EPA Level III Ecoregion
High Plains
925 native plants for the High Plains ecoregion (Lubbock area).
The High Plains run from the Texas panhandle around Lubbock and Amarillo north through western Kansas and Nebraska. It is high, flat, windy, and dry, and most of the little rain that does fall arrives in summer thunderstorms and evaporates fast. Natives like blue giant-hyssop, Missouri primrose, and Rocky Mountain blazing star are deep-rooted plants that reach water conventional turf and bedding annuals never find.
Conditions: Deep but dry loam over caliche, 15–22 inches of rain concentrated in summer storms, high wind, wide temperature swings.
Cities and areas: Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Clovis, Garden City, Scottsbluff.
925 Native Plants for the High Plains
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.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Wild Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Blue Giant-hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis
Azure Sage
Salvia azurea
Prairie Junegrass
Koeleria macrantha
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Leadplant
Amorpha canescens
Fall Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Mexican Hat
Ratibida columnifera
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
American Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum biflorum
Winecup
Callirhoe involucrata
Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa
Missouri Primrose
Oenothera macrocarpa
Bear-grape
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Wafer Ash
Ptelea trifoliata
Virginia Wildrye
Elymus virginicus
Prairie Wildrye
Elymus canadensis
Wild Woodland Strawberries
Fragaria vesca
Golden Currant
Ribes aureum
Showing 48 of 925. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the High Plains
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Western primrose
Fall is a good time to trim the plant back into shape.
- Prairie petunia
Bloom can last into September, and then volunteers appear.
- Giant coneflower
Cut stems back to the base once flowering is done.
- Plains zinnia
Fall care is light.
- Wild petunia
Trim before seed spreads.
- Big bend silverleaf
Fall is a good time to plant.
- Nuttalls pussytoes
Fall planting and mat tidying in Lubbock.
- Rocky mountain sage
Fall carries the last of the bloom into Lubbock's first freeze, and it is the point to decide whether to cut the plant back or leave seed for next year.
- Lavender
Fall is for tapering off water and light cleanup on lavender, not the big cutback.
- Rocky mountain iris
Fall is the best time in Lubbock to divide crowded clumps and get the plant settled in before winter.
Build a plan for the High Plains
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Lubbock area.