The Midwest — broadly defined here as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas — is defined ecologically by the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of its area. Per the Xerces Society, the tallgrass prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America: an estimated 96—99% of the original prairie has been converted to agriculture. What remains supports some of the highest native bee diversity in the country, and the native plants that sustained that ecosystem are the foundation of any meaningful Midwest restoration planting.
USDA hardiness zones range from zone 3 in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota to zone 6b in southern Missouri and southern Illinois. Summers are hot; winters range from cold to very cold. The soils are some of the most fertile on earth — the deep prairie soils that drew settlement are the same that support extraordinary native plant diversity.
The prairie legacy: why this region is different
The original tallgrass prairie extended from Indiana to eastern Nebraska, from southern Manitoba to Texas. Per University of Illinois Extension, the prairie ecosystem supported over 200 species of vascular plants per acre in intact remnants, with root systems extending 10—15 feet deep in some species. Those deep roots built the topsoil that now makes the Midwest the breadbasket of North America.
This history means that the region's native plants are unusually tough. They evolved under periodic fire (which set back woody species and maintained the open prairie), cycles of extreme drought, and extremely cold winters. Prairie natives in the garden rarely need irrigation once established, rarely need fertilizer (prairie soils are nitrogen-rich from centuries of root decomposition), and rarely succumb to pests. The tradeoff is establishment time — a prairie plant spending its first year building root mass shows very little above ground.
More like this, monthly
Get the seasonal care notes — no upsell, unsubscribe any time.
One email per month from Thomas: what to plant, what to prune, what's about to break. Cited the same way as the guides.
Free. No spam. Same author as the guide you just read.
