Best Native Plants for USDA Zone 8

Native plants you can actually buy that suit USDA hardiness zone 8 — 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 8 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. 
   big galleta Pleuraphis rigidaZone 8+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
2. 
   black mangrove Avicennia germinansZone 8+ · full sun · 30 ft · native
3. 
   Booth's willow Salix boothiiZone 8+ · shade · 24 ft · native
4. 
   canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepisZone 8+ · shade · 90 ft · native
5. 
   Carolina redroot Lachnanthes carolianaZone 8+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
6. 
   Coulter pine Pinus coulteriZone 8+ · full sun · 80 ft · native
7. 
   dahoon Ilex cassineZone 8+ · shade · 26 ft · native
8. 
   forked rush Juncus dichotomusZone 8+ · part shade · 2.9 ft · native
9. 
   giant cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliaceaZone 8+ · full sun · 9 ft · native
10. 
    Gulf Coast spikerush Eleocharis cellulosaZone 8+ · full sun · 2.6 ft · native
11. 
    Jamaica swamp sawgrass Cladium mariscusZone 8+ · full sun · 8.2 ft · native
12. 
    Pacific madrone Arbutus menziesiiZone 8+ · part shade · 80 ft · native
13. 
    sarvis holly Ilex amelanchierZone 8+ · shade · 16 ft · native
14. 
    Virginia glasswort Salicornia depressaZone 8+ · full sun · 1 ft · native
15. 
    Virginia iris Iris virginicaZone 8+ · shade · 3.3 ft · native
16. 
    American dunegrass Leymus mollisZone 7+ · full sun · 4 ft · native
17. 
    arroyo willow Salix lasiolepisZone 7+ · full sun · 35 ft · native
18. 
    big saltbush Atriplex lentiformisZone 7+ · full sun · 10 ft · native
19. 
    bushy St. Johnswort Hypericum densiflorumZone 7+ · shade · 6.6 ft · native
20. 
    California buckthorn Frangula californicaZone 7+ · full sun · 5 ft · native
21. 
    California live oak Quercus agrifoliaZone 7+ · full sun · 70 ft · native
22. 
    California poppy Eschscholzia californicaZone 7+ · part shade · 1.2 ft · native
23. 
    California sycamore Platanus racemosaZone 7+ · full sun · 75 ft · native
24. 
    coyotebrush Baccharis pilularisZone 7+ · shade · 3 ft · native
25. 
    dwarf palmetto Sabal minorZone 7+ · shade · 9 ft · native
26. 
    Eastern Mojave buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatumZone 7+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
27. 
    fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescensZone 7+ · part shade · 9 ft · native
28. 
    hairawn muhly Muhlenbergia capillarisZone 7+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
29. 
    hairy chaffhead Carphephorus paniculatusZone 7+ · shade · 3 ft · native
30. 
    haspan flatsedge Cyperus haspanZone 7+ · full sun · 3.2 ft · native
31. 
    mescal bean Sophora secundifloraZone 7+ · full sun · 15 ft · native
32. 
    Pacific rhododendron Rhododendron macrophyllumZone 7+ · part shade · 15 ft · native
33. 
    pond cypress Taxodium ascendensZone 7+ · part shade · 100 ft · native
34. 
    Rainier pleated gentian Gentiana calycosaZone 7+ · shade · 0.6 ft · native
35. 
    redbay Persea borboniaZone 7+ · shade · 70 ft · native
36. 
    redwood Sequoia sempervirensZone 7+ · shade · 250 ft · native
37. 
    saltmeadow cordgrass Spartina patensZone 7+ · full sun · 3.2 ft · native
38. 
    saw palmetto Serenoa repensZone 7+ · shade · 7 ft · native
39. 
    seaoats Uniola paniculataZone 7+ · full sun · 6 ft · native
40. 
    sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendulaZone 7+ · full sun · 3 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.