Best Native Plants for USDA Zone 7

Native plants you can actually buy that suit USDA hardiness zone 7 — ordered by how closely each one is matched to this zone rather than alphabetically.

40 plants, every one native to North America, routinely available from nurseries, and photographed. Ranked by cold limit, so the plants nearest the top are the ones zone 7 lets you grow and colder gardens do not. Traits are quoted from USDA PLANTS, never estimated — how we source this. The Plant Finder searches the full catalogue, including plants that miss this bar.

1. 
   American beachgrass Ammophila breviligulataZone 7+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
2. 
   American beautyberry Callicarpa americanaZone 7+ · part shade · 9 ft · native
3. 
   bladderpod spiderflower Cleome isomerisZone 7+ · full sun · 5 ft · native
4. 
   California brome Bromus carinatusZone 7+ · full sun · 4 ft · native
5. 
   cane bluestem Bothriochloa barbinodisZone 7+ · full sun · 4 ft · native
6. 
   Carolina ash Fraxinus carolinianaZone 7+ · shade · 39 ft · native
7. 
   coastal doghobble Leucothoe axillarisZone 7+ · shade · 6.5 ft · native
8. 
   coastal plain willow Salix carolinianaZone 7+ · part shade · 33 ft · native
9. 
   fetterbush lyonia Lyonia lucidaZone 7+ · shade · 6.6 ft · native
10. 
    Jesuit's bark Iva frutescensZone 7+ · full sun · 9 ft · native
11. 
    seaside alder Alnus maritimaZone 7+ · part shade · 30 ft · native
12. 
    southern crabgrass Digitaria ciliarisZone 7+ · full sun · 0.9 ft · native
13. 
    spring spiderlily Hymenocallis liriosmeZone 7+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
14. 
    St. Augustine grass Stenotaphrum secundatumZone 7+ · part shade · 0.9 ft · native
15. 
    aloe yucca Yucca aloifoliaZone 6+ · part shade · 15 ft · native
16. 
    American wisteria Wisteria frutescensZone 6+ · shade · 50 ft · native
17. 
    Bebb willow Salix bebbianaZone 6+ · full sun · 12 ft · native
18. 
    bedstraw St. Johnswort Hypericum galioidesZone 6+ · full sun · 2.5 ft · native
19. 
    big cordgrass Spartina cynosuroidesZone 6+ · full sun · 8 ft · native
20. 
    eastern baccharis Baccharis halimifoliaZone 6+ · part shade · 10 ft · native
21. 
    Elliott's blueberry Vaccinium elliottiiZone 6+ · part shade · 10 ft · native
22. 
    Engelmann's daisy Engelmannia peristeniaZone 6+ · full sun · 4 ft · native
23. 
    Franklin tree Franklinia alatamahaZone 6+ · part shade · 30 ft · native
24. 
    fringed brome Bromus ciliatusZone 6+ · shade · 4 ft · native
25. 
    gooseberry currant Ribes montigenumZone 6+ · part shade · 1 ft · native
26. 
    laurel oak Quercus laurifoliaZone 6+ · shade · 70 ft · native
27. 
    little walnut Juglans microcarpaZone 6+ · full sun · 20 ft · native
28. 
    loblolly bay Gordonia lasianthusZone 6+ · shade · 65 ft · native
29. 
    maidencane Panicum hemitomonZone 6+ · part shade · 2.5 ft · native
30. 
    mule-fat Baccharis salicifoliaZone 6+ · full sun · 10 ft · native
31. 
    narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifoliumZone 6+ · part shade · 2 ft · native
32. 
    needlepod rush Juncus scirpoidesZone 6+ · shade · 3 ft · native
33. 
    Northern spiderlily Hymenocallis occidentalisZone 6+ · part shade · 2 ft · native
34. 
    parsley hawthorn Crataegus marshalliiZone 6+ · shade · 25 ft · native
35. 
    partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculataZone 6+ · shade · 2.4 ft · native
36. 
    planertree Planera aquaticaZone 6+ · shade · 50 ft · native
37. 
    pond pine Pinus serotinaZone 6+ · full sun · 80 ft · native
38. 
    screwbean mesquite Prosopis pubescensZone 6+ · part shade · 25 ft · native
39. 
    slough sedge Carex obnuptaZone 6+ · part shade · 3 ft · native
40. 
    spruce pine Pinus glabraZone 6+ · shade · 90 ft · native

Every plant here is drawn from the USDA PLANTS database; the traits behind this list are quoted from it, not estimated. See data & sources.

Want plants matched to your exact zone and conditions? Use the Plant Finder.