Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Plant it and forget it: for loam ground and lavender-pink flowers, no fuss — it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
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- Pennsylvania
- Low-maintenance
Pennsylvania · Zones 5–7
Easy Native Plants in Pennsylvania
Forgiving, hard-to-kill natives for first-time gardeners and anyone who wants a beautiful yard without the upkeep. Every species here is genuinely native to Pennsylvania and the wider flora of the Mid-Atlantic and hardy through zones 5–7 — proven performers for Pennsylvania's humid continental climate across Appalachian ridge-and-valley & Piedmont, not a generic list. Local standouts include Wild Geranium and Serviceberry. 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
33 native species for Pennsylvania
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 5–7 · see this collection in other states.
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Thrives on neglect once placed right: white spring lace flowers and 10–20 ft wide, and it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Thrives on neglect once placed right: reaching 6–10 ft and happy in clay and loam soil, flowering as it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Plant it and forget it: happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil and cold-hardy to zone 3, no fuss; it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Plant it and forget it: rose pink flowers and hardy in zones 3–9, no fuss, and it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
About as hard to kill as a native gets — bright gold flowers and 1.5–2 ft tall, and forgives neglect, flowering as it blooms May through Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Thrives on neglect once placed right: 1.5–2.5 ft tall and for sand, clay, rocky, and loam ground — it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Thrives on neglect once placed right: hardy in zones 3–8 and for clay and loam ground, flowering as it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
A beginner's native — reaching 20–30 ft and good through zone 9, content with whatever you give it; it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Plant it and forget it: happy in clay and loam soil and reaching 8–15 ft, no fuss — it blooms Apr through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
About as hard to kill as a native gets — spreading 2–4 ft and for clay and loam ground, and forgives neglect — it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
About as hard to kill as a native gets — good through zone 8 and 1–2 ft wide, and forgives neglect — it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Plant it and forget it: 1–2 ft wide and chartreuse-gold flowers, no fuss; it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
About as hard to kill as a native gets — happy in rocky and loam soil and good through zone 8, and forgives neglect, flowering as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
A beginner's native — golden yellow flowers and 1.5–3 ft tall, content with whatever you give it — it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Smooth Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Thrives on neglect once placed right: hardy in zones 3–9 and white domes flowers, and it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Part shade
- Average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Thrives on neglect once placed right: pink (then purple fruit) flowers and 4–7 ft tall — it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Thrives on neglect once placed right: cold-hardy to zone 3 and spreading 1.5–2 ft — it blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Plant it and forget it: 5–10 ft wide and white to pink flowers, no fuss — it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Stiff Goldenrod
Solidago rigida
Plant it and forget it: happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil and cold-hardy to zone 3, no fuss; it blooms Aug through Oct.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Oct
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Plant it and forget it: cold-hardy to zone 3 and 6–12 ft tall, no fuss, flowering as it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
Thrives on neglect once placed right: violet-blue flowers and spreading 1.5–2.5 ft, and it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Thrives on neglect once placed right: spreading 12–18 in and reaching 1.5–2.5 ft, and it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
About as hard to kill as a native gets — spreading 10–20 ft and hardy in zones 3–9, and forgives neglect, flowering as it flowers in Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 30–50 ft
- Blooms Jun
9 more also qualify: Inkberry Holly, Red-Twig Dogwood, Wild Ginger, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Common Milkweed, Little Bluestem, Christmas Fern, Pennsylvania Sedge.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Pennsylvania
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.