This spring, when you visit a local nursery or plant shopping center to select the shrubs and flowers for your lawn and garden, instead of opting to plant exotic or invasive plants, consider planting flowers, shrubs, and trees that are native to Florida.

Some of the native plants, recommended by the Leon County University of Florida IFAS office, you may already have in your yard.

Planting these native plants help support local ecosystems, create habitats for natural life and ensures that the bugs, birds, insects and more in Tallahassee will keep coming back to your yard. 

Rachel Mathes a horticulture program assistant with the UF/IFAS Leon County Extension Office, says that pollinators and native Florida plants are on the decline despite the fact that they’re both adapted to the local ecosystem and have a long history of working together.

“As we know, pollinators are on the decline. Chief among them are insects, which are the foundation of our ecosystems,” said Mathes. “So many organisms eat insects, many of which eat plants in one way or another, that their decline has led to declines of other species higher up in the food web. Because native plants and native insects have evolved together, they know how and when to get the things they need from plants whether that is pollen, nectar or even leaf matter.”

Passion vine, commonly known as Maypop, is a popular perennial vine that you may consider planting in your yard. 

Mathes advises against planting non-native plants, not only because they take space away from native plants, but also because Florida weather can be tough on them due to heat and summer rains. 

“These conditions can lead to fungal problems or just a simple failure to survive the summer.”

As an example, Mathes says that the popular, but non-native mop-head variety of Hydrangea macrophylla, can be grown in Florida, but usually by August they look ragged with leaf spots.

“A native alternative is the oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, which can be a beautiful specimen in a partial to full shade garden,” Mathes adds.

While many choose to plant nonnative plants in their yards at this time of the year, there are a variety of species of plants that are actually endemic to this region and don’t actually grow anywhere else in the world.

“Many of these species have become fragmented through human development so planting a few in our yards can really help,” added Mathes.

Because of this, Mathes recommends adding the following plants to your yard:

Ashe magnolia

Magnolia ashei 

Coreopsis integrifolia (mouse-ear tickseed)

Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon holly)

Callicarpa americana (Beautyberry)

Quercus spp

Stokesia laevis (Stokes’ aster)

Rudbeckia hirta (Black eyed susan)

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)

Passion vine (Maypop)

Asclepias spp (Native milkweed)

Mathes also recommends checking out the Florida Friendly Landscaping Plant Guide, which is a resource you can use to help you find plants that best suit your yard based on your zip code.