By Gayle Blodgett, Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist serving Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties
Native plants are essential to healthy ecosystems because they support biodiversity, conserve resources, stabilize soils and waterways, sequester carbon, and provide resilience to changing climates, benefits that cultivated nonnative species often cannot match. Native plants are species that evolve naturally in a region and are adapted to climate, soils, insects, and other organisms. Because of those long-term relationships, native plants play important roles in ecosystems.
Support local biodiversity
One of the most important roles of native plants is their support for local biodiversity. Many insects, including specialist pollinators and herbivores, depend on them for nectar, pollen, leaves, or host habitat. For example, numerous butterfly and moth species require specific native host plants for their caterpillars. Without those plants, the insects cannot complete their life cycles. Native plants provide food and habitat for birds, mammals, amphibians, and microbes. Native plants also create the structural diversity (groundcover, shrubs, canopy) that many animals need for nesting, foraging, and shelter.
Conserve water and soil
A benefit of native plants is that they are adapted to local rainfall patterns and often require far less irrigation than nonnative ornamentals. Using native species in landscaping can significantly reduce water consumption in drought-prone regions. Because native plants have adapted to local soils and pests, they don’t need fertilizer or pesticides which lowers runoff of chemicals into waterways and reduces pollution. Native plantings need less pruning, mowing, and care, reducing energy use and emissions associated with landscape maintenance.
Many native species develop deep, fibrous, or complex root networks that stabilize soil, reduce erosion, and promote infiltration of rainwater into the ground instead of producing surface runoff. Native plants also support beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi that enhance nutrient cycling and soil structure. Buffers of native plants along streams and wetlands trap sediments and filter pollutants, improving water quality and protecting aquatic habitat.
Resist pest outbreaks
Healthy native plant communities can resist invasion by nonnative species because they efficiently use local resources and leave fewer ecological niches for invaders to take advantage of. Native predators that control pest species are supported by native plant diversity. Relying on nonnative plants often disrupts these natural controls and can lead to pest outbreaks.
Native plants can be used in any landscape. Certainly, wide-open prairies are often thought of as homes for natives, but they can also be used in smaller, more controlled beds. Select native species that are suited for the space you have available. You can use potted plants, small plant plugs, root stock or seeds. Each type has its advantages.
Native plants are a cornerstone of functioning ecosystems. By supporting biodiversity, conserving water and soil, and resisting invasives, they sustain the services upon which natural systems and human societies depend. Promoting native plant restoration and use in landscaping, conservation, and land management is an efficient, long-term strategy for enhancing environmental health and resilience.
Where to find natives
I look for native plants every time I go to a garden center. I check local nurseries and if I see something I like while on a walk, I take a picture and figure out what it is so I can plant some. Local native plant sales can be a real treasure hunt! I also order plants and seed by mail. In the fall the Mason State Tree Nursery has a plant sale, and their plants are always great.
Here are a few of the vendors I have used. This is not a comprehensive list, but I have had positive experiences with each of them. Happy planting!