3 Native Perennials That Will Flourish in Your USDA Zone and Bring Bright Blooms Year After Year

Native perennials are a joy to have in the garden. Since they’re indigenous to their region, they’re easy to grow—and make life even easier for gardeners because they come back each year.

They’re also hugely beneficial to native pollinating insects like bees and butterflies as well as wildlife like birds that eat those insects. By planting native perennials, you’ll enjoy colorful flowers (and maybe even fruit) year after year while supporting local ecosystems.

Here are three native perennial flower suggestions for each of the 13 USDA Hardiness Zones.

Zone 1 (Alaska)

• Labrador tea offers clusters of aromatic flowers and can survive in Alaska’s coldest growing zones.
• Salmonberry has pink flowers that appear in spring before giving way to sweet, raspberry-like edible fruits in summer.
• Steven spirea is a delicate shrub with short-lived white flowers that can survive in most of Alaska.

Zone 2 (Alaska)

• Black currants are native perennial shrubs that bears yellow flowers in spring and edible fruit for cooking and preserving in summer.
• Red currants are another native perennial that flowers with pink blooms in spring before forming fruit in summer.
• Potentilla (shrubby bush cinquefoil) is a versatile deciduous shrub in the rose family that offers cheery yellow blooms through summer.

Zone 3 (Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota)

• Common yarrow blooms through summer and readily self-seeds to spread in butterfly gardens, meadows, and cutting gardens.
• Western trumpet honeysuckle is a climbing perennial vine that blooms with clusters of trumpet-shaped orange flowers that hummingbirds love.
• Black elderberry is a moisture-loving native perennial shrub with clusters of tiny white flowers in spring that become black berries used to make jams, jellies, and syrups in summer.

Zone 4 (Northern Plains, Mountain West, Northern New England)

• Columbine with red and yellow flowers is a native perennial that blooms in late spring and readily self-seeds.
• Rattlesnake master grows about 4 feet tall with clusters of spiky flowers that add visual interest to cutting gardens and flower arrangements.
• Blazing star is a drought-tolerant native perennial flower that attracts butterflies and thrives in full sun.

Zone 5 (Central Plains, Midwest, New England, Mid-Atlantic)

• Serviceberry rewards gardeners with drifts of white flowers in spring, then sweet, juicy edible fruits in summer.
• Swamp milkweed is an ideal native perennial for moist, swampy areas in Zone 5.
• Blue false indigo adds brilliant blue-purple color to spring gardens, then leaves behind long stems of attractive green pods after blooming.

Zone 6 (Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, Mountain West)

• Bee balm’s summer flowers in shades of red and purple attract pollinators while adding color to sunny landscapes.
• Coral bells (heuchera) is an excellent low-lying native perennial that offers three-season visual interest from its foliage, plus spires of tiny pink flowers throughout summer.
• Milkweed attracts pollinating insects, including monarch butterflies on migration, with clusters of tiny pink flowers—seek out varieties native to your region.

Zone 7 (Mid-Atlantic, Southern Appalachia, Southern Plains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest)

• Butterfly weed offers tight clusters of vivid orange blooms in late spring or early summer.
• Penstemon adds dramatic height to gardens with tall spikes of tubular white flowers in late spring and early summer.
• Coneflower, also known as echinacea, attracts pollinators like bumblebees with large, daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, purple, yellow, and white.

Zone 8 (South, Southeast, Southwest, Pacific Northwest)

• Maypop, also known as purple passionflower, grows long, vigorous vines dotted with large, stunning flowers all season long in Zone 8.
• Creeping phlox, also called moss phlox, makes an excellent year-round groundcover that blooms with drifts of pink or purple flowers in early spring.
• Foamflower is a shade-tolerant native perennial with spikes covered in tiny white or pink flowers.

Zone 9 (Deep South)

• Blanket flower thrives in poor soil and tolerates heat and drought well, making it ideal for sandy soils.
• Beautyberry’s clusters of tiny pink flowers that grow along its stem in spring soon become vivid purple berries that pop in summer gardens.
• Coreopsis, Florida’s state wildflower, offers sunny yellow flowers that attract bees and butterflies in spring and summer.

Zone 10 (Southern California, South Texas, South Florida, Hawaii)

• Beach sunflower is a Florida native groundcover plant that’s ideal for attracting pollinators in hot, dry planting sites, including coastal regions.
• Toyon, also called California holly, attracts pollinators with tiny white flowers in spring, then offers four-season interest and food for wildlife with clusters of bright red fruits in winter.
• Texas mountain laurel, a flowering native shrub, stuns with long clusters of violet-like purple flowers in early spring.

Zones 11-13 (Hawaii, Puerto Rico)

• Ilima, an evergreen plant native to Hawaii, blooms with yellow, red, or orange flowers that are often used to make leis.
• Roble cimarrón, native to Puerto Rico, is an evergreen tree that blooms with deep pink, trumpet-shaped flowers for much of the year.
• Big Pine Key prickly pear is a native perennial native to Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, with stunning yellow flowers that appear on its spiky, succulent paddles.