EPA Level III Ecoregion
Ridge and Valley
1541 native plants for the Ridge and Valley ecoregion (Harrisburg area).
The Ridge and Valley is the long corrugated band of parallel ridges and limestone valleys running from Pennsylvania down through Virginia into Tennessee, including Harrisburg, Roanoke, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Valley floors hold deep fertile soil while the ridges above them are thin and rocky, so conditions can change sharply within a single property. Natives like heart-leaf foamflower, bigleaf magnolia, and whorled tickseed cover that spread from shaded slope to open valley floor.
Conditions: Limestone valley soils alternating with thin rocky ridges, 40–50 inches of rain, cold winters and warm humid summers.
Cities and areas: Harrisburg, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Roanoke, Hagerstown, Blacksburg.
1541 Native Plants for the Ridge and Valley
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
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
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
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
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
Mallow-rose
Hibiscus moscheutos
Drooping Prairie-coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Blue Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Brown-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Golden Groundsel
Packera aurea
Smooth Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Scarlet Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Spotted Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Virginia Mountain-Mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Showing 48 of 1541. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Ridge and Valley
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Halberd leaf hibiscus
Fruit shows from August to October, so fall is about seed pods. The plant propagates by seed.
- Heart leaf foamflower
Fall is a second good window to divide and fill in gaps.
- Helmet skullcap
Fall is seed time, so there is little work.
- Sevenbark
Fall needs very little, and cleanup can wait.
- Alumroot
Fall is a second good window to divide.
- Cattail sedge
In fall the cattail-like seedheads are the show, so there is little to do.
- American solomons seal
Fall brings yellow leaves, and it is the other good window for dividing and planting.
- Virginia sweetspire
Fall is the show. Leaves turn red, orange, or purple and often hang on into early winter.
- Purple lovegrass
Fall is when the reddish-purple flower clouds show off, then you choose whether to let it reseed.
- Lanceleaf coreopsis
Fall is the time to decide how many seedlings you want and to divide tired clumps.
Build a plan for the Ridge and Valley
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Harrisburg area.