Best Native Plants for Zone 8 | Barefoot Garden Design (2024)

Experts recommend native plants over other plant options to promote a healthier ecosystem. Continue reading this piece to learn about the native plants hardy for gardening zone 8.

What are Native Plants?

A native plant is categorized by its natural existence in a particular habitat or ecosystem without human intervention. In other words, these plants occurred naturally in their specific habitats before humans inhabited them.

Native plants evolve and adapt to the climatic conditions and surrounding environment of a particular area. As a result, they become much better options when creating a garden. How?

Well, these plants do not harm the environment, unlike many others. Instead, they help support wildlife and ecological processes like pollination and reduce air and water pollution. As a bonus, native plants are pocket-friendly in the sense that they do not require much maintenance.

Since native plants are well adapted to an area, they can thrive well in changing weather conditions. As such, gardeners do not need to do much to maintain the health of these plants. For instance, native plants for your region will be drought-tolerant if your area does not see much rain. As a result, you won’t need to worry about watering your plants to keep them alive.

Native plants can also survive without fertilizers and pesticides. So, they can help reduce chemical harm to the environment and minimize air and water pollution. Not forgetting, regional wildlife relies on these plants for food and shelter. As such, native plants provide a sustainable habitat for native wildlife.

Hardiness Zone 8 Gardens

Hardiness zones refer to geographic areas with consistent weather and climate conditions. Also known as gardening zones, these regions allow specific plants (those hardy in the zone) to thrive and produce fruit.

The compatibility between a plant’s growing requirements and a zone’s temperatures determines how well a plant will perform. In other words, planting according to the hardiness ensures outstanding gardening results.

Zone 8 plants can generally tolerate average minimum temperatures between 10 F and 20 F.

Let’s find out about a few best native plants for zone 8.

Lemon Queen Sunflower

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Lemon Queen Sunflower is a native hybrid that grows into a tall, beautiful perennial plant. It is a low-maintenance perennial that thrives well in various soil conditions.

Usually, it grows up to 8 feet in height, spanning 6 feet wide with a 1 ½-inch to 2-inch diameter. Lemon Queen Sunflower produces lemon-yellow sunflowers that bloom during late summers until frost. The soft-yellow florets with dark-yellow centers will pop out again in the next blooming season.

Yarrow

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Achillea Millefolium is one of the top gardener’s favorites as these decorative flowers make a lovely addition to flower beds. With their feathery foliage, Yarrows also look delightful in herb gardens.

The herbaceous flowering perennial produces orange and peach flowers during the summer easy. Although they’re susceptible to pests, you don’t need to do much when caring for Yarrows. These plants thrive well in full sun but can tolerate partial shade.

Echinacea (Coneflower Tomato Soup)

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Echinacea coneflower tomato soup is native to the Eastern United States. This flowering perennial makes an excellent addition to flower gardens, especially due to its colorful appearance.

It is a famous plant in Zone 8 gardens; after all, why wouldn’t a gardener like the sight of tomato-red flowers in their yard? So, they are an excellent choice if you’re looking to build a colorful outdoor space.

The low-maintenance perennial is drought-tolerant and does not require much water. It thrives well in lean soil and prefers full sun. Although easy to care for, you must provide your Echinacea with at least six hours of sunlight a day.

Carpet Bugle

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Ajuga Reptans or Carpet Bugle is an evergreen perennial plant that blooms attractive blue-violet flowers. Their spike-shaped flowers and glossy, purplish foliage add eye-catching interest to herb gardens and flower beds.

Carpet Bugle is popular among Zone 8 gardeners for its stunning ground cover in areas where grass fails to survive. As such, it is an excellent choice for banks, beds, slopes, and borders. Generally low-maintenance and pest-free, Carpet Bugle thrives well in partial to full shade.

Mexican Sunflower

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Tithonia Mexican Sunflowers are worth having in the garden if your yard has an empty sunny location. Native to Africa, Central America, and West Indies, Tithonia Diversifolia is hardy in zones 8 to 11. With its large, showy, and colorful flowers, the plant will retain color in your garden even in the late season.

The flowering plant demands full sun to achieve a healthy height of 4 feet, though it can grow as tall as 6 feet. With plenty of sunlight and minimal care, the plant produces yellow, orange, and red blooms.

Creeping Juniper

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Juniperus Horizontalis or Creeping Juniper is an evergreen shrub native to Northern America and hardy in zones 3 to 9.

This plant requires little to no effort, yet grows into a healthy graceful shrub. It’s low maintenance, so you can plant Creeping Juniper and forget. You can use the aromatic shrub to fill empty areas in your yard or create a flower border. It also looks great in outdoor living paves and porches.

Creeping Juniper is an evergreen shrub that grows low and extends horizontally to cover the ground.

Bottom Line

Native plants make your garden a more eco-friendly space while increasing its efficiency. After all, a gardener does not need to do much for plants in their natural growing conditions. Native plants are always the best plants for Zone 8!