What do I plant in my Backyard Buffer?

Plants including grasses, shrubs, wildflowers, and trees act as buffer strips around water bodies. Fast-growing species such as willows and dogwoods are especially effective for erosion control, and can have high wildlife value. Although plants in general improve water quality, native plants are more likely to attract wildlife than non-native species and generally need less care. Both native and non-native plants can also be invasive. Avoid invasive species, which will take over stream banks and reduce the types of wildlife habitat.

The following chart is a list of native, non-invasive plants for western Pennsylvania.

For local nurseries that supply native plants, click here.

Species	Scientific name		Sunlight	Bloom Time	Wildlife Value
Trees
River birch	Betula nigra		Sun	Spring	Host plant for tiger swallowtail; catkins eaten by birds, birds seek insects in bark
Black willow	Salix nigra		Sun	Spring	Host plant for several butterflies; shelter for birds
Sycamore	Platanus occidentalis		Pt Shade	Spring	Preferred tree for heron rookeries; great for cavity-nesting birds.
Swamp White Oak	Quercus bicolor		Pt Shade	Spring	Acorns for deer, turkey, squirrels; host plant for red-spotted purple butterfly; cavities for nesting
Silver maple	Acer saccharinum		Pt Shade	Spring	Seeds eaten by some birds
Red maple	Acer rubrum		Shade	Spring	Nesting cover and shelter for songbirds and birds-of-prey
Pin Oak	Quercus palustris		Sun	Spring	Acorns favored by turkey, deer, squirrel
Box elder	Acer negundo		Sun	Spring	Seeds eaten by some birds; sap eaten by yellow-bellied sapsucker
Black gum	Nyssa sylvatica		Sun	Spring	Pollinated by bees; fruits eaten by many song and game birds; tolerates flooding well
Hackberry	Celtis occidentalis		Pt Shade	Spring	Host plant for hackberry butterfly; fruits eaten by song and game birds
Shrubs and Vines
Arrowwood viburnum	Viburnum dentatum		Shade	Spring	Tree frogs use as calling perches; berries eaten by many wildlife species; nesting shelter for catbird, vireo, and others
Red chokeberry	Aronia arbutifolia		Pt Shade	Spring & Summer	Berries eaten by songbirds, game birds, and small mammals
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occindentalis		Sun	Summer	White blossoms produce nectar for pollinators; ducks eat the seeds; host plant for sphinx moth; attachment site for frog and salamander eggs when submerged
Gray dogwood	Cornus racemosa		Sun to Shade	Summer	Bluebirds and other birds prefer the fruits. Game birds such as grouse, bobwhite, turkey, wood duck and woodcock readily eat the fruits, as do black bear, raccoon, woodchuck, squirrels, and chipmunk. Deer, rabbit, snowshoe hare, and beaver eat twigs and leaves. Thickets of these shrubs are valuable for shelter and nesting sites.
Hydrangea	Hydrangea paniculata				deer browse
Nannyberry	Viburnum lentago		Pt Shade	Spring & Summer	Deer, beaver, rabbit, chipmunks, squirrels, mice, skunks, grouse, turkey and most songbirds such as cardinal, cedar waxwing, robin, thrushes, and brown thrasher eat the fruits. Deer and beaver consume twigs, bark and leaves
Red osier dogwood	Cornus sericea		Shade	Spring & Summer	Juicy berries form in late summer for birds; very good erosion control
Silky dogwood	Cornus amomum		Pt Shade	Summer	High fat berries are ripe in time for migration; Game birds such as grouse, bobwhite, turkey, wood duck and woodcock readily eat the fruits, as do black bear, raccoon, woodchuck, squirrels, and chipmunk. Deer, rabbit, snowshoe hare, and beaver eat twigs and leaves. Thickets of these shrubs are valuable for shelter and nesting sites. host for spring azure butterfly
Ninebark	Physocarpus opulifolius		Pt Shade	Spring	Good erosion control
Shadblow serviceberry	Amelanchier canadensis		Pt Shade	Spring	Wood frogs and spring peepers often visit these in spring for insects; host plant for striped hairstreak and an underwing moth
Smooth alder	Alnus serrulata		Sun	Spring	Favored browse of many mammals; songbirds nest in alder; woodcock prefer alder thickets for nesting; ducks eat seeds; host plant for several butterflies and moths, including the luna moth
Winterberry	Ilex verticillata		Pt Shade	Spring & Summer	Persistent berries provide food in late winter
Spicebush	Lindera benzoin		Shade	Spring	Berries for birds; host plant for spicebush swallowtail butterfly; Spring Azure drinks the nectar; dusky salamanders often common in nearby seepages; attracts over 20 species of birds.
Elderberry	Sambucus canadensis		Pt Shade	Summer	Flowers for insects and berries for over 40 bird species, as well as the wood and box turtle, rabbit, squirrel, and chipmunks
Virgin’s bower	Clematis virginiana		Pt Shade	Summer	Vine with white flowers in late summer is good for insects
Witch hazel	Hamamelis virginiana	Sun Pt shade		Fall	Red squirrels and ruffed grouse eat the seed and the plant provides cover and protection for other species
Washington hawthorn	Crataegus phaenopyrum	Sun Pt shade		Spring	Grouse, turkey and numerous songbirds, especially fox sparrow and cedar waxwing, eat fruits. Deer, rabbits, black bear and raccoon prefer fruits. The fruits remain on the shrubs all winter and become very important when food becomes critically scarce in February and March. Deer and rabbit readily eat leaves and twigs.
Flowering Perennials
New England aster	Aster novae-angliae		Sun to Pt Shade	Early fall	Good fall nectar source for butterflies and seeds for birds
Cardinal flower	Lobelia cardinalis		Pt Shade	Summer & Fall	Hummingbird favorite
Swamp milkweed	Asclepias incarnata		Sun	Summer	Nectar and host plant for butterflies
Marsh marigold	Caltha palustris		Sun	Spring	Nectar attracts bees and other insects
Blue vervain	Verbena hastata		Sun	Summer	Cardinals and sparrows eat seeds; attracts insects for other wildlife; host plant for verbena moth and buckeye butterfly
Monkey flower	Mimulus ringens		Pt Shade	Summer	Nectar for humming birds and bees
New York Ironweed	Vernonia novaboracensis		Sun	Summer	Nectar for pollinators
Lance-leaved violet	Viola lanceolata		Shade	Spring	Host plant for fritillary butterflies
Joe-Pye weed	Eupatorium fistulosum		Pt Shade	Summer	Pollinator favorite
Golden Alexanders	Zizia aurea		Pt Shade	Spring	Early nectar source
Virginia bluebell	Mertensia virginica		Pt Shade	Spring	Nectar for bumblebees
Jack-in-the-pulpit	Arisaema triphyllum		Shade	Spring	Berries for birds
Boneset	Eupatorium perfoliatum		Sun	Summer & Fall	Seeds for some wildlife, host plant for several moths
Turtlehead	Chelone glabra		Pt Shade	Late summer	Host plant for Baltimore butterfly
Bee balm	Monarda didyma		Sun	Summer	Nectar for hummingbirds
Cut-leaf coneflower	Rudbeckia laciniata		Sun	Summer	Seeds and nectar for birds and butterflies
Tall sunflower	Helianthus giganteuss		Sun	Midsummer-Fall	Seeds and nectar for birds and pollinators
Wild Geranium	Geranium maculatum		Shade	Spring	Humming birds and white swallowtail butterflies sip the nectar
Foam flower	Tiarella cordifolia		Shade	Spring	The white flowers attract tiny insects which birds eat
Bunchberry	Cornus canadensis		Shade	Summer	Birds eat the berries
Wild Ginger	Asarum canadense		Shade	Spring
Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa		Pt Shade	Summer	Bumblebees and butterflies drink the nectar
Wild Bleeding Heart	Dicentra eximia		Shade	Summer	Hummingbirds and bumblebees visit for nectar
Wild columbine	Aquilegia Canadensis		Sun to Shade	Spring & Summer	Visited by bees, butterflies and hummingbirds for the nectar
Turk’s cap lily	Lilium superbum		Sun to Shade	Summer & Fall	Produces nectar for humming birds
Squirrel corn	Dicentra canadensis		Pt Shade	Spring	Seeds provide food for mammals in winter
Wild larkspur	Delphinium exaltatum		Pt Shade	Summer & Fall	Humming birds sip the nectar
Wild yellow lily	Lilium canadense		Pt shade to shade	Summer	Hummingbirds sip the nectar
Dutchman’s breeches	Dicentra cucullaria		Shade	Spring	Seeds provide food for mammals in winter
Solomon’s seal	Polygonatum biflorum		Pt shade to shade	Spring	Berries for songbirds
False Solomon’s seal	Maianthemum spp		Shade	Spring & Summer	Berries for songbirds
Bottle gentian	Gentiana andrewsii		Pt Shade	Fall	Used by songbirds, and favored by native bees
Grasses/ Sedges/ Ferns
Interrupted fern	Osmunda claytoniana		Shade		Cover for wildlife
Cinnamon fern	Osmunda cinnamomea		Shade		Fiddleheads are favored by ruffed grouse; box and bog turtles forage in these areas for invertebrates; prevents erosion visited by moths; hummingbirds use the wool on the fiddle heads and leaf stalks to build their nests
Sensitive fern	Onoclea sensibilis		Pt Shade		Forage for deer and chipmunks; fiddleheads for game birds
Switch grass	Panicum virgatum		Sun		Seeds and shelter for birds
Soft rush	Juncus effusus		Sun		Shelter for wading birds and other wildlife
Blue-joint grass	Calamagrostis canadensis		Sun to Pt Shade		Used for food, cover and nesting by deer and muskrat

Reference sources:

Hightshoe, G. L. Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York 1988. 

Pennsylvania Floral Database, Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania 2001

Redington, C. B. Plants in Wetlands. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Dubuque, Iowa 1994. 

Buffers Home