Pennsylvania Native Plants for Home Gardens

Pennsylvania sits at the intersection of three major North American ecoregions — the Appalachian highlands, the northeastern coastal plain, and the mixed forest transition zone. That diversity of landscape has produced an exceptionally rich native flora, and home gardeners have access to some of the most garden-worthy native plants found anywhere in the eastern United States. Native plants aren’t just ecologically beneficial — many are simply beautiful, extremely tough, and far less demanding than the non-native ornamentals that have dominated American gardens for decades.

A Pennsylvania native plant is one that occurred in the region before European settlement — not a cultivar of a native species bred in the Netherlands, not a native of the Midwest introduced here by commerce, but something that genuinely belongs to the Pennsylvania landscape. These plants are adapted to PA’s soils, its rainfall patterns, its freeze-thaw cycles, and crucially, to the insects and birds that have coevolved with them over thousands of years. When you plant natives, you’re not just gardening — you’re restoring ecological function.

Why Plant Pennsylvania Natives

The practical case for native plants starts with maintenance. Plants that evolved in Pennsylvania’s climate don’t need supplemental irrigation once established, don’t need fertilizers calibrated for non-native soil preferences, and don’t require pest management for insects they didn’t evolve with. An established native meadow or woodland planting can be essentially self-sustaining after the first season, which is a meaningful advantage for any gardener who wants beauty without constant intervention.

The ecological case is even more compelling. Entomologist Doug Tallamy’s research has demonstrated that native oak trees (Quercus species) support over 550 species of caterpillars in the mid-Atlantic region — caterpillars that are the primary food source for nesting birds. Non-native trees like Bradford pear, Norway maple, and Callery pear support almost none. This relationship extends throughout the food web: native plants support native insects, which support birds, which support raptors, which support the broader ecosystem. When you remove native plants from a suburban landscape and replace them with ornamental exotics, you effectively collapse the food web that everything else depends on.

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Native Trees for Pennsylvania Home Gardens

Trees have the greatest ecological impact of any plant type because of their size and longevity. A single native oak in your yard provides habitat, food, and nesting sites for more wildlife than any other garden choice you can make. Even in smaller suburban yards, there are PA native trees scaled for the space.

Native Shrubs for Pennsylvania

Native shrubs fill the ecological layer between trees and perennials — providing nesting structure for birds, nectar for bees and butterflies, and fruit that carries wildlife through fall and winter. Many are also among the most garden-worthy plants available, combining seasonal interest with near-zero maintenance once established.

Native Perennials for Pennsylvania Gardens

Pennsylvania’s native perennial flora is outstanding — it includes some of the most garden-worthy plants in North American horticulture, many of which have been adopted globally as ornamentals. The following species are all true PA natives, widely available through reputable nurseries, and well-suited to home garden conditions.

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Native Groundcovers for Pennsylvania

Native groundcovers solve one of the hardest landscaping problems in Pennsylvania: shaded, sloped, or dry areas where lawn won’t grow and traditional ornamentals struggle. They also provide dense, low habitat for ground-nesting native bees — a group that includes 70% of North American bee species and nests in bare or lightly covered soil rather than hives.

Native Grasses and Sedges

Native grasses provide winter structure, seed sources for birds, and nesting material for small wildlife. They’re also among the most drought-tolerant plants in the PA native palette. Unlike ornamental grasses (many of which are non-native and some of which are invasive in PA), native grasses have deep root systems that improve soil structure and support insects year-round.

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is the quintessential Pennsylvania native grass — it turns brilliant orange-red in fall, holds its seed heads through winter (providing food for sparrows and juncos), and thrives in the droughty, rocky soils that are common in PA’s ridge-and-valley region. It grows 2–4 feet tall and is excellent in mass plantings or mixed borders.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is taller (4–6 feet) and more adaptable to wet sites, making it useful near rain gardens or in low-lying areas. Named cultivars like ‘Shenandoah’ (red fall color) and ‘Heavy Metal’ (upright habit) are widely available and based on the true PA native species.

Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) deserves special mention as a lawn alternative. It forms a dense, 6–12-inch turf-like mat in shaded areas under trees — exactly the conditions where conventional lawn struggles most. It requires no mowing once established, stays green through most of the PA winter in Zone 6–7, and supports ground-nesting native bees. One caution: source it from a reputable native plant nursery, as it’s frequently confused with non-native sedge species.

Invasive Plants to Remove from PA Gardens

Several commonly planted ornamentals are now recognized as invasive in Pennsylvania — they escape gardens, spread into natural areas, and displace the native plants that wildlife depends on. If you have any of these in your yard and are transitioning to a native-friendly garden, removing them is as important as what you add.

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is listed as invasive in Pennsylvania and creates dense monocultures in forest understories. It increases tick habitat density significantly. Many PA municipalities and nurseries have stopped selling it.

Burning bush (Euonymus alatus) spreads by bird-dispersed seed into natural areas and outcompetes native shrubs. For similar fall color, substitute native highbush blueberry, itea, or native viburnums.

Bradford/Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is now recognized as highly invasive throughout Pennsylvania. It spreads aggressively from ornamental plantings and has become a significant problem in PA open spaces. Pennsylvania’s Right Tree program actively discourages its planting.

Norway maple (Acer platanoides) displaces native sugar and red maples in forest edges and regeneration zones. It’s still widely sold in PA nurseries but should be avoided in favor of the native maples it outcompetes.

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) are both invasive shrub honeysuckles that have overtaken PA forest understories across the state. Native alternative: coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), a PA native vine with excellent hummingbird value.

Sourcing True Pennsylvania Natives

Not everything sold as a “native plant” at a big box store is actually a true PA native. Many are cultivars developed in Europe, nativars selected primarily for ornamental traits, or species native to other parts of North America. For maximum ecological value, seek straight species (non-cultivar) plants from sources that propagate from PA-regional genotypes.

The best sources for true PA native plants include: Penn Nursery in Spring Mills, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope (which runs annual native plant sales), Redbud Native Plant Nursery in Leola, Earth Sangha (Virginia-based but carries many PA-region natives), and native plant sales run by local chapters of the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society. Avoid plants labeled only as “native to North America” without regional specificity — a goldenrod native to Kansas may not have the same relationship with PA insects as Solidago rugosa native to eastern Pennsylvania.

PA Zone Planting Guide for Native Plants

Frequently Asked Questions