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Where do the plant recommendations come from?

USDA PLANTS for native ranges, Doug Tallamy's research and the National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder for ecological value, plus Audubon's Plants for Birds database and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for regional fit.

Are these all native plants?

Yes. Every recommendation is genuinely native to the area associated with your ZIP code.

Why is this bird-driven instead of plant-driven?

Most planners start with your climate zone and give you a generic native plant list. This one starts with the birds you actually want to attract, then filters plants to the ones that support those species.

Plants for Birds in Indiana

Native Indiana plants that genuinely support the birds you want in your yard.

Indiana sits between the Great Lakes and the southern hardwoods, with Lake Michigan funneling migrants through the Indiana Dunes and the Ohio River edging the south. Cardinals — the state bird — hold every backyard. Wood Thrushes still sing in southern Indiana's wooded valleys. And the Goose Pond fish-and-wildlife area now draws cranes and waterfowl by the thousands.

Native Indiana plants do work that lawn grass and big-box ornamentals can't. They host the caterpillars and insects that 96% of Indiana songbirds rely on to feed their chicks. White oaks, tulip poplars, dogwoods, and the wildflowers of Indiana's woodlands and remnant prairies built the state's bird communities.

Enter your Indiana ZIP code in the tool below. The planner will filter every plant in our database to the ones genuinely native to your part of Indiana — Lake Michigan shore, central till plains, southern hill country, or Ohio Valley — and useful for the birds you actually want. Pick the species — cardinals, Wood Thrushes, hummingbirds, or all of them — and we'll give you a plant list that does the work.

Native Indiana plants that genuinely support birds

A few of the most useful native Indiana plants for birds:

Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) — Indiana's state tree. Spring nectar for hummingbirds; seeds for finches.
White Oak (Quercus alba) — Hosts hundreds of caterpillar species; acorns for many birds.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) — Spring blooms then fall berries for waxwings, robins, thrushes.
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) — Early-spring blooms for hummingbirds and orioles.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) — Red autumn berries for migrating Wood Thrushes.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) — Host for the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly.
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) — Year-round cover; winter berries for waxwings and bluebirds.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) — Magnet for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) — Summer nectar; fall seed heads for goldfinches.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) — Late-summer seeds for finches and chickadees.
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) — Early-spring nectar for returning hummingbirds.
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) — Host plant for monarchs; seeds for sparrows.

This is a state-wide overview. For a list tailored to your garden:

Enter your Indiana ZIP and pick the birds you actually want. The planner filters every plant in our database down to the ones native to your part of Indiana and genuinely useful for your birds.

What's your ZIP code?

We'll show you native plants that are genuinely native to your area and rank them by which birds they support.

US ZIP code

Free. No email. We'll filter every plant in the database to those actually native to your state and suited to your USDA zone.

Better With Birds

Shop the birds you love

If you're already this excited about Indiana birds, you're going to like the apparel, prints, and stickers we've designed around them.

Northern Cardinals, Wood Thrushes, Indigo Buntings, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds — all illustrated and designed by Jaymi at Better With Birds. Made-to-order, never mass-printed.