THEPlant Native

Native gardening

Frequently Asked Questions

Feeling a little lost?

We’ve been there. Sometimes native gardening can feel confusing (What is a cultivar? Don’t caterpillars eat all leaves?!) Explore 25+ beginner-friendly FAQs designed to answer your questions and make your native gardening journey easier.

FAQS
  • All
  • Start Here (12)
  • Vocab (9)
  • Bugs (4)
  • Invasive (3)

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cicadia-killer-on-rattlesnake-master
Will native plants bring too many bugs to my yard?
Good bugs > no bugs.
Mix purple coneflowers with native grasses for lots of garden textures
Why plant native?
Less work. More life.
prairie-coneflower-garden-grouping-full-sun-native-garden
Why does seed or plant provenance matter?
Closer is better. Here’s why.
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Why are native plants hard to find?
Long story short: we forgot them.
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Where can I buy native plants?
400+ sourcing ideas.
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What native plants will make you do a double take?
Grow some pretty and weird.
porcelain-berry-vine-invasive-plant
What is an invasive plant?
Some plants cause real harm.
Little Bluestem in the winter, credit: Brett Whaley
What is a planting zone?
Think of it as your garden’s ZIP code.
black-eyed-susan-native-garden
What is a native plant?
Before lawns, there were these.
goldenrod-butterfly-garden-with-monarch
What is a keystone species?
The MVPs of your garden.
monarch-on-butterfly-weed-the-plant-native
What is a host plant?
Think of them as pollinator daycares.
Heuchera 'Peach Flambé' by Acabashi
What is a cultivar?
Styled by people, not nature.
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What does established mean in gardening?
It’s like freshman year—for plants.
Insidious kudzu vines have overwhelmed this stretch of mountain woodlands near Manchester in southeastern Kentucky. Kudzu’s coiling vines eventually overwhelm and kill their hosts by blocking the sun from reaching them.
What are common invasive species?
The biggest troublemakers in U.S. yards.
rosebay-rhododendron-in-bloom-native-shrub
Rhododendron vs. Mountain Laurel vs. Azalea: What’s the Difference?
It’s time for a plant family reunion.

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