Native Missouri Plants of Merit

For many years, the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening has curated a list of plants worthy of special attention. The Plants of Merit program honors plants that meet certain selection criteria:

Easy to grow and maintain
Not known to be invasive in the St. Louis area
Resistant or tolerant to diseases and insects
Has outstanding ornamental value
Reasonably available to purchase

Many native plants have been chosen as Plants of Merit over the years. Here are just a few of our favorites to add to your garden.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)

Bright pinkish/purple berries hang from the thin green branches of a serviceberry tree. — *Serviceberry fruit. Photo by Cassidy Moody / Missouri Botanical Garden.*

Plant Type: Small Tree

Family: Rosaceae

Bloom Time: March to April

This small tree bears showy, white flowers in spring, followed by edible fruits that mature from green to red and finally to dark purplish-black. In fall, the foliage of serviceberry turns bright shades of orange and red.

Clusters of white flowers on greyish branches. — *Flowering Serviceberry. Photo by Tom Incrocci/Missouri Botanical Garden.*

The serviceberry fruits are delectable, with a sweet and tart flavor. The fruit can be enjoyed fresh off the tree, used in baked goods, or processed into jam or preserves. Of course, birds also love to eat the fruits, so this is a great choice for attracting feathered visitors to your garden.

Learn more about serviceberry

Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)

A cluster of oak leaves branch out from the trunk of a chinkapin oak. — *Chinkapin Oak. Photo by Nathan Kwarta / Missouri Botanical Garden.*

Plant Type: Large Tree

Family: Fagaceae

Bloom Time: April

Need shade? Want to help local bird and pollinator populations? Plant an oak tree!

Tolerant of drought and alkaline soils, the chinkapin oak is a great choice for the St. Louis area. The leaves have scalloped edges and turn shades of yellow, orange, and brown in the fall.

The fruit of a Chinkapin oak. From the stem, a cluster of triangular, tan pieces of flesh. The pieces encircle the bottom of a orange and brown striped piece of round fruit. — *Chinkapin oak fruit. Photo by Gerrit Davidse/Tropicos.*

Learn more about Chinkapin oak

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)

Clusters of white flowers on dark brown branches form a large hedge. — *Ninebark blooms in the Kemper Center gardens. Photo by Tom Incrocci/ Missouri Botanical Garden.*

Plant Type: Flowering shrub

Family: Rosaceae

Bloom Time: May to June

The arching branches of this adaptable shrub bear rounded clusters of white flowers in late spring or early summer.

The bark on mature stems is exfoliating and adds excellent visual and textural interest to the winter garden.

Branches of the ninebark appear to be peeling, with a white exterior and deep brown layer below. — *Ninebark’s ornamental bark. Photo from Plant Finder.*

Learn more about ninebark

Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus)

Long clusters of white, puffy flowers look like white caterpillars on a stem. — *Goat’s beard blooms. Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden*

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial (part shade)

Family: Rosaceae

Bloom Time: April to May

Reaching 4-6 feet tall, this perennial can be used as an accent or statement plant in a moist area of your garden. It does best with afternoon shade in our hot, humid climate.

Airy panicles of small, white flowers are held above clumps of compound foliage in late spring.

On a stem several groups of 3 leaves with frayed edges. — *Goat’s beard leaves. Photo by David Stang/Tropicos.*

Learn more about goats beard

Blunt Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

A bluish/green hued photo shows the stem, large leaves and clustered flowers of the blunt mountainmint. The flowers are white and pink. — *Blunt Mountainmint. Photo by Jessie Harris/Tropicos.*

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial (Sun)

Family: Lamiaceae

Bloom Time: July to September

A true pollinator magnet, this member of the mint family deserves more recognition for its adaptability and ecosystem services.

Its tiny flowers are held in rounded heads atop the upright stems from mid-summer into early fall. It has strongly fragrant foliage, which critters such as rabbits and deer tend to avoid.

Long green leaves grow on a stem. — *Blunt mountainming leaves. Photo by David Stang/Tropicos.*

Unlike other mints, this plant is not too aggressive, and its rhizomatous spread is manageable.

Learn more about Blunt mountainmint

Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

Tan and green stalks of prairie dropseed spray out to form ornamental grass. — *Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis).*

Plant Type: Ornamental grass

Family: Poaceae

Bloom Time: August to October

This species of prairie grass will form tidy clumps of thin, arching leaves and produce airy sprays of pinkish-brown blooms in late summer. Unlike most grasses, the flowers of prairie dropseed are fragrant!

In fall the leaves turn golden yellow in color.

tiny, tan seed pods hang onto a long stem. — *Prairie dropseed at Shaw Nature Reserve. Photo by Matilda Adams/Missouri Botanical Garden*.

Learn more about Prairie dropseed

Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Bright red, trumpet-shaped flowers with an orange interior. Water droplets hang from the vibrant petals. — *Trumpet honeysuckle flowers after a rainshower at Shaw Nature Reserve. Photo by Matilda Adams/Missouri Botanical Garden.*

Plant Type: Vine

Family: Caprifoliaceae

Bloom Time: May to June

Hummingbirds will flock to the clusters of tubular, coral-orange colored flowers of this vine when they bloom in late spring and sporadically rebloom into the fall.

A small green hummingbird flutters its wings to steady itself while its beak dips into the trumpet honeysuckle flower. — *A hummingbird enjoys nectar from trumpet honeysuckle Shaw Nature Reserve. Photo by Matilda Adams/Missouri Botanical Garden*.

Although the name honeysuckle will make some (rightly) cringe, this plant is well-behaved and not aggressive unlike its invasive relatives.

Learn more about Trumpet Honeysuckle

Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

Flowers with a brown center and thin, long petals. The petals are brown near the center then transition to a vibrant yellow. — *Coreopsis tinctoria ‘Tiger Stripes’. Photo by Tom Incrocci/Missouri Botanical Garden.*

Plant Type: Annual

Family: Asteraceae

Bloom Time: June to September

Even though this coreopsis is an annual, it will come back year after year in the garden through self-seeding.

An older photograph with lines and grain shows plains coreopsis growing on very long, very thin stems. — *Plains coreopsis in bloom. Photo by Jessie Harris/Tropicos.*

Enjoy the summer-long display of cheery, bicolor blooms and the birds will enjoy the abundance of seeds. Any they don’t eat will grow into next year’s plants.

Learn more about plains coreopsis

Discover more plants of merit and plants of demerit

Discover more worthy plants to add to your garden with our Plants of Merit series. You can also find out what to avoid with our Plants of Demerit blogs.

Got plant questions? Ask the Garden’s Horticulture Answer Service

Garden staff and Master Gardener volunteers provide personalized answers to your specific gardening questions over the phone or through email.

Phone: 314-577-5143
E-mail: plantinformation@mobot.org

Justine Kandra | Horticulturist with the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening.

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