North Carolina Plants for Wildlife Habitat & Conservation Landscaping

Do you enjoy observing nature...hearing the song of the chickadee...watching hummingbirds fill up on nectar from trumpet vines...listening to the chattering of squirrels...seeing the beauty and grace of a monarch butterfly perched on a milkweed... experiencing the antics of a Mockingbird...the cooing of the Mourning Doves...the swiftness of the Cottontail...and the brilliance of a Cardinal or Baltimore Oriole?

If the answer is "yes", you'll probably want to landscape your property for wildlife so you can experience even more from Mother Nature by attracting more wildlife to your property.

Wildlife doesn't just randomly appear in a given area. It is there because of favorable habitat. The essential elements that you must provide in your habitat are food, water, cover and a place to raise a family. To attract the most wildlife, you need native trees, shrubs, groundcover, vines and wildflowers, many of which will provide food and shelter.

Native or indigenous plants naturally occur in the region in which they evolved. They are adapted to local soil, rainfall and temperature conditions, and have developed natural defenses to many insects and diseases. Because of these traits, native plants will grow with minimal use of water, fertilizers and pesticides. Wildlife species evolve with plants; therefore, they use native plant communities as their habitat. Using native plants helps preserve the balance and beauty of natural ecosystems.

Remember the function served by plants and structures is more important than their appearance. In other words, don't base your planting decisions solely on what a plant looks like. Following are WindStar Wildlife Institute's plant recommendations for wildlife habitats in North Carolina:

Trees

Medium/Small--Serviceberry; Eastern Redbud; Flowering and Pagoda Dogwood; American Holly; Southern Crabapple, Eastern Red Cedar; American Hornbeam; Washington Hawthorn; Common Sassafras; Sourwood; American Plum; Persimmon; Blackhaw Viburnum

Shrubs
Short -- New Jersey Tea; Carolina and Swamp Rose; Cranberry; Lowbush Blueberry; Maple-leaf Viburnum

Medium -- Red and Black Chokeberry; Sweetshrub; Silky Dogwood; Hazelnut; Bush Honeysuckle; Common Winterberry; Mountain Laurel; Spicebush; Sweet and Flame Azalea; Elderberry; Coral Berry; Highbush Blueberry

Large -- Tag Alder; Mountain Winterberry; Mock Orange; Smooth Sumac; Silky Willow; Arrowwood

Wildflowers
Butterflyweed; Carolina Phlox; Wild Columbine; Jack-in-the-pulpit; Swamp Milkweed; White and Late Purple Aster; Wild Indigo; Pink Turtlehead; Coreopsis; Joe-Pye Weed; Shooting Star; Wild Geranium; Sunflower; Jewelweed; Blazing Star; Cardinal Flower; Bee Balm; Black-eyed Susan; Winkle-leaf Goldenrod

Groundcovers
Wintergreen; Wild Ginger; Mouse-eared Coreopsis; Partridge Berry; Chalice, wild Blue and Creeping Phlox; Foamflower

Vines
Dutchman's Pipe; Crossvine; Trumpet Creeper; Virgin's Bower; Coral Honeysuckle; Passion Flower; Fox Grape; Virginia Creeper; Coral Honeysuckle

Grasses
Indiangrass; Little Bluestem; Eastern Gama Grass; Bottlebrush Grass; Broomsedge; Switchgrass; River Oats; Oat Grass; Pennsylvania and Plantain-leaved Sedge; River Cane

The eastern two-thirds of North Carolina is characterized as coastal plain and tidewater. Moving west, the next two-fifths of North Carolina, about 200 miles wide, consists of a piedmont plateau. In the west, the land slopes upward from gentle to rugged rolling hills to the high southern Appalachian Mountains containing the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey Mountains. The North Carolina Wildflower Preservation Society can provide lists of plants for a specific region.

For more information on improving your wildlife habitat, visit the WindStar Wildlife Institute web site. On the web site, you can also apply to certify your property as a wildlife habitat, register for the "Certified Wildlife Habitat Naturalist e-Learning course, become a member and sign up for the FREE WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly e-mail newsletter.