Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A sun-lover that blooms Jun through Sep, standing 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Alabama · Zones 7–9
Native Plants for Full Sun in Alabama
Sun-loving native wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs for the hot, bright, open parts of the yard that bake all afternoon. Alabama sits in a landscape of Gulf Coastal Plain & Cumberland Plateau, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its hot, humid subtropical character. The list below — led by Purple Coneflower and Cardinal Flower — is filtered to species genuinely native to Alabama and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 7–9. A spot with six or more hours of direct sun is prime real estate for the prairie and meadow natives that evolved in the open — most want exactly that much light to bloom hard and stand up straight. Give them lean, well-drained soil rather than rich and pampered, skip the fertilizer, and they will reward the tough love with more flowers and sturdier stems.
The plants
49 native species for Alabama
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 7–9 · see this collection in other states.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
A sun-lover that blooms Jul through Sep, standing 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
A sun-lover that blooms Jul through Sep, standing 5–8 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
A sun-lover that flowers in Jul and Aug, standing 2–4 ft tall.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
A sun-lover that blooms Jun through Sep, standing 1.5–3 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Give it full sun and it flowers in Jun and Jul, 5–10 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Made for open ground — flowers in May and Jun, 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Made for open ground — blooms Sep through Nov, 1.5–2.5 ft tall.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Give it full sun and it flowers in Jul and Aug, 2.5–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Made for open ground — blooms Jun through Aug, 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Made for open ground — blooms Jun through Aug, 5–10 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
A sun-lover that flowers in Sep and Oct, standing 3–5 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A sun-lover that blooms Jun through Aug, standing 1.5–2.5 ft tall.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Made for open ground — flowers in May and Jun, 6–10 ft tall.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
A sun-lover that flowers in Jul and Aug, standing 3–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Give it full sun and it blooms Jul through Sep, 4–7 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
A sun-lover that blooms May through Oct, standing 2–5 ft tall.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 2–5 ft
- Blooms May–Oct
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Made for open ground — flowers in Aug and Sep, 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
A sun-lover that flowers in Sep and Oct, standing 2–4 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Pink Muhly Grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris
Made for open ground — flowers in Sep and Oct, 2–3 ft tall.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Give it full sun and it blooms Apr through Sep, 8–15 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Made for open ground — flowers in Jun and Jul, 4–7 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Made for open ground — flowers in Apr and May, 15–25 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Made for open ground — flowers in Aug and Sep, 2–3 ft tall.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
25 more also qualify: Crossvine, Culver's Root, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Short-Toothed Mountain Mint, Common Yarrow, Eastern Redbud, Prairie Blazing Star, Golden Alexanders, Stiff Goldenrod, Creeping Phlox, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Inkberry Holly, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Virginia Creeper, Ninebark, Common Milkweed, Rattlesnake Master, American Elderberry, New Jersey Tea, Switchgrass, Indian Grass, Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Alabama
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.