Native Plants for the Great Plains: Prairie Restoration Species

Native plants for the Great Plains in zones 3–6 — prairie grasses, wildflowers, and the deep-rooted species that built the world's most productive soils and now belong in your garden.

True natives vs. cultivars on the Great Plains

Per Kansas State University Research and Extension, "using locally sourced seed of straight-species native plants produces the most resilient plantings." Great Plains ecotypes have adapted to extreme temperature swings (-30°F winters to 110°F summers in some areas), periodic drought, and the desiccating winds that characterize the region. Plants grown from eastern ecotypes may not share these adaptations.

What NOT to call native on the Great Plains: crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), a Eurasian grass extensively planted for pasture restoration that forms dense monocultures excluding native species; sweet clover (Melilotus spp.), widely planted for wildlife cover but native to Europe and invasive in native habitats; and crown vetch (Coronilla varia), another European pasture plant frequently used on roadsides that invades native grasslands.