Northern Michigan's Native Plants

When selecting plants for your yard and garden, why not go native? Consider using plants that naturally grow in your region and are best suited for the soil and light conditions of your property. There are advantages to using native plants over ornamental and potentially invasive species. Native plants can require less maintenance and have the best chance of survival. Native plants often have an aesthetic fit to the site which is difficult to achieve with a collection of exotic plants. Using native species avoids spreading nuisance exotic plants such as purple loosestrife. There are many beautiful native plants from dogwoods to spiderwort. The following listing includes some of the more common native plants and their basic soil preferences. We encourage you to take this list with you to your local nursery as a guide. We have also included a few sources for these plants.

A perfect pocket guide to take to the nursery or share with your landscaper when planning a greenbelt for your shoreline property.

Native Plants of Michigan

• Native Plants for Shade Gardens
• Native Plants to Attract Butterflies
• Native Plants for Rock Gardens
• Native Plants for Water Gardens
• Native Plants for Front Yard Landscaping
  

Native Trees

Native Trees - Wet Conditions

Green ash - Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Basswood - Tilia americana
Black willow - Salix nigra
Yellow birch - Betula alleghaniensis
Northern white cedar - Thuja occidentalis
Eastern hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
Red maple - Acer rubrum
Musclewood - Carpinus caroliniana
Tamarack - Larix laricina
Eastern cottonwood - Populus deltoides
Common elder - Sambucus canadensis
Silver maple - Acer saccharinum

Native Trees - Upland Conditions

Trembling Aspen - Populus temuloides
White ash - Fraxinus americana
Beech - Fagus grandifolia
Black cherry - Prunus serotina
Ironwood Sugar maple - Acer saccharum
Bur oak - Quercus macrocarpa
Red oak - Quercus rubra
White oak - Quercus alba
Red pine - Pinus resinosa
Eastern Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
Sugar maple - Acer saccharum
White birch - Betula papyrifera
White spruce - Picea glauca
American beech - Fagus grandifolia
Eastern white pine - Pinus strobus
Scarlet oak - Quercus coccinea

Wildflowers

Short (Three Feet and Under) Wet Conditions

Canada anemone - Anemone canadensis
Great blue lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica
Marsh marigold - Caltha palustris
Blue flag iris - Iris versicolor
Jack-in-the-pulpit - Arisaema triphyllum
Turtlehead - Chelone glabra
Blue-eyed grass - Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Wildflowers Short (Three Feet and Under) Upland Conditions

Smooth aster - Aster laevis
Butterflyweed - Asclepias tuberosa
Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta
Blazing star - Liatris aspera
Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis
Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohioensis
Lupine - Lupinus perennis
Bee balm - Monarda fistulosa
Purple coneflower - Echinacea purpurea
Foxglove beard-tongue - Penstemon digitalis

Wildflowers Tall (Over Three Feet) Wet Conditions

Swamp milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
Boneset - Eupatorium perfoliatum
Joe-Pye weed - Eupatorium maculatum
Cardinal flower - Lobelia cardinalis
Sneezeweed - Helenium autumnale
Michigan lily - Lilium michiganense
Blue vervain - Verbena hastata
Culver's root - Veronicastrum virginicum
New England aster - Aster novae-angliae

Wildflowers Tall (Over Three Feet) Upland Conditions

Sunflowers (Perennial) - Helianthus spp.
False sunflower - Heliopsis helianthoides
Goldenrod - Solidago spp.

Grasses and Sedges

Grasses and Sedges Short (Four Feet and Under) Wet Conditions

Fox sedge - Carex vulpinoidea
Cotton grass - Eriophorum angustifolium
Sweet Grass - Hierochloe odorata
Tussock sedge - Carex stricta

Grasses and Sedges Short (Four Feet and Under) Upland Conditions

Little bluestem - Schizachyrium scoparius
Pennsylvania sedge - Carex pensylvanica
June grass - Koeleria macrantha
Tumble grass - Eragrostis spectabilis
Bottlebrush grass - Elymus hystrix
Canada wild rye - Elymus Canadensis

Grasses and Sedges Tall (Over Four Feet) Wet Conditions

Harstem bulrush - Schoenoplectus acutus
Prairie cordgrass - Spartina pectinata
Wool grass - Scirpus cyperinus
Threesquare bulrush - Schoenoplectus americanus

Grasses Sedges Tall (Over Four Feet) Upland Conditions

Big bluestem - Andropogon gerardii
Switchgrass - Panicum virgatum
Indian grass - Sorghastrum nutans

Native Shrubs

Native Shrubs - Wet Conditions

Speckled alder - Alnus rugosa
Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis
Red-osier dogwood - Cornus stolonifera
Silky dogwood - Cornus amomum
Meadowsweet - Spirea alba
Ninebark - Physocarpus opulifolius
Swamp rose - Rosa palustris
Highbush-cranberry - Viburnum trilobum
Michigan holly - Ilex verticillata
Nannyberry - Viburnum lentago

Native Shrubs - Upland Conditions

Maple leaf viburnum - Viburnum acerifolium
Chokecherry - Prunus virginiana
Gray dogwood - Cornus foemina
New Jersey tea - Ceanothus americanus
Serviceberry - Amelanchier arborea
Fragrant sumac - Rhus aromatica
Yew - Taxus canadensis
Ground juniper - Juniperus communis
Round-leaved dogwood - Cornus rugosa
Arrow-wood viburnum - Virburnum dentatum
Carolina rose - Rosa Carolina

Ground Covers

Bearberry - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Canada mayflower - Maianthemum canadense
Bracken fern - Pteridium aquilinium
Bunchberry - Cornus canadensis
Large-leafed aster - Aster macrophyllus
Creeping wintergreen - Gaultheria procumbens
Wild giner - Asarum canadense
Trout lily - Erythronium americanum
Canada anemone - Anemone canadensis
Foamflower - Tiarella cordifolia
Common Blue Violet - Viola sororia

Invasive Non-Native Species to Avoid

Autumn olive - Eleagnus umbellata
Barberry - Berberis spp.
Buckthorn - Rhamnus cathartica, Rhamnus frangula
Crown vetch - Coronilla varia
Honeysuckle - Lonicera tatarica, L. morrowi, L. x-bella, other cultivars
Maiden grass - Miscanthus sinensis
Multiflora rose - Rosa multiflora
Periwinkle (myrtle) - Vinca minor
Privet - Ligustrum vulgare
Purple loosestrife - ythrum salicaria
Reed canary grass - Phalaris arundinacea
Russian olive - Eleagnus angustifolia
Siberian Elm - Ulmus pumila
Spotted knapweed - Centaurea maculosa
Yellow water iris - Iris pseudacorus

Native Plants Sources

Antrim Conservation District
(231) 533-8363
http://www.antrimcd.org

 Charlevoix Conservation District
(231) 582-6193
http://www.charlevoixcd.org/page8.html

Cheboygan Conservation District
(231) 627.3383

Emmet Conservation District
(231) 348-0605

The Native Plant Nursery
(734) 677-3260
www.nativeplant.com

Northern Michigan Native Plant Nursery
Gaylord, MI
Otsego Conservation District
(989) 732-4021
www.otsego.org/conservationdistrict

The Michigan Wildflower Farm
(517) 647-6010
www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com

Wetland Nursery
(989) 752-3492
www.wetlands-nursery.com

Wildtype Nursery
(517) 244-1140
www.wildtypeplants.com