained soil with moist to dry humidity
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Low to moderate
Mature size: 6 to 8 feet tall and wide
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
New Jersey tea
New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus) is a fragrant shrub that blooms with clusters of tiny white flowers from May to June. Highly attractive to butterflies, birds, deer, and all sorts of wildlife, this practical and drought-tolerant shrub will bring joy and life to your landscape.
Expert Tip: Henrickson suggests combining New Jersey tea with golden Alexanders and dwarf blue indigo in areas with full sun.
USDA hardiness zone: 4a-8b
Foliage: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preferences: Well-drained, dry soils
Water needs: Low to moderate
Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Bloom time: May to June
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
Fragrant sumac
Speaking of fragrant plants, the fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) is another option for those who want to include a sensory experience in the garden. However, you can only smell its scent if the stems or leaves are bruised. Easy to grow, fragrant sumac blooms in the spring with vibrant yellow or white flowers, and in the fall, the foliage develops into a stunning deep red.
USDA hardiness zone: 3-9
Duration: Deciduous
Sunlight needs: Full sun to partial shade
Soil preferences: Prefers acidic, well-drained, moist to dry soils. Adapts to most soil types, except permanently wet soils.
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Low to moderate
Mature size: 5 to 6 feet tall and wide
Potential hazards: None
Maintenance: Low
An expert take on native plants
When consulting with Henrickson, we asked him about the benefits of opting for native plants to compose your landscape, and he explained in detail why going native is the way to go:
1. Native plants benefit the local wildlife.
As Henrickson explains, “Native landscapes benefit wildlife that depend on grassland, savannah, and woodland habitats. Native plants provide the food, shelter, and nesting cover for songbirds, beneficial insects, and other critters that conventional landscapes cannot.”
2. Native plants are adapted to the local climate.
According to Henrickson, native plants are adapted to the Great Plains’ extreme weather: “Native plants are able to withstand drought, wet, heat, cold, [and] wind, not to mention wide temperature fluctuations,” which, in turn, makes landscaping easier for homeowners. As he explains, established native plants won’t need additional watering to stay alive, or the application of chemicals.
Additionally, as he notes, if you opt not to water your plants and let them go dormant during extreme drought periods, they will still survive.
3. Native plants prevent soil erosion and runoff and clean the water supply.
Henrickson explains that native plants also help in erosion control, since the “roots of grasses and forbs arrange themselves in layers so that every cubic inch of soil is exploited for moisture and nutrients.”
They also help avoid water runoff. As he describes: “A well-developed layering of plants, coupled with a myriad of thin grass stems, lets rain soak in and allows almost no runoff. Deep-rooted plants also … act as a filter, absorbing potentially harmful nutrients from the water as it moves down the soil profile or as surface water along watersheds.”
Additionally, he notes, you can use lowland native plants to create a rain garden or bioretention swale, helping to clean your local water supply.
4. Native plants are a great learning experience.
Another benefit of investing in a native plant landscape is that it provides a learning experience for your kids, as Henrickson points out:
“A more natural landscape will attract songbirds, butterflies, toads, voles, and a host of other small animals. What a wonderful way to educate your children: By observing the changes throughout the seasons, you will learn and appreciate how they contribute to making all of nature work together.”
FAQ
Where can I buy native Nebraska plants?
Henrickson recommends checking first with your local nursery or garden center. By doing so, you will help increase the demand and, therefore, availability of native plants in your local nursery. He also mentions that there are other reliable sources of native plants in Nebraska, which include the following:
What is Nebraska’s hardiness zone?
Nebraska comprises hardiness zones 4b to 6a. Knowing your hardiness zone is essential for choosing the plants that will thrive in your area.
What is the Nebraska state tree?
The eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) is Nebraska’s state tree. Found statewide, cottonwood is currently the main wood used for lumber in Nebraska.
When to call a pro
If you need a hand managing your lawn care routine or adding native plants, know that we have qualified pros in Nebraska who are ready to help. Get in touch with a lawn care pro today, and rest assured that your lawn is in good hands.
Main Image Credit: USFWS Mountain-Prairie | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 2.0
