Nurture your natural environment while upping your home’s curb appeal with a host of plants native to Rhode Island. To start, try common milkweed in your pollinator garden, add a focal point with a red maple, or plant a chic privacy screen with inkberry.
In this article, we’ll spotlight native perennials (cold-hardy plants that return in the spring), trees, shrubs, and grasses that thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a. These Rhode Island native plants will be lower maintenance because they have adapted to our cold winters and all-too-brief summers.
Native Perennials
1. Red Columbine
Red columbine flowers can, in fact, be red, yellow, pink, or white. Expect beautiful, bell-shaped blooms come May through June; depending on the cultivar. Perfect for adorning rock gardens and rain gardens or for use as border plants or as a focal point in your landscape.
And, despite its lack of scent, red columbine’s nectar still attracts all sorts of pollinators — from hummingbirds to bees, to butterflies.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Average to dry (well-drained); silt or sand
Bloom Time: Spring
Water needs: Weekly once established
Mature height: 8 to 24 inches
Foliage: Low-growing blue-green leaves also provide interest
Potential hazards: May be at risk for leaf miner
Maintenance: Low; deadhead blooms as needed
2. Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Jack-in-the-pulpit is a tube-shaped wildflower that attracts songbirds and box turtles, among other wildlife. It is great as a specimen plant or mass planting.
Fun Fact: Jack-in-the-pulpit has the ability to change sexes at will. Most start out bearing male flowers but can switch to producing female ones by the next growing season.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Sun: Full shade or partial shade
Soil: Medium to wet, organically rich soil
Bloom Time: Spring
Water needs: Water when soil is dry to the touch
Mature height: 1 to 3 feet
Foliage: Glossy, green, oval-shaped leaves
Potential hazards: All plant parts are toxic if eaten
Maintenance: Low
3. Common Milkweed
Common milkweed attracts songbirds, bees, other pollinators and plays host plant to the larvae of monarch butterflies, Set up common milkweed in mass plantings or butterfly gardens, or showcase them as a specimen plant.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Well-drained to dry; clay, rocky, silt, or sand
Fragrance: Sweet
Bloom time: Summer; purple flowers
Water needs: Low; natural rainfall should suffice
Mature height: 2 to 4 feet
Foliage: Oval, green, leather-like leaves; release milky substance when crushed
Potential hazards: Toxic if ingested
Maintenance: Low
4. Canada Lily
The Canada lily, with its impressive, trumpet-shaped flowers will impress your neighbors. The stems typically grow up to 5 feet tall (sometimes taller), and their blooms dangle from the tops — in hues of red, orange, yellow, or pink.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Average to wet
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: Summer
Water needs: Low; about weekly
Mature height: 3 to 5 feet
Foliage: Whorled
Potential hazards: Toxic to cats
Maintenance: Low
Native Trees
5. Red Maple
The red maple, offering early fall color, with its deep burgundy red-hued leaves, works well as a shade tree or accent piece in your landscape design. It’s a fast-grower, too, and in addition to its fall interest, this tree also has showy yet small red flowers in the spring.
Note: Depending on the cultivar, some red maples have golden yellow leaves come fall.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Moist, well-drained; organically rich clay, silt, or sand
Fragrance: Sweet cherry scent
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Low; about weekly
Mature height: 40 to 70 feet
Foliage: Typical maple leaf shape (palmate); showy
Potential hazards: Parts may be toxic to horses
Maintenance: Low
6. Pagoda Dogwood
The pagoda dogwood is a small tree, with a growth habit similar in shape to that of a pagoda temple. It also provides year-round interest. In spring and summer, you’ll find scented white flowers and blue or black berries; come autumn, the leaves will turn red, orange, or yellow.
Incorporate this tree into your landscape as a border or mass planting, privacy screen, or specimen tree, and watch as songbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators flock to its beauty.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Medium to dry, well-drained soil; organically rich and acidic
Fragrance: Sweet
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Average; water regularly until established and then only during drought
Mature height: 10 to 20 feet
Foliage: Deciduous; turns red, yellow, or orange in fall
Potential hazards: Susceptible to diseases like leaf spot and canker
Maintenance: Low
7. Common Serviceberry
Also known as downy serviceberry, this deciduous tree boasts dark blue, apple-like berries in summer (a favorite of birds); striking yellow, red, or purple leaves in fall; and white, sweet-smelling, star-shaped blossoms in spring.
Use common serviceberry as a foundation plant or specimen tree, or install it in your rain garden or as a privacy screen.
USDA hardiness zone: 4 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Average to dry, well-drained soil; acidic, sandy, loamy, clay
Fragrance: Sweet
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Low
Mature height: 15 to 25 feet
Foliage: Deciduous; oblong and hairy when young
Maintenance: Low
8. Pignut Hickory
The pignut hickory’s leaves start out red, turn dark green as it matures, and ultimately become bright yellow in fall. Plant this as a shade tree, but understand that throughout autumn, there will be some extra cleanup — debris from nuts, leaves, and stems will fall to the ground.
USDA hardiness zone: 5 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Well-drained; sandy, loamy, or clay
Fragrance: Sweet
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Low; water when soil is dry to the touch
Mature height: 100 feet or more
Foliage: Turns golden yellow in fall
Maintenance: Low
Native Shrubs
9. Purple Chokeberry
Purple chokeberry’s name is a bit of a warning. While this shrub’s fruit is edible and often used to make jams and such, apparently these berries are so bitter, eating one straight off the branch could cause choking.
Pollinator-friendly (think bees, butterflies, and songbirds), this native species works best as a privacy screen, mass planting, or specimen shrub. It provides white flowers and shiny, green leaves in summer; in the fall, those leaves turn a burgundy shade and the flowers give way to the purple berries.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Salty, wet, or dry
Fragrance: N/A with the exception of some cultivars
Bloom time: Summer
Water needs: Medium
Mature height: 6 to 8 feet
Foliage: Deciduous; green leaves turn red in fall
Maintenance: Low
10. Inkberry
Per its name, inkberry is pretty well-known for its black berries, which last well into the winter months and provide food for wildlife. But, to produce these fruits, be sure to plant a mix of female and male shrubs — as a privacy screen, for example.
A member of the holly family, this shrub attracts pollinators like bees and songbirds. It’s resistant to drought, deer, salt, and rabbits.
USDA hardiness zone: 5 to 9
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Average, dry, or wet; sandy, peaty, acidic
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: Summer; small, white flowers
Water needs: Low; every week or two
Mature height: 3 to 6 feet
Foliage: Evergreen; spear-shaped, glossy, dark green
Potential hazards: Slightly toxic to humans if eaten
Maintenance: Low
11. Early Azalea
Also known as roseshell azalea, this native shrub will thrive as an understory plant or focal point. Not only will you enjoy scents of clove or cinnamon wafting from your garden, but you’ll also delight in the display of cone-shaped, pink flower clusters that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.
USDA hardiness zone: 4 to 8
Sun: Partial shade
Soil: Well-drained, nutrient-rich, acidic; does not do well in clay soil
Fragrance: Cinnamon or clove
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Medium
Mature height: 3 to 8 feet
Foliage: Deciduous; blue-green leaves turn purple in fall
Potential hazards: High toxicity to humans if eaten
Maintenance: Medium
12. Sweetgale
The sweetness of the aptly named sweetgale has a myriad of uses, from essential oils to insect repellent to beer flavoring. In the landscape, this low-growing native does well as a mass planting, specimen shrub, or as part of a rain garden.
Resistant to deer and rabbits, sweetgate attracts bees, beavers, and songbirds and also plays host to the larvae of various moth species.
USDA hardiness zone: 2 to 6
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Wet; clay, sand, silt, acidic
Fragrance: Sweet, floral/citrus
Bloom time: Spring
Water needs: Medium; every three to five days or when soil is dry to the touch
Mature height: 2 to 4 feet
Foliage: Deciduous; dark green to gray color
Maintenance: Low
Native Grasses
13. Fringed Sedge
Fringed sedge is best planted en masse and is especially good for controlling erosion in your yard. You can also adorn your rain garden with this plant, as it tolerates standing water well. Spikes of seed clusters form fruits in summer.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Sun: Full sun or partial shade
Soil: Wet; clay, sandy, loamy
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: Summer fruits
Water needs: Low to medium; water weekly (biweekly if hot)
Mature height: 1 to 3 feet
Foliage: Evergreen
Maintenance: Low
14. American Beachgrass
American beachgrass is the perfect option for landscaping at your beach house because this clumping grass loves sandy soils and is unbothered by wind, salt, and drought. Use it as a mass planting or ground cover to help with erosion control.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 to 10
Sun: Full sun
Soil: Dry, sandy soil
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: Spring, summer, fall; yellow-green flower spikes
Water needs: Low; water when soil is dry to the touch
Mature height: 3 to 4 feet
Maintenance: Low
15. Big Bluestem
Big bluestem is known for its blue-green stems and blue-green leaves, the latter of which turns a reddish-brown in the fall. Also come fall are spikes which shoot from the stems in threes and resemble a turkey’s foot (which is another common name for this plant).
Use this warm-season bunchgrass as a mass planting for erosion control and pollinator support. This grass is beloved by songbirds.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 10
Sun: Full sun
Soil: Dry, average; clay or loam
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: N/A
Water needs: Average; water when top of soil feels dry
Mature height: 2 to 5 feet
Maintenance: Low
16. Wavy Hairgrass
When touched by the breeze, wavy hairgrass resembles strands of hair blowing in the wind, hence its name. A cool-season grass that grows in clump form, wavy hairgrass is characterized by its tall spikes that produce large, silver-purple blooms in summer.
If preferred, you can mow this grass, but only once or twice a year. Perfect as an alternative to turfgrasses, this plant attracts birds and plays host plant to butterfly larvae.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 7
Sun: Full shade to partial shade
Soil: Dry to average moisture; sandy, acidic soil
Fragrance: N/A
Bloom time: Summer
Water needs: Average; weekly
Mature height: 2 to 3 feet
Maintenance: Low
FAQ About Native Rhode Island Plants
1. What cactus is native to Rhode Island?
If you’d like to add a desert-type vibe to your New England yard but want to keep things native, Rhode Island has exactly one cactus to fulfill those goals: the Eastern prickly pear (opuntia humifusa).
How does this cactus survive Rhode Island’s cold winters? Interestingly, it creates its own “antifreeze” by reducing the water content in its leaves, thus producing high sugar levels, which, in turn, prevent freezing.
2. Where can I buy native plants in Rhode Island?
A few local shops that sell native Rhode Island plants include:
When to Hire a Landscaping Pro
If you’ve selected all the native plants you’d like to put in your yard but are unsure how to lay them out beautifully, hire a local landscaping pro near you. He or she will not only assist with landscape design and installation, but can also help maintain other parts of your yard — think lawn mowing, bush trimming, leaf removal, and more.
Main Photo Credit: Early Azalea (Rhododendron prinophyllum). David J. Stang / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
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