What are native plants?

There’s a lot of confusion today about the true definition of native plants, and for good reason — social media creators often use the term, “native” when they mean something else. We’re sharing the true definition of native plants that we use at Wild Home in our content and the app itself.

The definition

Native plants are those that are local to your ecological region (not hardiness zone like other plants), and were not introduced by colonists from other countries. These plants have had thousands of years to adapt to your specific region’s climate, soil type, and wildlife. They thrive in your region, which makes them hardy to disease and drought, and often require local wildlife to survive.

Meaning, if you live in Connecticut, like I do, your native plants won’t be the same as those where my mom lives in Nebraska.

Some people may confuse “native” with just being original to the United States, but that’s only the first criterion.

Does it matter?

The next question you might ask yourself is whether it really matters. And the answer to that is a solid maybe. Some plant species that are native to one region and overall beneficial to other plants, pollinators, birds, and biodiversity, can be invasive in another region.

So, you can definitely plant non-native species in your yard, just be sure that they aren’t deemed invasive. Trust me, I’m currently battling trumpet creeper that just won’t stop strangling everything in sight.

What we use for Wild Home

For the Wild Home app, we prioritize using ecologically-native plants first. If for some reason, there aren’t enough plants native to your zone, we may fill in the gap with a non-invasive plant from a similar region.

Progress over perfection

We all have non-native plants, flowers, and vegetables in our yards. The goal isn’t to have a 100% perfectly native garden (although if yours is, more power to you!), the goal is to create slices of garden that are specifically fine-tuned toward boosting your region’s birds, pollinators, insects, etc.

Think of your native plant garden bed as a multiplier for your vegetable patch. Attracting more native bees and butterflies will only help your tomato crop.

Not sure where to start? It doesn’t take much to build a beautiful, diverse, and low-maintenance native plant garden. Creating a starter plan is free and takes a few minutes.