Native Landscaping: Bring Wildlife to Your Yard with Native Plants
Belding See plant lists beginning on slide 38 Wildlife Management Area Lists with Latin names beginning on slide 47 We all want to bring birds and butterflies to our yards
Jane Seymour Here’s how you can do it Most plant-eating insects (like butterfly caterpillars) can only feed on native plants
Pamm Cooper
What do we mean by “native”? A plant is native to Connecticut if it was growing here before the arrival of European settlers Many plants that now grow here are not native And, many of the plants that are sold by nurseries are not native. Some are even invasive.
Nearly all of our terrestrial birds raise their young on insects Jane Seymour Which Connecticut plant provides food for the greatest number of caterpillar species? The mighty oak. Over 500 species of caterpillars feed on its leaves Compare that to a popular landscaping plant, butterfly bush, which does not feed any of our native caterpillars
Butterfly bush Instead of butterfly bush, how about butterfly milkweed? Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed only on milkweeds
Pamm Cooper Common milkweed Butterfly milkweed Swamp milkweed
Without milkweed plants, monarchs would not exist Other specialists include the Baltimore checkerspot whose caterpillars feed on turtlehead The spicebush swallowtail caterpillar feeds on spicebush or sassafras
Pamm Cooper
Joe Manfre Some more plants to think about for your native landscape:
Bee balm blooms in July and is a favorite of hummingbirds
Although hummingbirds feed primarily on insects, they also depend on nectar for energy Cardinal flower blooms into August, providing nectar for hummingbirds after the bee balm has gone by
Jane Seymour Trumpet honeysuckle provides nectar for hummingbirds and is a food plant for the hummingbird clearwing moth caterpillar
Jane Seymour New England aster blooms in September and October and is a host plant for many caterpillars
Chris Bunce If you are starting with bare ground, perhaps after removing a section of lawn, don’t worry if it looks a little sparse at first. Native plants are well-adapted to growing in our native soil Your native landscape will soon fill in But what about when the native wildflowers loose their blooms? That’s a beautiful sight for American goldfinch who feed on the seeds Indigo buntings will fuel up on seeds before their fall migration Some plants, like common evening primrose, will still have caterpillars that migrating warblers will fuel up on. (Hummingbirds also feed on the nectar of common evening primrose.) You may want to let a section of your yard “go wild”. Although some non-natives will likely invade and will need to be dealt with, native plants that might pop up may include joe pye weed, boneset and common evening primrose
Jane Seymour If you have Joe Pye weed, you will have butterflies
Jane Seymour Boneset attracts a variety of pollinators,
Jane Seymour and things that eat pollinators
Jane Seymour And things that eat things that eat pollinators. The food web in action.
Perennials
Sun Part sun Shade Bloom Bloom time
Blue-eyed grass Columbine, wild red Carolina spring beauty Lupine, wild blue Hepatica Bloodroot Pussytoes, field Mayapple Foamflower Dutchman’s breeches Golden alexanders Wild blue phlox Wood anemone Milkweed, common Wild geranium Golden ragwort Foxglove beardtongue Bluebead lily Milkweed, butterfly Milkweed, swamp Wild bergamot Cardinal flower Black cohosh Scarlet bee balm Culver’s root Ramps American spikenard Joe-Pye weed Boneset Great lobelia Hog peanut Purple-headed sneezeweed Woodland sunflower Turtlehead Pearly everlasting Common evening primrose Showy goldenrod Blue-stem goldenrod New England aster White snakeroot Fall sneezeweed Heart-leaved aster Small white American-aster Smooth aster September August July June May July August June September Calico American-aster Ground covers
Bloom Bloom time Sun Part sun Shade Dutchman’s breeches Birdfoot violet Phlox, creeping Trout lily Strawberry, Virginia Canada mayflower
Golden ragwort Wild ginger Bearberry Bunchberry Blue-eyed grass Partridgeberry Virginia creeper Yellow star grass Twinflower Wintergreen (tea berry)
Heath aster September August August May July June September Shrubs/Vines
Sun Part sun Shade Bloom Bloom time Spicebush Fragrant sumac Running serviceberry Pinxter bloom Beach plum American black currant Nannyberry Northern bayberry Nannyberry Hobblebush Highbush blueberry Sweetbells Winterberry Northern bush-honeysuckle Red chokeberry Mountain laurel Elderberry Virginia rose Great laurel Rosebay rhododendron New Jersey tea Red-osier dogwood Staghorn sumac Trumpet honeysuckle Arrowwood Purple-flowering raspberry
Sweet pepperbush Sweet pepperbush Meadowsweet Steeplebush Shrubby cinquefoil
Witch hazel September August August May July June September Grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns Sun Part sun Shade
Little bluestem
Dry Poverty grass Purpletop Purple love grass Indian grass Pennsylvania sedge Big bluestem Spreading sedge Path rush Common polypody Virginia wild rye Wood rush Christmas fern
Switchgrass Average Lurid sedge Soft rush Maidenhair fern Gray sedge Cinnamon fern Ostrich fern Fox sedge Cotton grass Cotton grass Silvery sedge
Moist Spike rush Other Important Shrubs and Trees
Oaks Willows (including pussy willow) Black cherry Dogwoods Alder Hickory Aspen Maple Shadbush (serviceberry) Hornbeam Eastern redcedar Northern white-cedar Beaked hazelnut American hazelnut Sweetbay Sweet gale Fireberry hawthorn Sweetfern Beware of plants that are described as “naturalized”. These plants are not native. Asiatic bittersweet and other invasive plants are “naturalized”.
To see if a plant is native to Connecticut, visit the New England Wildflower Society at: https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/
To search for native plants by state, visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at http://www.wildflower.org/plants/
The CT Botanical Society lists a few native wildflowers to get started with native plant gardening: https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Gardens/view The native plants that have been listed here are available for sale at native plant nurseries in CT. More native plant species may become available for sale in the future. When buying native plants, ask about the source. It’s better to buy plants that were grown from a local seed source than from a seed source from a different region, in order to preserve the local genetics.
Where to buy natives: Earth Tones native plant nursery - http://www.earthtonesnatives.com/ New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods - http://www.newfs.org/grow Ernst Conservation Seed - www.ernstseed.com New England Wetland Plants - http://www.newp.com/
The North Central Conservation District has an annual native plant sale. Visit http://www.conservect.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.conservect.org/northcentral
CT DEEP’s Connecticut Native Tree and Shrub Availability List has a list of native plants and the nurseries that sell those plants: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/habitat/ntvtree.pdf Resources:
This is the top book on the This book lists host This book lists host plants subject of sustaining wildlife plants for different for different species of in your yard with native species of butterfly moth and butterfly plants. caterpillars. caterpillars. Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group Pollinator Partnership http://www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg/ http://www.pollinator.org •Native plant list •Invasive plant management •Alternatives for Invasive Ornamental Plant Species Common and scientific names Pussytoes, field (Antennaria neglecta) Perennials Ramps (Allium tricoccum) American spikenard (Aralia racemosa) Scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma) Black cohosh (Actaea racemose) Showy goldenrod (Solidago erecta) Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) Small white American-aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides) Bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis) Smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp.) Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) Blue-stem goldenrod (Solidago caesia) White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) Calico American-aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) Carolina spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) Wood anemone (Anemone cinquefolia) Columbine, wild red (Aquilegia canadensis) Woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum) Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) Fall sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) Ground covers Foamflower (Tiarella spp.) Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) Birdfoot violet (Viola pedata) Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis) Great lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) Heart-leaved aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) Hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) Heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides) Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum) Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) Lupine, wild blue (Lupinus perennis) Phlox, creeping (Phlox stolonifera) Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) Strawberry, Virginia (Fragaria virginiana) Milkweed, butterfly (Asclepias tuberosa) Trout lily (Erythronium americanum) Milkweed, common (Asclepias syriaca) Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) Milkweed, swamp (Asclepias incarnate) Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) Wintergreen (tea berry) (Gaultheria procumbens) Purple-headed sneezeweed (Helenium flexuosum) Yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta) Shrubs/Vines Grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns
American black currant (Ribes americanum) Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) Common polypody (Polypodium virginianum) Beach plum (Prunus maritima) Cotton grass (Eriophorum virginicum) Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatic) Gray sedge (Carex grayi) Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Lurid sedge (Carex lurida) Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) Path rush (Juncus tenui) Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) Poverty grass (Danthonia spicata) New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus) Purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis) Northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica) Purpletop (Tridens flavus) Northern bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) Silvery sedge (Carex canescens) Pinxter bloom (Rhododendron periclymenoides) Soft rush (Juncus effuses) Purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus) Spike rush (Eleocharis palustris) Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) Spreading sedge (Carex laxiculmis) Redosier dogwood (Swida sericea) Switchgrass (Panicum virgatu) Rosebay rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) Virginia wild rye (Elymus virginicus) Running serviceberry (Amelanchier stolonifera) Wood rush (Luzula multiflora) Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticose) Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa) Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) Sweetbells (Leucothoe racemose) Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) Virginia rose (Rosa virginiana) Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) Other important trees and shrubs
Alder (Alnus incana) American hazelnut (Corylus Americana) American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) Aspen (Populus spp.) Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) Beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) Black cherry (Prunus serotine) Dogwoods (Swida spp.) Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) Fireberry hawthorn (Crataegus chrysocarpa) Hickory (Carya spp.) Maple - red (Acer rubrum), silver (Acer sacharinum), sugar (Acer saccharum) Oaks (Quercus spp.) Shadbush (serviceberry) (Amelanchier canadensis) Sweet gale (Myrica gale) Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana) Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina) Willows, including pussy willow (Salix spp.) Visit us at the http://www.ct.gov/deep/belding Belding Wildlife Management Area