Here Are The Best Native Plants For Charlotte Gardens

CHARLOTTE, NC — Planting season, as Charlotte gardeners know, is officially upon us. And before you dig out those dusty trowels and gloves, take note of the plants that naturally grow in the area. We’re talking about native plants, which grew here long before Europeans started building settlements. They’re the foundation of the region’s biodiversity, and provide key food sources and shelter to birds.

Fortunately the folks at the National Audubon Society have done all the hard work to ensure gardeners have what they need to find the best native plants. The group has a database that includes perennials, shrubs, grasses, succulents, trees, vines and evergreens. Each entry also details what types of birds the plants attract.

The database allows users to filter results by plant type, resources and bird species they attract.
Regional Audubon experts hand-select the “best results” for each. In Charlotte, some of the best flowers to grow this season include Green-Head Coneflower, Jack-in-the-Pulpit and pink azalea.

Here’s a roundup of some other great local options:

• Purple Passion Flower
• Also going by the names Maypop and Apricot Vine, this is a fast-growing, herbaceous climbing vine that features dark green leaves and fragrant, fringed flowers with white petals and a central crown of wavy, pinkish-purple filaments. The flowers bloom in the summer and are followed by fleshy, edible fruits that appear in July and mature to yellow in the fall. Purple Passion-Flower grows up to 25 feet long in full sun to partial shade and dry to moist soils; its roots can spread aggressively so it is best for informal settings.
• Birds they attract: Chickadees, Titmice, Waxwings, Cardinals, Finches, Sparrows
• Redbud
• Redbud, or Eastern Redbud, is an understory shrub or small tree that grows up to 30 feet tall. It often has a short, crooked gray-barked trunk and a wide-spreading, irregular crown of heart-shaped and smooth leaves. The flowers are bright pink while buds become light pink as they bloom in their clusters, transforming during the summer into flattened, brown seedpods. The seedpods can stay on the tree through fall and sometimes into winter. This tree does best in partial shade, and in moist, well-drained, fertile soils.
• Birds they attract: Hummingbirds, Finches, Wood Warblers, Waxwings, Chickadees, Titmice, Wrens, Crows and Jays, Thrushes, Woodpeckers
• Wild Hydrangea
• Sometimes also called Sevenbark, Wild Hydrangea is a perennial, deciduous shrub that usually grows 3 to 6 feet tall, infrequently reaching 10 feet. It produces dense, flat-topped clusters of greenish-white flowers from June to August as well as a few larger flowers on the sides of the clusters. This fast-growing but short-lived plant grows best in partial shade and moist, rich, well-drained soils.
• Birds they attract: Chickadees, Titmice, Vireos, Jays, Wrens, Sparrows, Waxwing
• American Witch-Hazel
• Also known as Common Witch-Hazel, Snapping Hazelnut, Striped or Spotted Alder, and Winterbloom, this perennial, fall-blooming, deciduous shrub or small tree grows 15 to 20 feet tall. It grows in full sun and partial shade, in dry to moist soil, but prefers rich, acidic, well-drained soil. American Witch-Hazel produces fragrant, yellow flowers with petals that resemble crumpled strips from October to December and greenish seed capsules that mature to light brown
• Birds they attract: Vireos, Nuthatches, Waxwings, Cardinals, Wood Warblers, Thrushes

These plants are key resources for birds and are relatively easy to grow. Perhaps just as importantly, many are available at local native plant nurseries, which the organization also lists. Here are some near Mooresville:

• Garden Grove Nursery — 16008 Old Statesville Road, Huntersville; (704) 875-1802
• Dearness Gardens — 13501 S Old Statesville Road, Huntersville, (704) 875-8234
• Southern Styles Nursery & Garden Center — 4245 Rea Road, Charlotte, (704) 544-8686
• Pike Nurseries — 12630 North Community House Road, Charlotte, (704) 341-7453
• Carolina Heritage Nursery — 6607 Sadler Road, Waxhaw, (704) 877-6934
• Taylor Family Greenhouse — 2405 Corinth Church Road, Monroe, (704) 292-5761

Americans spent a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales in 2017, according to the National Gardening Survey. The average household spent more than $500 on gardening. And while older adults accounted for 35 percent of all gardeners, millennials were getting their hands and knees dirty at all-time high levels. Adults 18-34 accounted for 29 percent of all gardeners, the survey found.

Among the recent trends — more people are investing in raised beds as opposed to digging holes, and they’re spending money on apps rather than glossy gardening books.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.