What can I plant instead of Bearded Iris?

Common Milkweed, Birdsfoot Violet, Strict Blue-Eyed-Grass, Sundial Lupine are native plants that fill the same garden role as Bearded Iris and feed local wildlife.

Native alternatives to Bearded Iris | Hortus

Why swap it

Bearded iris gives a few days of sculptural bloom and then tired strappy foliage. These native perennials give you the same upright, elegant flowers and keep working for pollinators all season.

Native plants to grow instead

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1
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlife
A Monarch can only raise its young on milkweed. No milkweed, no Monarchs. It's that simple, and that fixable.
Brings back: Monarch Butterfly, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee
2
Birdsfoot Violet
Viola pedata
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
A larval host plant. The caterpillars it raises are the primary food source for baby songbirds.
3
Strict Blue-Eyed-Grass
Sisyrinchium montanum
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
A larval host plant. The caterpillars it raises are the primary food source for baby songbirds.
4
Sundial Lupine
Lupinus perennis
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
A larval host plant. The caterpillars it raises are the primary food source for baby songbirds.
5
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlife
Once common across eastern North America, now almost gone. It feeds on wild bergamot and asters, flowers any yard can grow.
Brings back: Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Barn Swallow
6
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlife
A grassland bird losing its grasslands. Native bunchgrasses bring back the insects and cover it needs.
Brings back: Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, Olive-sided Flycatcher
7
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlife
Once common across eastern North America, now almost gone. It feeds on wild bergamot and asters, flowers any yard can grow.
Brings back: Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Little Brown Bat, Bank Swallow
8
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlife
Once common across eastern North America, now almost gone. It feeds on wild bergamot and asters, flowers any yard can grow.
Brings back: Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Barn Swallow

Showing the 8 strongest of 150 native plants that fill the same role. Browse the full native library →

See what your yard could bring back

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