EPA Level III Ecoregion
Interior Plateau
1101 native plants for the Interior Plateau ecoregion (Cincinnati area).
The Interior Plateau covers the limestone country of central Tennessee and Kentucky and southern Indiana, including Nashville, Louisville, Bowling Green, and the southern reach of Cincinnati. Thin soil over limestone, sinkholes, and cedar glades give it a character quite unlike the deeper farm soils to the north. Natives such as white wild indigo, eastern beebalm, and American smoketree are adapted to that shallow alkaline ground, where plants expecting rich loam tend to struggle.
Conditions: Thin soils over limestone with karst drainage, 45–52 inches of rain, hot humid summers and mild winters.
Cities and areas: Cincinnati, Nashville, Louisville, Bowling Green, Murfreesboro, Clarksville.
1101 Native Plants for the Interior Plateau
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
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Wild Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
New Jersey-tea
Ceanothus americanus
Perennial Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
Drooping Prairie-coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Mallow-rose
Hibiscus moscheutos
Blue Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Brown-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
Golden Groundsel
Packera aurea
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Michaelmas Daisy
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Spotted Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Scarlet Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Virginia Mountain-Mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Creeping Polemonium
Polemonium reptans
Showing 48 of 1101. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Interior Plateau
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Old field goldenrod
Fall is peak yellow bloom in Cincinnati, and the time to decide if you want it to self seed.
- Fragrant phlox
Fall is a quiet time for downy phlox, with occasional rebloom possible. It is also a chance to propagate.
- Green antelopehorns
Fall is about seed pods. Milkweed bugs can damage them, so check them if you want seed.
- Eastern beebalm
Fall in Cincinnati, with a first frost typically in mid to late October, is when eastern beebalm finishes for the year. Leaving some structure for pollinators or cutting back for a tidier winter look both work fine for this species.
- Lyre leaf sage
Fall is a good window to plant or divide lyre-leaf sage around Cincinnati, cooler weather and steadier rain give roots time to establish before Ohio's winter arrives.
- Sideoats grama
Fall brings good color to sideoats grama in the Cincinnati area, as the blades cure from green to a warm tan before winter sets in.
- Perennial black eyed susan
Cincinnati's first frost typically arrives in mid to late October, noticeably earlier than in warmer parts of the region, so fall care starts a bit sooner here.
- Common milkweed
Fall is when common milkweed's seed pods split open and send out fluffy, wind carried seeds, and it is the best time to cut plants back and manage spread before winter in Cincinnati.
- Narrowleaf milkweed
Fall is cutback and seed pod season for narrowleaf milkweed, and it is also the last chance to get a container ready before Cincinnati's average first frost around October 20 ends the growing season.
- Purple lovegrass
Fall is when purple lovegrass earns its name. The reddish purple seed heads peak while Cincinnati's growing season is still holding on.
Build a plan for the Interior Plateau
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Cincinnati area.