What can I plant instead of Peony?

Common Milkweed, Prairie Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, Howell's Pussytoes are native plants that fill the same garden role as Peony and feed local wildlife.

Native alternatives to Peony | Hortus

Why swap it

Peonies give a lavish week of blooms and then a plain green mound. These native perennials give you the same generous early-summer flush and keep feeding pollinators long after.

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
Prairie Milkweed
Asclepias sullivantii
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
3
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
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
4
Howell's Pussytoes
Antennaria howellii
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
Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
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.
6
White Trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
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.
7
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
8
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

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

Map the plants you grow, get a free report card of the pollinators and species at risk your garden supports, and find a native-plant nursery near you.

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