Native plants are those that well, are native to the region that you are in. While being native does not mean the species originated in the region, it does mean that species is found in the while in that region.
You might wonder, does this really matter? Yes, as it turns out. Native plants, across the board, are lower maintenance than plants not found in the region. So much so that the term ‘low maintenance plants’ is often used interchangeably with ‘native plants’ in the landscaping and gardening community.
You might think that planting native plants is just some hippie thing, but I assure you – that is not the case. Native plants have a number of benefits, which we’ve outlined below.
1) Lower Watering Needs
Typically native plants are adapted to the seasons in your region, and thus only need watering when it’s the rainy season. An extreme example of this is desert climates like New Mexico and Arizona. You don’t see much grass or green bushes unless the lawn is irrigated, however you see plenty of cacti. That’s because the plants are adapted to the region. Similarly, most cacti will die if you bring them to New England.
2) Wildlife Attraction
Plants that are native to the region also tend to attract the wildlife that is native to a region. Typically we’re talking bees, butterflies, and other insects. These insects not only provide natural beauty, but benefit all of the plants in your yard through pollination.
It’s easy to plant a plant from another region, but bringing wildlife to support that plant isn’t possible.
3) Less Pest Control Needed
Plants that are native to a region are more likely to have issues with pest infestations. This is simply a factor of evolution – if a plant has survived the past thousand years with the pests in the region, it’s probably pretty resistant to those pests.
4) Native Plants Play Well Together
When you mix plants from different regions together, they all have their own unique watering, lighting, soil composition and fertilization needs. Native plants, on the other hand, generally only require the factors that come naturally in your region. Sure, some may differ slightly, but not drastically.
5) Lower Effort Needed
Because native plants are suited to grow in the wild in a region, you generally spend less effort maintaining them. Between the effort on watering, adjusting soil, dealing with pests, taking indoors during certain seasons, ect, you can spend dozens of extra hours per year just keeping the plants alive.
6) More Resilient
Since native plants are far more adapted to the climate, they tend to be able to withstand all sorts of stress better. This includes high winds, extreme temperatures, precipitation, drought…you name it. Additionally, they’re usually going to be able to withstand manmade pressure, such as roots getting chopped off or being planted by pools, for example. “Whenever a client is choosing plants for their pool, whether it be a new build or a redesign, we always recommend they go native. They’ll last longer and tend to stand up to being splashed by chlorinated water every once in awhile” says Blake Davis, owner of Oasis Pool Cleaning of Austin.
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