Native Plants for New England: Forest Understory and Meadow

Native plants for New England in zones 4–6 — forest understory species, coastal meadow plants, and the cold-hardy natives from UMass, UNH, and Maine Extension for gardens from Connecticut to Maine.

New England's three native habitat types

Per UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry, New England's native plant diversity reflects three primary habitat types: "acidic, rocky forest soils dominated by oaks, maples, and birches; coastal heath and scrub habitats with ericaceous shrubs; and open fields, roadsides, and wetland edges with sun-loving forbs and grasses." Each supports a distinct plant community, and confusion about which habitat type one is gardening in leads to wrong species selection and establishment failure.