Native Plants' Importance in Landscaping (And How to Actually Use Them)
Native plants matter in landscaping because they have adapted to a particular soil‚ rainfall and temperature range in a particular place for thousands of years․ A nursery-grown hybrid shipped in from another climate may only resemble your local natives in appearance․ Native plants generally demand less water and chemicals than non-native ornamentals and attract more wildlife․ For gardeners in hardiness zones 6a through 7b in Tennessee‚ that difference shows up fast in the survival of your plants the first summer‚ in how often you're dragging a hose around by August‚ and in whether songbirds stick around your yard․
Why Native Plants Outperform Imports
Biodiversity Preservation
Native insects‚ birds‚ and mammals did not evolve with the boxwoods of Asia or burning bush from Europe․ They evolved alongside native oaks‚ asters‚ and milkweed․ For example‚ a single oak tree hosts over 500 species of caterpillars which then feed baby birds during nesting season․ A non-native ornamental tree in that location can possibly support a few․ When you're planting natives‚ you're plugging directly into a food web that's already established: you're not asking the wildlife to figure out how to use something foreign․
Water Conservation
Tennessee receives enough rainfall‚ ranging from 45 to 55 inches (1‚143 to 1‚397 mm) throughout much of the state․ Rainfall is not distributed evenly throughout the year‚ and Middle Tennessee often suffers from late summer drought conditions․ Native perennials such as Blazing Star Liatris have deep taproots that are well adapted to the feast-or-famine rainfall pattern․ They are dry-weather champions once established (usually after one full season of growth)‚ requiring little or no supplemental watering․ Compare them to a hydrangea bred for cooler‚ wetter climates‚ that you have to water all summer or it wilts․
Soil Health
This is the piece most homeowners overlook․ Native root systems are much more than just anchors to the ground․ Deep taproots of native‚ deep-rooted prairie plants (six to ten feet down) break up compacted clay (a serious problem in much of Tennessee)‚ improve drainage and feed soil life as they die back and regrow each season․ Non-native turf grasses and shallow-rooted ornamental plants used in Tennessee lawns are far less effective in controlling slope erosion․
Lower Maintenance‚ Fewer Inputs
Native plants co-evolved with the bugs and diseases here and developed natural resistance that non-natives didn't․ It doesn't mean zero maintenance‚ but it means less spraying‚ fewer dead plants after a hard freeze‚ and less of the guessing of whether something is supposed to look like that in July․ Once they're established‚ most native perennials and shrubs only need an annual cutback or light pruning‚ not a maintenance calendar․
Cultural and Aesthetic Value
Wildflowers like Blazing Star Liatris‚ native aster‚ and coneflower are not just good plants - they are the real regional identity․ They are the wildflowers you see on Tennessee roadsides‚ in Cumberland Plateau meadows․ They help tie your yard to the real character of your region rather than making it look like a subdivision anywhere in the country․
How to Actually Put This into Practice
Consider your site's specific conditions‚ not a generic plant list․
Tennessee also has microclimates such as East Tennessee mountain valleys‚ clayey basins of Middle Tennessee‚ and West Tennessee's fertile bottomland soils‚ which create unique environments․ Before buying plants‚ consider how much sun you receive (full sun = 6+ hours)‚ how well your soil drains‚ and in which zone you live․ Most of the state lies within USDA hardiness zones 6b and 7b with a few cooler pockets in the higher elevations of East Tennessee in zone 6a․
Plant in layers‚ as nature layers its ecosystems․
An original healthy native plant community should not be considered a row of clones․ Instead it is a layered plant community․ Ground layer ground covers or short perennial plants are followed by mid-height grasses and flowering perennials with a structural and pollinator function such as Blazing Star Liatris during the summer․ Beyond shrubs or small trees‚ it also serves a practical purpose‚ controlling weeds‚ retaining soil on hills‚ and providing a single area for wildlife foraging and sheltering․
Time planting with Tennessee's growing season to optimize harvest․
Most native perennials and shrubs will do best planted in the fall (September through early November)‚ when the soil is still warm‚ when rainfall is usually good‚ and when plants have several months to root down before summer․ Spring planting (March through April) is fine‚ but plants will need a little more watering the first summer‚ as their roots are still young․ Tough as they are‚ even native plants struggle to make headway in a Tennessee July and August․
Provide reasonable timelines for new plantings․
Many native herbaceous perennials follow a sleep‚ creep‚ leap pattern․ In the first year they establish a root system‚ but won't look like much․ In the second‚ they begin to fill in․ The full mature spread and bloom performance will be seen in the third season․ This is contrary to the expectations of many gardeners‚ who buy nursery-grown plants that bloom in the first year․ One cannot judge a native planting in its first year․
Those plants should be native to the region‚ not just labeled wildflower․
This is where many well-meaning gardeners get into trouble: national wildflower mixes often contain a number of native wildflowers to other states‚ or worse‚ intrusive wildflower species in Tennessee‚ even if they are native to some other part of the country․ TN Nursery grows and ships plants adapted to Southeastern growing conditions‚ such as Blazing Star Liatris and many others‚ and those plants grow best in the soils and climate that exist in Tennessee․
You can skip the fertilizer at first‚ though․
Established native plantings don't typically need to be fertilized․ That's the whole idea: They're supposed to grow just fine in your native soil without additional help․ In fact‚ fertilizing can make some prairie natives more leggy and floppier than they would otherwise be․ Save the amendments for the vegetable beds and rely on compost instead of synthetic fertilizers for your impaired soil․
Native plants ask less of you over time and give more back to the yard around them: less water‚ less spraying‚ more birds and pollinators‚ a landscape that looks like it belongs in Tennessee rather than a catalog photo shot somewhere else entirely․
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