Native Plants at Big Box Stores
Plants Native to the Eastern U.S. at Lowes and Home Depot (2023)
One of the biggest barriers to gardening with native plants is finding them in stores. Most plants aren’t specifically labeled “native,” oftentimes there’s not a native plant section, and sometimes plant tags are missing the full botanical name that could make Googling geographic origin easier.
While one could shop at a local nursery with well-informed employees or online at specialty native nurseries, if we want native plants to be the default choice, they have to be widely available and easily found at Big Box retailers like Lowes and Home Depot. That’s where most of us shop.
To that end, this spring and summer I will be curating a list of native plants that I find at Pittsburgh-area Lowes and Home Depot stores so that it can be a resource for native-curious gardeners. Check back often because this list will be refreshed throughout the growing season.
Originally observed on April 23, 2023 in Pittsburgh’s South Hills.
*Plant added on May 11
+Plant added on June 2
~Plant added on June 22
=Plant added July 18
_Plant added August 8
Native Plants at Home Depot
Trees
Eastern Redbud - Cercis canadensis
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
Red Maple ‘Sun Valley’ - Acer rubrum ‘Sun Valley’
Blackgum - Nyssa sylvatica
Pin Oak - Quercus palustris
Shumard Oak - Quercus shumardii
River Birch - Betula nigra
Autumn Blaze Maple - Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’ (hybrid of Red and Silver maple)
Shrubs
Arrowwood Viburnum Chicago Lustre - Viburnum dentatum ‘Synnestvedt’
Bailey Red Twig/Red Osier Dogwood - Cornus sericea 'Baileyi'
Blueberry - Vaccininum coryumbum cultivars
‘Berry Blue’
‘Biloxi’
‘Blue Crop’
‘Blueberry Buckle’
‘Cabernet Splash’
‘Duke’
‘North Country’
‘Northland’
‘Peach Sorbet’
‘Polaris’
‘Top Hat’
Crandall Blackcurrant - Ribes odoratum 'Crandall'
*Lucky Devil Ninebark - Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Zlemichael’
Pixwell Gooseberry - Ribes hirtellum 'Pixwell'
+Sweetspire ‘Scentlandia’ - Itea virginica ‘Scentlandia’
Perennials
+Baptisia Decadence ‘Blueberry Sundae’ - Baptisia hybrid ‘Blueberry Sundae’
_Black Eyed Susan ‘Goldstrum’ - Rudbeckia fulgida
~Black Eyed Susan ‘Little Gold Star’ - Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii
=Black Eyed Susan SmileyZ ‘Glowing’ - Rudbeckia hirta ‘Glowing’
=Cardinal Flower ‘Starship Blue’ - Lobelia speciosa ‘Starship Blue’
Coral Bells - Heuchera cultivars
‘Berry Smoothie’
Dolce ‘Wildberry’
‘Frosted Violet’
‘Forever Purple’
Creeping Phlox - Phlox subulata cultivars
‘Amazing Grace’
‘Drummond’s Pink’
‘Emerald Cushion Blue’
‘Emerald Pink’
‘McDaniel’s Cushion’
‘Purple Beauty’
‘Spring Lavender’
‘Spring Light Pink’
Coneflower - Echinacea cultivars
~’Summersong Firefinch’
~Artisan ‘Soft Orange’
=‘Sunseekers Orange’
=’Sunseekers Rainbow’
Coreopsis/Tickseed - Coreopsis cultivars
~’Double the Sun’
+Solanna Golden Sphere 'DCOREO16'
‘SunKiss’
UpTick Gold & Bronze Tickseed ‘Baluptgonz’
+‘Sunfire’
=Leading Lady ‘Sophia’
Phlox paniculata cultivars
=‘Fashionably Early Flamingo’
=’Opening Act Ultrapink’
=’Opening Act Blush’
= Sneezeweed ‘Hayday Red Bicolor’ - Helenium autumnale
Spiderwort ‘Concord Grape’ - Tradescantia 'Concord Grape’
Woodland Phlox ‘May Breeze’ - Phlox divaricata ‘May Breeze’
Native Plants at Lowes
Trees
Forest Pansy Redbud - Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy'
River Birch - Betula nigra
Vanilla Twist Weeping Redbud - Cercis canadensis 'Vanilla Twist’
Whitespire Clumping Birch - Betula populifolia 'Whitespire'
Shrubs
Blueberry ‘Sunshine Blue’ - Vaccinium corymbosum 'Sunshine Blue’
Blueberry ‘Patriot’ - Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Patriot’
*Dwarf White Spruce - Picea glauca ‘Conica’
*Iceberg Alley Sageleaf Willow - Salix candida ‘Jefberg’
+Little Joker Ninebark - Physocarpus opulifolius 'Hoogi021'
Red-Osier Dogwood - Cornus sericea
*ReJoyce Coast Leucothoe - Leucothoe axillaris ‘Rejoyce’
Viburnum cultivars
*Arrowwood Viburnum ‘Sparkler’ - Viburnum dentatum 'SMVDE'
+Brandywine Viburnum (Possumhaw) - Viburnum nudum 'Bulk'
Witch Hazel - Hamamelis virginiana
*Yellow Twig Dogwood - Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea'
Grasses
Little Bluestem - Schizachyrium scoparium
=‘Prairie Blues’
=‘Standing Ovation’
Switchgrass - Panicum virgatum
=‘Shenandoah’
_’Prairie Winds Apache Rose’
Perennials
=Anise Hyssop Meant to Bee ‘Royal Raspberry’ - Agastache
Asters
_’Believer’ - Aster novi-belgii
_‘Dragon Improved’ - Aster novi-belgii
Beardtongue ‘Midnight Masquerade’ - Penstemon digitalis
Bee Balm - Monarda cultivars
+M. didyma ‘Balmy Purple’
~M. didyma ‘Balmy Pink’ (Balbalmink PPAF)
+M. hybrid ‘Leading Lady Amethyst’
+M. hybrid ‘Leading Lady Plum’
=’Pocahontas Deep Purple’
Black Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia fulgida
~’American Gold Rush’
+‘Goldstrum’
~’Little Goldstar’
Black Eyed Susan SmileyZ ‘Glowing’ - Rudbeckia hirta ‘Glowing’
_Butterfly Weed - Asclepias tuberosa
Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea cultivars
+‘Butterfly Kisses’
+‘Delicious Candy’
+‘PowWow Wild Berry"‘
+‘Prairie Rose’
~’Prairie Splendor Compact’
~’Ruby Star’ (Rubinstern)
Coneflower - Echinacea hybrid cultivars
+‘Cleopatra’
=Color Coded ‘Yellow My Darling’
~’Delicious Nougat’ (Noecthree)
~’Julia’
+‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’
+‘Sombrero Lemon Yellow’
Coreopsis/Tickseed - Coreopsis grandiflora cultivars
*‘Bright Touch’
+’Gold and Bronze’
+’Golden Spheres’
~’Moonswirl’
+‘Sunfire’
=’Sunkiss’
+‘Tequila Sunrise’
+‘UpTick Cream and Red’
+‘UpTick Cream’
~’UpTick Yellow and Red’
~Coreopsis/Tickseed - Coreopsis vertilicillata cultivars
_Lil Bang ‘Red Elf’
‘Moonbeam’
Sizzle and Spice ‘Curry Up’
Coral Bells - Heuchera cultivars
‘Apricot’
‘Boysenberry’
‘Caramel’
‘Delta Dawn’
Dolce ‘Apple Twist’
Dolce ‘Spearmint’
Dolce ‘Wildberry’
‘Midnight Rose’
‘Paris’
‘Pinot Gris’
Creeping Phlox - Phlox subulata cultivars
‘Drummond’s Pink’
Mountainside ‘Crater Lake’
‘Ruby Riot’
Cardinal Flower - Lobelia x speciosa hybrid cultivars
+’Fan Scarlet’
+’Starship Deep Rose’
~Obedient Plant ‘Crystal Peak’ - Physostegia virginiana
_Oxeye Sunflower ‘Tuscan Gold’ - Heliopsis helianthoides
Phlox - Phlox paniculata cultivars
=’Flame Coral’ (‘Barsixtytwo’)
=’Opening Act Blush’
~’Sweet Summer Fantasy’
+‘Sweet Summer Queen’
*’Pink-A-Dot’ Opening Act Phlox - Phlox hybrid
Sneezeweed - Helenium autumnale
_‘Salud Embers’
_‘HayDay Golden Bicolor’
Spiderwort ‘Concord Grape’ - Tradescantia
_Stokes’ Aster ‘Mel’s Blue’ - Stokesia laevis
Frequently Asked Questions
Cultivars vs. “Straight Species”
Cultivar is a broad term that ranges from saving seeds from better-performing plants (or plants with more human-desirable characteristics) to plant next year, to dividing a plant into two and giving one to a friend, to plants that have been patented or trademarked. If a plant is a cultivar, it will have a name in single quotes (example: Phlox subulata ‘Ruby Riot’—Ruby Riot is the cultivar). The term straight species refers to plants that are how they appear in the wild. Among native plant purists, straight species is best.
However, some cultivars don’t dramatically change important-to-pollinator characteristics like flower or foliage. For example, Purple Coneflowers are often sold as cultivars. The straight species, Echinacea purpurea, grows four to 5 feet tall with only a foot or two spread. The cultivars are usually more compact—two to three feet tall with a two foot spread, but have the typical Coneflower flowerhead and foliage. However, cultivars may also significantly change the look of a plant—consider the Ninebark shrub. Ninebark cultivars have foliage color variation ranging from chartreuse to maroon, while the straight species is a typical green.
If you can’t accommodate a four foot coneflower in your space or can’t source the straight species, planting a cultivar is more beneficial than a non-native plant or a patch of grass or mulch. It might not even make a significant difference! But, when buying cutilvars it is best to avoid significant foliage or flower changes because you’d hate to confuse or deter the pollinators you wish to attract! For more on this topic, Izel Plants has a good explainer.
I saw a native plant that isn’t on your list. What’s up with that?
This list is not comprehensive. Selection varies by store and my visits, while frequent, will be randomly timed and most likely to whichever stores are most convenient. I’m not an employee and have no access to their database of products.
Also, I’ve kept all previously spotted plants on the list even if they are no longer at the store I visited. This is because they may still be at your store—maybe even on the clearance rack!
But Don’t Big Box Stores Use Neonicotinoids?
Neonicotinoid insecticides are dangerous for native bees and pollinators, and plants or seeds that treated with neonicotinoids can pose a risk to insects who come to them to feed. Lowes and Home Depot both say that they are neonicotinoid-free except for certain plants where it is required by law. Major nursery plant producers Monrovia and Proven Winners both say they do not use neonicotinoids on their products. Xerces Society has more information about the neonicotinoid problem here.
Neonic-free doesn’t necessarily mean free of all herbicides and pesticides. I recommend Googling each plant brand’s environmental statements or contacting them directly if you have questions or concerns. The average big box store employee is likely not your most-informed helper.
