All Native Perennials

These perennials are native to the area and have been carefully selected to attract our local pollinators and wildlife. All are ecotype plants except for one: Anise Hyssop. Ecotype plants are young perennials raised locally from wild collected native seeds, sold in individual cells ready to be transplanted to gardens. Click here to learn more about Ecotype plants!

If you’re interested in purchasing native perennials, contact us for availability at administration@aspetucklandtrust.org

Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Adaptable to a wide range of sun conditions

Soil: Adaptable to any soil

An easy to grow, perennial herb with beautiful anise scented foliage and purple flower that can be used for tea, culinary seasoning and potpourris. We love it because bees, butterflies and hummingbirds do! The Iroquois made a wash against poison ivy out of it! Prefers full sun but will tolerate part shade, well-drained soil...deer don’t like it, but who knows with our CT deer! 3-5’ tall. Note: this is not an ecotype plant

Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum (Aster) cordifolius)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Adaptable to a wide range of sun conditions

Soil: Adaptable to any soil

As one of the latest blooming natives, blue wood aster serves a vital role in providing the last bit of energy for our pollinators before the winter. This plant will be happy with part shade, but can tolerate nearly full sun to full shade. Large heart-shaped leaves will grow at the bottom of the plant while smaller leaves and flowers cover the upper portion. The soil should be medium to dry. Eight small plant plugs. 1-3 ft tall

Butterfly Weed (Asclepius tuberosa)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Adaptable to a wide range of sun conditions

Soil: Adaptable to any soil

Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Drought tolerant. Does well in poor, dry soils Mature plants may freely self-seed in the landscape if seed pods are not removed prior to splitting open Magnet for bees and butterflies, yet deer resistant. This plant loves dry soil and its stunning orange flowers have a long bloom period. This plant is a winner but doesn’t like to be pampered. 1-3 ft. tall.

Fall Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

3-5' tall. The genus name refers to Helen of Troy, from whose tears sprung this beautiful fall flower. The common name is based on historic use of the crushed dried leaves and heads to make a form of snuff.  Likes average to rich soil, moist to wet conditions. Does not cause sneezing...it is insect pollinated, not wind (unlike ragweed that does cause sneezing...we don’t sell ragweed!) 

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers dry, gravelly, sandy soil

Supports 70 bee species and 130 insect species. Easy going plant that is a biodiversity powerhouse! Host for Black swallow butterflies. 2-3 feet tall. Full sun, moist to dry soil. Nice fall foliage! 

Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

As legend has it, a Native American medicine man named Joe Pye traveled 18th century New England treating typhoid fever with this medicinal plant. It is said that he was able to halt the epidemic ravaging colonial Massachusetts. Today, his namesake plant is used to attract a variety of birds and butterflies. The massive mauve flowers bloom from July to September and grow 5’-7’. Joe Pye weed will thrive in moist to wet conditions.

Native Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Full shade (less than 4 hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Adaptable to any soil

Dancing Fairies of the garden! Because the hollow petals are so deep, this plant requires long-tongued pollinators: bumblebees and ruby-throated hummingbirds. Columbine is easy to grow. It likes light shade or partial sun, though it may tolerate full sun. It’s satisfied with moist to dry conditions and loamy, rocky, or slightly sandy soil. Because its leaves are toxic, you generally don’t need to worry about columbine being nibbled by common mammals, such as rabbits or deer. Petite fairy at 1-2 ft tall. 

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

New England may have lost Tom Brady, but thankfully we will always have this magnificent patriot! New England Aster lights up the late season landscape with rich deep violet to lavender-pink. Large and showy, this aster can grow up to 6 feet high. Like most asters it blooms late in the season and provides a critical fall nectar source for pollinators, especially Monarchs as they stock up for their fall migration to Mexico. This deer resistant native prefers moist, rich soils, but is easily grown in a broad range of conditions, thriving in full sun or light shade in all but the driest soils.  

New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

Flowering in August and September, this plant will give you the last bursts of purple before the show is stolen by fall colors. Growing up to 6’ tall, you can prune the plant in early spring down to 2’ if you would like it to be shorter. It will thrive in moist soils and full sun.

Short toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

Attracts: 🐝 🦋

Sun: Adaptable to a wide range of sun conditions

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

Planted in moist, well-drained soils in full to part sun, short toothed mountain mint will spread on its own. But with its petite (1’-3’) and elegant appearance, who could possibly get enough  of this plant? The leaves will appear silvery, and when crushed have a fragrant minty aroma. Best of all, this plant will be buzzing with excitement from visiting pollinators!

Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

3-8 ft shrubby perennial Moist to Wet slightly acidic soils grows late in the season and flowers over a long period in late summer .....a magnet for hummingbirds sun to part shade. Its native habitat is wet meadows, marshes...also called Marshmallow Hibiscus.

Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Adaptable to a wide range of sun conditions

Soil: Adaptable to any soil

...Smells like licorice! Very neat, smooth, tall plant with fragrant anise-scented leaves that can be used for tea!  LOVED by native bees, important source of energy in the fall for them and a super attractor of the predatory insects that prey upon pest insects.  PS Goldenrod does NOT cause hay fever...it is a myth. it is the Non-flowering plants like ragweed that are wind pollinated that make ya sneeze! Goldenrod is an all-around winner with super fall color. 2-5 ft. average to poor soil, sun to part shade. 

Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Part sun/shade (4-6 hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers moist/wet soil

This easy-care, deer resistant, perennial is a must-have for any pollinator garden.  It attracts insects, butterflies, and moths.  Songbirds, which rely on insects, will appreciate this plant in your garden.  Birds also use the dormant stems for nesting material. 2-3ft tall.

White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Full shade (less than 4 hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers dry, gravelly, sandy soil

Flower heads are produced in profusion and are frequented by bees and butterflies. This is a woodland aster that occurs in dry open woods, in clearings, on roadsides and on the edges of deciduous forests. low mounding perennial with heart shaped or oval leaves. In late summer starry white daisies cover the plant and gleam in the shade. Plants are tough and adaptable prospering in part shade or shade and in dry or moist soils. 3 ft. tall.

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Attracts: 🐝🦋

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun per day)

Soil: Prefers dry, gravelly, sandy soil

The fragrant pale lavender flowers will bring the bees, humming birds and butterflies to the yard! Once used as a medicinal plant, wild bergamot has minty leaves you can simply chew on or use for tea. This is not the plant for a wet area, and should be planted in moist to dry soil. Blooms July to September. Eight small plant plugs.