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Native plants · Georgia

Native plants of Washington County

97 plant species are recorded as native to Georgia in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Washington County by USDA PLANTS. 48 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness. 1 more species is listed as both native and introduced and kept in a separate section.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Washington County, Georgia

Native species
97 Typical Georgia county: 129 (median of 159 counties)
Garden-ready natives
48 Typical Georgia county: 58
Share by type (all 97 native species)
Percent of the 97 native species in each growth type
Tree 24% (23)
Shrub 9% (9)
Wildflower (forb) 32% (31)
Grass or grass-like 18% (17)
Vine 8% (8)
Fern 9% (9)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (32%), followed by trees (24%).

Recorded native ranges can include long-established populations that spread from gardens; check your state’s native plant society list for local guidance. How native status is decided.

ZIP codes mainly in this county fall in USDA hardiness zone 8b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Cold hardiness is estimated from each plant’s PLANTS minimum temperature. How we estimate it.

Garden-ready natives 48

Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.

Garden-ready native plants of Washington County, Georgia
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alternateleaf dogwood Cornus alternifolia Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
American snowbell Styrax americanus Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade — Zone 5b
American wisteria Wisteria frutescens Vine 50 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
American witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana Tree 20 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
bigleaf snowbell Styrax grandifolius Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade — Zone 4b
blackjack oak Quercus marilandica Tree 25 ft Sun Low Zone 6a
bursting-heart Euonymus americanus Wildflower (forb) 6 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 5a
bushy bluestem Andropogon glomeratus Grass or grass-like 6.3 ft Sun High Zone 5a
butterweed Packera glabella Wildflower (forb) 3.2 ft Sun High Zone 10b
Canada goldenrod Solidago altissima Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 4b
Carolina ash Fraxinus caroliniana Tree 39 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 7b
cat greenbrier Smilax glauca Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6a
deerberry Vaccinium stamineum Shrub 16 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 5a
dwarf huckleberry Gaylussacia dumosa Shrub 1.4 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 5a
dwarf palmetto Sabal minor Tree 9 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 8a
eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Tree 190 ft Sun High Zone 3a
flowering dogwood Cornus florida Tree 30 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
graybark grape Vitis cinerea Vine 50 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 6b
highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum Shrub 12 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 4a
hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Tree 45 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 3b
lanceleaf greenbrier Smilax smallii Vine 1 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6b
lanceleaf tickseed Coreopsis lanceolata Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 6b
laurel oak Quercus laurifolia Tree 70 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 7a
mountain azalea Rhododendron canescens Shrub 14 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 6a
narrowleaf evening primrose Oenothera fruticosa Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus Shrub 3 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4b
nimblewill Muhlenbergia schreberi Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
pond cypress Taxodium ascendens Tree 100 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 8a
poorland flatsedge Cyperus compressus Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 11a
post oak Quercus stellata Tree 60 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
prairie wedgescale Sphenopholis obtusata Grass or grass-like 3.2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
red buckeye Aesculus pavia Tree 25 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 5a
red chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia Shrub 5 ft Sun High Zone 5b
saw greenbrier Smilax bona-nox Vine 4 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
shortleaf pine Pinus echinata Tree 100 ft Sun Medium Zone 5b
slippery elm Ulmus rubra Tree 85 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3a
southern sugar maple Acer floridanum Tree 50 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5b
Spanish moss Tillandsia usneoides Vine — Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 9b
splitbeard bluestem Andropogon ternarius Grass or grass-like 3.9 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 5b
summer grape Vitis aestivalis Vine 30 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
sweetbay Magnolia virginiana Tree 60 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 9a
teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides Grass or grass-like 4 in Sun High Zone 3b
turkey oak Quercus laevis Tree 40 ft Sun Medium Zone 7a
Virginia water horehound Lycopus virginicus Wildflower (forb) 4 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 4a
water oak Quercus nigra Tree 90 ft Sun High Zone 5a
wax myrtle Morella cerifera Tree 10 ft Sun High Zone 7a
willow oak Quercus phellos Tree 100 ft Sun High Zone 5a

Other native species recorded here 49

PLANTS has no growing records for these, so light, moisture, height and zone filters cannot include them. Many are wild species seldom sold by nurseries.

  • American pillwort Pilularia americana
  • Appalachian clubmoss Huperzia appalachiana
  • beaked panicgrass Panicum anceps
  • bearded flatsedge Cyperus squarrosus
  • bearded skeletongrass Gymnopogon ambiguus
  • beechdrops Epifagus virginiana
  • bigtop lovegrass Eragrostis hirsuta
  • Carolina desert-chicory Pyrrhopappus carolinianus
  • Carolina horsenettle Solanum carolinense
  • Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides
  • clasping milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis
  • coastal lovegrass Eragrostis refracta
  • crippled cranefly Tipularia discolor
  • cypress panicgrass Dichanthelium dichotomum
  • eastern sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus
  • ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron
  • fall witchgrass Digitaria cognata
  • fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
  • globe beaksedge Rhynchospora globularis
  • hairy fimbry Fimbristylis puberula
  • jumpseed Polygonum virginianum
  • juniper leaf Polypremum procumbens
  • little lady's tresses Spiranthes tuberosa
  • longleaf milkweed Asclepias longifolia
  • meadow spikemoss Selaginella apoda
  • narrowleaf whitetop aster Sericocarpus linifolius
  • netted chainfern Woodwardia areolata
  • northern selaginella Selaginella rupestris
  • Nuttall's milkwort Polygala nuttallii
  • perfoliate bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
  • prostrate blue violet Viola walteri
  • rabbit-tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
  • rough Mexican clover Richardia scabra
  • roughfruit scaleseed Spermolepis divaricata
  • sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis
  • slender goldentop Euthamia caroliniana
  • slimspike threeawn Aristida longespica
  • Small's ragwort Packera anonyma
  • southern crab apple Malus angustifolia
  • spotted beebalm Monarda punctata
  • spotted geranium Geranium maculatum
  • St. Andrew's cross Hypericum hypericoides
  • swamp leather flower Clematis crispa
  • Virginia chainfern Woodwardia virginica
  • Virginia plantain Plantago virginica
  • warty panicgrass Panicum verrucosum
  • waxyleaf meadow-rue Thalictrum revolutum
  • yankeeweed Eupatorium compositifolium
  • yellow thistle Cirsium horridulum
Also listed as native and introduced here 1

PLANTS labels these species both native and introduced in this state: some forms are native and others were brought in from elsewhere. Most gardeners should choose plants from the main list.

  • Mexican teaDysphania ambrosioides

Compared with Georgia

The typical county is the median of the 159 Georgia counties with PLANTS county records; the statewide figure counts every species native anywhere in the state. More species is not better or worse: counties differ in size, habitat and how thoroughly they have been surveyed.

Native species counts, Washington County and Georgia
MeasureWashington CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 97 129 1,750
Garden-ready natives 48 58 608
Tree 23 — 202
Shrub 9 — 91
Wildflower (forb) 31 — 908
Grass or grass-like 17 — 403
Vine 8 — 78
Fern 9 — 68

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Washington County.

Look up another ZIP

Matches your ZIP to the county it mostly lies in, then lists the plants recorded as native to your state (Kew’s World Checklist and USDA PLANTS) and recorded in that county by USDA PLANTS.

Source & data date

Source
USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
Citation
USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
Data date
Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
Zones
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) ZIP table: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed November 3, 2026. Plant zones on this site are our estimate, not the official map.
Scope
Washington County (county FIPS 13303), Georgia. 97 native species from PLANTS county distribution records; garden-ready = species with a PLANTS characteristics record.
Method
A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources

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