Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
From: Portlandia, OR
Region: Northwest
Topic: Planting, Soils
Title: Plants native to Hudson River
Answered by: Anne Bossart
Well you have me confused. Because your question came from Oregon, I am assuming you are talking about a river in Oregon, but Google thinks the Hudson River is in New York and Wikipedia says there is one in Georgia as well as New York, but not Oregon.
So ... here's how you find the answer to your question. Visit our Native Plant Database, scroll down the page and perform a Combination Search for whichever state you are thinking of. You will have to do separate searches for trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and grasses, each time narrowing the search to the conditions you would find along/in a river (moist and wet). A list of plants will be generated with links to detailed plant information pages. Those pages are linked to the USDA website, where you can see in which states and counties the plant is present (not necessarily native, but present).
For example:
When I search: Oregon/shrub/moist /wet, a list of 90 plants is generated.
Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon serviceberry) is one of the first ones on the list. When I click on it's USDA symbol AMAL2 it takes me to this page on the USDA site which shows me that the plant is present in a lot of the US and Canada. It is present in every county in Oregon but not New York.
This is a fairly involved process and I recommend that before you start you do more general internet search on riparian plants for the state or area in which your Hudson River flows. Here's a link to a field guide for riparian plants of New Hampshire which may be helpful if you are referring to the NY Hudson River, as the plants will likely be native to New York as well (you can verify on our database). Keep in mind that our database will give you only native plants. There will be many non-native and invasive plants present in the river as well. You will find information about invasive plants as well as recommended native replacements at this Gardensmart website.
I hope this guidance is helpful; your question is too broad to be able to give you a concise answer with a list of plants.
Is California fan palm found on Edwards Plateau from Austin
January 18, 2013 - Is the following Palm, Washingtonia filifera, found in the Texas Hill Country, specifically the Edwards Plateau or Balcones Canyonlands NWR.
view the full question and answer
Need help growing plants in red dirt in Mount Pleasant, NC.
September 17, 2011 - I live in N.C. and I have had the hardest time getting plants to grow;I have red dirt at my house. Can you suggest a few colorful plants that would do real well in red dirt? Thank You So Very Much!!!!...
view the full question and answer
Will wood shavings in the soil require nitrogen from Charleston MO
May 04, 2011 - I cut down a big maple tree and a lot of the wood shavings was left in the soil. I planted a flower bed over the area this spring. I later read that the wood chips in the soil would use a lot of nitro...
view the full question and answer
Shade tolerant plants for Waynesville MO
April 09, 2013 - We moved to Waynesville, MO (gardening region 6) and when we bought our house there was a nice looking gardening area in front of the house. It is shaded moderately by a Redwood Tree and was "occupie...
view the full question and answer
Potting soil recipe for azaleas
October 07, 2007 - I have a couple of Azaleas in pots that need repotting.I can't remember the recipe for the medium I put them in last time other than pine bark mulch. I think there were three ingredients. What is ...
view the full question and answer
![]() |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |