Best Native Plants for USDA Zone 9

Native plants you can actually buy that suit USDA hardiness zone 9 — 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 9 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. 
   'ohi'a lehua Metrosideros polymorphaZone 9+ · full sun · 65 ft · native
2. 
   bitter panicgrass Panicum amarumZone 9+ · full sun · 5 ft · native
3. 
   California wax myrtle Morella californicaZone 9+ · full sun · 33 ft · native
4. 
   deergrass Muhlenbergia rigensZone 9+ · part shade · 4.5 ft · native
5. 
   mamani Sophora chrysophyllaZone 9+ · part shade · 40 ft · native
6. 
   Monterey pine Pinus radiataZone 9+ · part shade · 120 ft · native
7. 
   purple bushbean Macroptilium atropurpureumZone 9+ · part shade · 4 ft · native
8. 
   shiny coneflower Rudbeckia nitidaZone 9+ · part shade · 5 ft · native
9. 
   yerba mansa Anemopsis californicaZone 9+ · full sun · 1.5 ft · native
10. 
    bayhops Ipomoea pes-capraeZone 8+ · part shade · 1 ft · native
11. 
    bushy seaside tansy Borrichia frutescensZone 8+ · full sun · 2.6 ft · native
12. 
    California bulrush Schoenoplectus californicusZone 8+ · full sun · 6.6 ft · native
13. 
    California oatgrass Danthonia californicaZone 8+ · full sun · 2 ft · native
14. 
    Carolina desert-thorn Lycium carolinianumZone 8+ · full sun · 9 ft · native
15. 
    Florida hopbush Dodonaea viscosaZone 8+ · part shade · 15 ft · native
16. 
    gulf cordgrass Spartina spartinaeZone 8+ · full sun · 6.6 ft · native
17. 
    needlegrass rush Juncus roemerianusZone 8+ · full sun · 4.9 ft · native
18. 
    sand cordgrass Spartina bakeriZone 8+ · full sun · 6.6 ft · native
19. 
    scentless bayberry Morella inodoraZone 8+ · shade · 23 ft · native
20. 
    seagrape Coccoloba uviferaZone 8+ · part shade · 25 ft · native
21. 
    seashore dropseed Sporobolus virginicusZone 8+ · part shade · 2 ft · native
22. 
    seashore paspalum Paspalum vaginatumZone 8+ · full sun · 0.8 ft · native
23. 
    sweetbay Magnolia virginianaZone 8+ · part shade · 60 ft · native
24. 
    turtleweed Batis maritimaZone 8+ · full sun · 0.1 ft · native
25. 
    wild tantan Desmanthus virgatusZone 8+ · shade · 2 ft · native
26. 
    yellow trumpetbush Tecoma stansZone 8+ · full sun · 20 ft · native
27. 
    big galleta Pleuraphis rigidaZone 8+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
28. 
    black mangrove Avicennia germinansZone 8+ · full sun · 30 ft · native
29. 
    Booth's willow Salix boothiiZone 8+ · shade · 24 ft · native
30. 
    canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepisZone 8+ · shade · 90 ft · native
31. 
    Carolina redroot Lachnanthes carolianaZone 8+ · full sun · 3 ft · native
32. 
    Coulter pine Pinus coulteriZone 8+ · full sun · 80 ft · native
33. 
    dahoon Ilex cassineZone 8+ · shade · 26 ft · native
34. 
    forked rush Juncus dichotomusZone 8+ · part shade · 2.9 ft · native
35. 
    giant cutgrass Zizaniopsis miliaceaZone 8+ · full sun · 9 ft · native
36. 
    Gulf Coast spikerush Eleocharis cellulosaZone 8+ · full sun · 2.6 ft · native
37. 
    Jamaica swamp sawgrass Cladium mariscusZone 8+ · full sun · 8.2 ft · native
38. 
    Pacific madrone Arbutus menziesiiZone 8+ · part shade · 80 ft · native
39. 
    sarvis holly Ilex amelanchierZone 8+ · shade · 16 ft · native
40. 
    Virginia glasswort Salicornia depressaZone 8+ · full sun · 1 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.