EPA Level III Ecoregion
Blue Ridge
1152 native plants for the Blue Ridge ecoregion (Asheville area).
The Blue Ridge runs from northern Georgia up through the Carolinas and Tennessee into Virginia, covering Asheville, Boone, Gatlinburg, and Roanoke. It is one of the richest temperate regions on earth for plants, with elevation creating cool moist coves and dry exposed ridges within a few miles of each other. Natives such as orange coneflower, heart-leaf foamflower, and Carolina-allspice come out of those cove forests and do well in the part shade most mountain yards already have.
Conditions: Acidic loam on steep slopes, 45–80 inches of precipitation depending on elevation and aspect, cool summers, moderate winters.
Cities and areas: Asheville, Boone, Roanoke, Gatlinburg, Blowing Rock, Dahlonega.
1152 Native Plants for the Blue Ridge
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Wild Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
New Jersey-tea
Ceanothus americanus
Perennial Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Mallow-rose
Hibiscus moscheutos
Brown-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Blue Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
Golden Groundsel
Packera aurea
Smooth Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Scarlet Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Spotted Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Creeping Polemonium
Polemonium reptans
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Gulf Muhly
Muhlenbergia capillaris
Pennsylvania Sedge
Carex pensylvanica
Showing 48 of 1152. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Blue Ridge
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Narrowleaf blue eyed grass
Fall is the second good window for planting and dividing, and there is almost no cleanup to do before frost.
- Narrowleaf silkgrass
This is the show season, so let it bloom, plant more of it early in the fall, and resist the urge to tidy the whole patch down.
- Smooth aster
Fall is peak bloom, a critical nectar source for pollinators before frost.
- Rough stem goldenrod
Fall is peak bloom, a strong late nectar source.
- Little bluestem
Fall shows off little bluestem's best color around Gettysburg, turning copper and burgundy.
- Black eyed susan
Fall brings the last blooms and seed set around Gettysburg.
- Switchgrass
Fall brings gold foliage and seed heads to switchgrass around Gettysburg.
- Wild bergamot
Seed heads form after bloom and are worth leaving up for birds through fall.
- Cardinal flower
Fall is for cutting back spent stalks before the first frost.
- Black alder
Fall is when winterberry drops its leaves and the red berries become the focal point.
Build a plan for the Blue Ridge
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Asheville area.