Apache Plume
Fallugia paradoxa
Leave its seed heads standing — birds strip them through fall and winter, hardy in zones 5–9.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 3–6 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
Seed, berry, and cover plants that feed songbirds year-round — and the caterpillars that nesting birds actually raise their chicks on. Every species here is genuinely native to Nevada and the wider flora of the Great Basin and hardy through zones 4–9 — proven performers for Nevada's arid, wide day-night swings climate across Great Basin sagebrush & Mojave, not a generic list. Local standouts include Apache Plume and Red-Flowering Currant. Feeders are a snack; native plants are the real grocery store. Berries and seed heads carry birds through fall and winter, while the caterpillars these natives host are what nearly all songbirds feed their young in spring. Leave the seed heads standing, hold off on fall cleanup, and let a layer of leaves and shrubs give birds the cover they need.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 4–9 · see this collection in other states.
Fallugia paradoxa
Leave its seed heads standing — birds strip them through fall and winter, hardy in zones 5–9.
Ribes sanguineum
Its seed heads carry birds through the lean months; for rocky and loam ground.
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Its seed heads carry birds through the lean months; spreading 4–8 ft.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Leave its seed heads standing — birds strip them through fall and winter, reaching 4–8 in.
Berberis aquifolium
Its seed heads carry songbirds through the lean months; cold-hardy to zone 5.
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Its seed heads carry songbirds through the lean months; for sand, rocky, and loam ground.
Bouteloua gracilis
Seed for birds and caterpillars for their nestlings — reaching 8–20 in.
Arctostaphylos columbiana
A winter seed source birds return to, reaching 3–9 ft.
Bouteloua curtipendula
Feeds birds two ways: winter seed and the caterpillars that raise their young.
Schizachyrium scoparium
Bird food twice over — seed heads songbirds strip in fall, plus the caterpillars nesting birds feed their chicks.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.