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Illinois

Plants for Illinois

48 plants, from drought-tolerant lists and native lists held for Illinois.

Drought-tolerant means established, and in a normal year; native is a claim about a range, and ranges have edges.

Plants named by lists held for Illinois

  • American hazelnut Corylus americana

    shrub

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana

    tree

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Big bluestem in a prairie planting: tall stems with branched turkey-foot seed heads
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    big bluestem Andropogon gerardii

    grass

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Blue false indigo in bloom: upright spikes of indigo pea flowers over blue-green leaves
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    blue false indigo Baptisia australis

    perennial

    • Native Native Range: Eastern United States
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 9

  • Blue grama grass: a low tuft with curved eyelash-shaped seed heads held out sideways
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    blue grama Bouteloua gracilis

    grass

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Butterfly weed in bloom: flat clusters of bright orange flowers over narrow leaves
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native Range: Eastern and southern United States
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 9

  • common mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • common witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana

    shrub

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • compass plant Silphium laciniatum

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • elm-leaved goldenrod Solidago ulmifolia

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • false sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • golden Alexanders Zizia aurea

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Gray's sedge Carex grayi

    grass

    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Indian grass in a prairie planting: an upright blue-green clump under narrow golden plumes
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    Indian grass Sorghastrum nutans

    grass

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Joe-pye weed Eupatorium purpureum

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • lance-leaved coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata

    perennial

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Little bluestem in autumn: an upright clump of copper-orange grass with silvery seed tufts
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium

    grass

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native Range: Eastern North America
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 9

  • Missouri ironweed Vernonia missurica

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • New England aster Aster novae-angliae

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus

    shrub

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • A ninebark shrub in bloom: lobed leaves, round white flower clusters and peeling stems
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius

    shrub

    • Native Native Range: Central and eastern North America
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 2 to 8

  • obedient plant Physostegia virginiana

    perennial

    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Orange coneflower: a dense mound covered in small golden-orange flowers with dark brown centres
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native Range: Southeastern United States
    • Native Native

    Zones 3 to 9

  • pale purple coneflower Echinacea pallida

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica

    grass

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • poke milkweed Asclepias exaltata

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • prairie coneflower Ratibida pinnata

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Prairie dropseed: a fountain-like mound of fine green blades under airy seed heads
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis

    grass

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native Range: North America
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 9

  • prairie smoke Geum triflorum

    perennial

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Purple coneflower in bloom: pink-purple drooping petals around spiky orange-brown cones
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea

    perennial

    • Native Native Range: Eastern and central North America
    • Native narrowleaf coneflower entry: SDSU (2025): narrowleaf coneflower is the only coneflower native to South Dakota — purple coneflower is not
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 8

  • Purple prairie clover: slender stems topped by thimble-shaped rose-purple flower heads
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Plants with Altitude: regionally native forbs recommended for Wyoming gardens (Plants with Altitude)
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Red twig dogwood in winter: bright red bare stems over a dusting of snow
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    red twig dogwood Cornus sericea

    shrub

    • Native Native Range: North America
    • Native Plants with Altitude: regionally native shrubs that we recommend for Wyoming gardens (Plants with Altitude)
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones 3 to 7

  • rough blazing star Liatris aspera

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Short's aster Symphyotrichum shortii

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • smooth blue aster Symphyotrichum laeve

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum

    perennial

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • Sullivant's milkweed Asclepias sullivantii

    perennial

    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera

    tree

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • white wild indigo Baptisia alba

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Wild bergamot in a meadow bed: shaggy pale lavender-pink flower heads on upright stems
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

  • Wild columbine in a woodland garden: nodding red and yellow flowers with long red spurs
    Generated image, not a photograph of any yard or of any yard's stock.

    wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought
    • Native Native
    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • wild ginger Asarum canadense

    perennial

    • Native Easy-Care Native Plants

    Zones not recorded

  • wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium

    perennial

    • Drought-tolerant Tolerates drought but may yellow and droop
    • Native Native

    Zones not recorded

Add your zip

The finder adds your zone from the 2023 USDA listing and narrows these lists to it.

Open the finder for Illinois Start from scratch

Nurseries that carry this kind of stock

Listed in Illinois: Schwarz Nursery Garden Center Addison, Platt Hill Nursery Bloomingdale, A B Hatchery & Garden Center Bloomington, Casey's Garden Shop & Florist Bloomington, Growing Grounds Garden Center & Florist Bloomington, Home Landscape Materials Bolingbrook, and more. Set your area and the nearest come first, by distance and never by price. What any of them has today is theirs to answer. Every yard, by state.