Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Plant it and forget it: good through zone 8 and lavender-pink flowers, no fuss, flowering as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
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- Rhode Island
- Low-maintenance
Rhode Island · Zones 6–7
Easy Native Plants in Rhode Island
Forgiving, hard-to-kill natives for first-time gardeners and anyone who wants a beautiful yard without the upkeep. Rhode Island sits in a landscape of Narragansett coastal lowland, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its cool, humid, maritime character. The list below — led by Wild Geranium and Golden Alexanders — is filtered to species genuinely native to Rhode Island and the wider flora of the Northeast and hardy through zones 6–7. The easiest natives are the ones already adapted to your local soil and rainfall, so they need no fertilizer, no irrigation after year one, and no winter coddling. Start with these, plant them where their light and moisture needs are genuinely met, mulch the first year, and the maintenance shrinks to a single late-winter cleanup. Right plant, right place does ninety percent of the work.
The plants
29 native species for Rhode Island
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–7 · see this collection in other states.
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
A beginner's native — 1.5–2.5 ft tall and for clay and loam ground, content with whatever you give it, flowering as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
A beginner's native — for sand, rocky, and loam ground and spreading 12–18 in, content with whatever you give it — it blooms May through Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
A beginner's native — white flowers and 2–4 ft tall, content with whatever you give it, flowering as it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Plant it and forget it: reaching 3–4 ft and for clay and loam ground, no fuss, flowering as it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Plant it and forget it: for sand, clay, and loam ground and golden yellow flowers, no fuss, flowering as it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Smooth Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Plant it and forget it: 3–5 ft tall and cold-hardy to zone 3, no fuss — it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Part shade
- Average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A beginner's native — rosy purple flowers and spreading 1.5–2 ft, content with whatever you give it, and it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Plant it and forget it: reaching 15–25 ft and hardy in zones 3–8, no fuss, and it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A beginner's native — happy in clay and loam soil and coral-red flowers, content with whatever you give it, and it blooms Apr through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
About as hard to kill as a native gets — spreading 2–3 ft and hardy in zones 3–8, and forgives neglect — it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
A beginner's native — 6–10 ft tall and 6–10 ft wide, content with whatever you give it, flowering as it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
About as hard to kill as a native gets — cold-hardy to zone 3 and for sand, clay, rocky, and loam ground, and forgives neglect — it blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
A beginner's native — 2–4 ft wide and hardy in zones 3–9, content with whatever you give it, flowering as it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Plant it and forget it: red & yellow flowers and reaching 1–2.5 ft, no fuss, flowering as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Plant it and forget it: rose-magenta flowers and 15–25 ft wide, no fuss; it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Thrives on neglect once placed right: 6–12 ft wide and creamy umbels flowers; it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Red-Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Plant it and forget it: 6–10 ft wide and 6–9 ft tall, no fuss — it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Inkberry Holly
Ilex glabra
About as hard to kill as a native gets — for sand, clay, and loam ground and spreading 4–8 ft, and forgives neglect — it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
A beginner's native — 2–3 ft wide and for clay and loam ground, content with whatever you give it, flowering as it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Thrives on neglect once placed right: yellow catkins flowers and good through zone 9, flowering as it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 2–6 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Thrives on neglect once placed right: happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil and 10–20 ft wide; it flowers in Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 30–50 ft
- Blooms Jun
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
About as hard to kill as a native gets — good through zone 9 and happy in sand, clay, and loam soil, and forgives neglect; it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Wild Ginger
Asarum canadense
About as hard to kill as a native gets — happy in loam soil and hardy in zones 3–7, and forgives neglect, flowering as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 4–8 in
- Blooms Apr–May
5 more also qualify: Ninebark, Blue Vervain, Little Bluestem, Christmas Fern, Pennsylvania Sedge.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Rhode Island
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.