Zones 5–9
Plant Database · Vol. 14
Plant This, Not That — a 4,700-species reference with USDA Zone 3–10 substitutes.
Built over fourteen years by our editorial team of eleven designers, horticulturists, and photographers, the Verdant Studio plant database is the largest independently published botanical reference for North American home landscaping. Every entry lists the species, the zones it actually thrives in, and the climate-tested swaps that perform the same job in colder or hotter regions — so you stop losing plants to a surprise frost or a July heat wave.
- 4,700+ species, each tagged by USDA hardiness zone, sun exposure, and mature size
- Zone 3–10 regional substitutes for every featured plant
- Written by ASLA-certified landscape architects and vetted horticulturists
Featured This Season
A curated index of the database — tap any tile to open the full species sheet and its regional substitutes.
Every plant below is one of 4,700+ entries in our reference library. Tiles are arranged as a botanical index, not a search result — browse by feel, then drill in.
Zones 5–9
Zones 5–8
Japanese Maple · Bloodgood
Substitute in Zone 9 → Acer palmatum 'Tamukeyama'
Zones 4–9
Switchgrass · Heavy Metal
Substitute in Zone 10 → Pennisetum 'Hameln'
Zones 4–8
Salvia · May Night
Substitute in Zone 3 → Salvia 'Blue Marvel'Showing 4 of 4,700+ entries · Last reviewed by our horticulture desk on March 4, 2025
Filter By Climate
Pick your USDA hardiness zone — every plant you see below has been grown in your zone, not just written about it.
Our horticulturists field-test every entry in the database across USDA Zones 3 through 10. The four panels below are the ranges most U.S. homeowners ask about — choose yours to skip straight to the species and substitutes proven to thrive where you actually garden.
Zones 3 – 5
Cold-winter regions from northern Minnesota to Maine. Look for late-bloomers, deep-rooted perennials, and conifers that shrug off hard freezes.
- Bur Oak · Quercus macrocarpa
- Lupine · Lupinus polyphyllus
- Serviceberry · Amelanchier
- Switchgrass · Panicum virgatum
Zones 6 – 7
The workhorse middle band from the Mid-Atlantic through the Pacific Northwest. Where most of our 2.1 million annual readers garden, and where the database is deepest.
- Japanese Maple · Acer palmatum
- Lavender · Lavandula angustifolia
- Hydrangea · H. macrophylla
- Boxwood · Buxus 'Green Velvet'
Zones 8 – 9
Mild-winter regions across the South and coastal California. Heat tolerance and summer humidity matter as much as the winter low.
- Southern Magnolia · M. grandiflora
- Olive · Olea europaea 'Arbequina'
- Salvia · S. greggii
- Yucca · Y. filamentosa 'Color Guard'
Zone 10
Frost-free pockets of Southern California, the Gulf Coast, and south Florida. The shortest list — and the most-sought-after substitutions for plants readers see in cooler zones.
- Bougainvillea · B. glabra
- Palm Grass · Setaria palmifolia
- Plumbago · Plumbago auriculata
- Ti Plant · Cordyline fruticosa
Don't know your zone? Look up your USDA hardiness zone by ZIP →
From the Field
See the swap logic in action: three before/after species pairings that solve a common design problem per climate.
Every entry in the Plant This, Not That database answers a single question — "what do I plant instead, where I actually live?" These three pairings were pulled from real reader projects in 2024 and link straight to the landscape idea plans that put them to work.
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Zone 4 — Front Yard
The brief: a small ornamental tree with year-round color for a Zone 4 front yard.
Plant this: Japanese maple — not that: Crape myrtle
A reader in Minneapolis wanted sculptural bark, red foliage, and four-season structure in a tight 6×6 bed beside the front walk. Crape myrtle was the obvious Pinterest choice, but it dies back to the crown in Zone 4 and rarely flowers north of Philadelphia. We swapped to Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' — hardy to Zone 5, root-hardy in Zone 4 with siting — and pointed them to the shade-tolerant front-yard plans we publish under the Modern Cottage category.
See the idea plan → -
Zone 6 — Foundation Planting
The brief: an evergreen structural hedge that won't scorch against a south-facing wall.
Plant this: Inkberry holly — not that: Boxwood
Boxwood is the default, but in Zone 6 sites with afternoon sun and reflective siding it bronzes hard by February and pushes boxwood blight into the soil for years. The editor-recommended swap is Ilex glabra 'Shamrock' — a native inkberry that holds its dark green color through winter, takes shearing, and ships about 18% under a comparable boxwood run on our 1,200+ verified Build Sheets.
See the idea plan → -
Zone 9 — Backyard
The brief: a low-water, pollinator-friendly back border on a south-facing slope.
Plant this: California sagebrush — not that: Russian sage
Russian sage looks right on the Pinterest board but collapses in Zone 9 humidity and asks for more water than most California readers want to budget. The regional substitute we publish for Perovskia is Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray' — a native sagebrush that thrives on coastal fog and inland heat alike. Pair it with our drought-tolerant backyard plans for a complete build-out under $15K.
See the idea plan →
4,700+ species, every one tagged by USDA Zone, sun exposure, water need, and budget tier. Open the full database →
By the Numbers
What "Plant This, Not That" actually covers — and who maintains it.
- 4,700+ Species in the database Each entry lists mature size, sun/water needs, native range, and at least one climate substitute.
- Zone 3–10 USDA Hardiness coverage Regional substitutes drawn from the editorial team's 14 years of field trials across North America.
- 11 Full-time editors Designers, horticulturists, and photographers in-house in Portland — not a content farm.
- 312K+ Weekly newsletter readers Q4 2024 readership across homeowners and 9,400 landscape pros.
Source: Verdant Studio editorial census, Q4 2024. Verified by HGTV Remodels' "Best Landscape Design Resource" panel, 2023.
Next Step
Found your plant? See the front-yard and backyard plans that put it to work.
Every entry in the Plant Database links out to the landscape ideas that use it — 8,400+ photo-rich plans graded by climate zone, budget tier ($5K / $15K / $40K / $75K+), and maintenance effort, so you only see designs that actually fit your home.
Average reader project ships 23% under original budget, based on 14,000 self-reported build outcomes.