Indiana Native Plants

Want to replenish native trees in your state? Find the best selection of indigenous species for the State of Indiana here at Nature Hills Nursery! Sitting in USDA growing zones 6a and 6b. Indiana can have cool, rainy springs, humid, warm-to-hot summers, and glorious fall color!

Choosing native trees for your State means you will know your tree will thrive where it is well-suited to the climate and soil because they originated there! They need less water once established. Native selections establish faster and tolerate the changing climate, weather, and anything else your State may endure!

Plus, you’ll feed pollinators pollen and nectar, seeds for songbirds, and provide shelter, food, and forage for a wide variety of wildlife like the Northern Cardinal, which is the Indiana state bird.

Best Indiana Native Trees

The Hoosier State can have a continental climate with hot and humid summers and generally cool to cold winters. You’ll find a mix of temperate deciduous and mixed forests, temperate grasslands, and savannas.

Find your Hardiness Zone, and then choose any tree that has a range that includes yours! Check with your local County Extension Office for more information if needed, and for the many microclimates within these zones.

Best Native Evergreen Trees For Indiana

Many conifers and broadleaf evergreens can be found in Indiana forests! Check out these trees that keep their leaves year-round for privacy, slow down the wind and drifting snow, and add winter interest.

• American Holly Trees
• American Larch (deciduous conifer)
• Bald Cypress Tree (deciduous conifer)
• Balsam Fir Tree
• Eastern Hemlock
• Eastern Red Cedar Tree (Redcedar)
• Eastern White Pine
• Possomhaw Holly
• Red Pine

Native Flowering Trees to Grow in Indiana

Feeding pollinators and hummingbirds nectar and pollen, these plants have evolved alongside Indiana's climate and ecology! Many of these trees are host plants for native pollinator larvae, too!

The lovely Magnolia variety is the Indiana State Tree - the Tulip Poplar Tree. These other trees are also icons of the Indiana landscape.

• American Basswood/Linden Trees
• Cucumber Tree Magnolia
• Black Locust Tree
• Carolina Silverbell Tree
• Dogwood - Pagoda, White, Pink & Red Flowering, Gray, Roughleaf, Silky, & Swamp 
• Eastern Redbud Tree
• Pussy Willow Tree
• Tulip Poplar/Tulip Tree
• Witch Hazel (American Witchhazel)

What Are Native Shade Trees in Indiana?

Fall color abounds in Indiana, and the warm summers require a good, shade tree that handles snow load, gives your backyard lush relief from the sun, and goes big with an autumn show is a must-have!

• American Beech Tree
• American Chestnut
• American Elm Tree
• American Hornbeam 
• American Hop Hornbeam
• American Sycamore
• Ash - Mountain, White & Green
• Birch Trees - River & Paper Bark
• Black Gum Tree
• Black Willow
• Box Elder Tree (Boxelder)
• Buckeye Trees - Ohio, Red & Yellow
• Cottonwood/Eastern Cottonwood Tree
• Hackberry/Common Hackberry Trees & Sugarberry Tree
• Kentucky Coffee Tree
• Maple Trees - Black, Silver, Red, & Sugar
• Northern Catalpa Tree
• Oak Trees - Black, Blackjack, Bur, Chestnut Oak, Chinquapin, Northern Red, Nuttall, Overcup, Pin, Scarlet, Shingle, Shumard's, Swamp White, White & Willow Oak Trees
• Quaking Aspen
• Sassafras Tree
• Sourwood Tree
• Sweetgum (Sweet Gum) Trees
• Washington Hawthorn Tree
• Yellowwood Tree

Native Fruit & Nut Trees in Indiana

We love edible landscaping trees that look great and feed you and your local wildlife.

• American Persimmon
• American Plum/Wild Plum Tree & Chickasaw Plum
• Black Cherry Tree
• Black Walnut Tree
• Hazelnut/Native American Filbert Tree/Shrub
• Bitternut, Butternut, Pignut, Red, Shellbark & Shagbark Hickory Trees
• Paw Paw (Pawpaw) Trees
• Hardy Pecan Trees
• Red Mulberry Tree
• Allegheny & Downy Serviceberry

Much Needed Natives!

Help keep your State's native biodiversity intact by planting trees native to your area! Nature Hills is committed to helping you preserve your State’s unique beauty with plants and trees that are sure to do well in your garden without impacting your native landscape!

Whether you are adding shade or flowers, privacy, or a long-lasting legacy to your landscape, Nature Hills is here to help you find the perfect tree for your Indiana landscape!