The Best Native Plant and Pollinator Apps of 2027

The short version: Wildr Places is the best overall app for planning a wildlife-friendly native garden and seeing how much local wildlife it supports. Percy, the garden journal that remembers, is best for enjoying a native garden as it fills in, and learning from it. It remembers what you planted, what returned, which wildlife found it (the first monarch caterpillar on your milkweed counts), and how the garden changed from one season to the next, then gives advice based on that history. iNaturalist is the deepest tool for checking whether a species is native or introduced in a place, and EDDMapS is the best app for reporting invasive species. And some of the best native plant tools aren't apps at all. They're free websites from the National Wildlife Federation, Audubon, and others. I've listed those here too.

Quick disclosure: I make Percy, so I'm not the most objective source. But the apps listed here aren't competitors. They're allies. They're each doing work I admire for an ecological mission I share. I hope this guide helps you find the right resources to help you in your own garden, even if that's not the one I make.

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Last fall I went to a native plant sale at our local nursery and bought two wrinkleleaf goldenrods (Solidago rugosa). They started blooming a few weeks ago and it seems like every pollinator in the region got the memo. It looks like bumblebee Black Friday.

It was thrilling. I took more videos and photos than was probably reasonable. It made me want to do more.

But doing more and creating a native garden can take a bit of homework. There are no "native everywhere" plants. What's native depends on exactly where you live, not just your country or your state. And some invasive plants are still sold at garden centers with cheerful pictures of butterflies on the labels and signs that say "pollinator favorite."

Fortunately there are good tools that can help with this. To build this list, I looked for the ones that help with the actual jobs: choosing natives for your location, telling native species from invasive ones, reporting invasives, and keeping track of what your yard is doing for wildlife over time. I judged them on whether the advice is specific to where you are, whether it's grounded in real ecological data, and whether a regular home gardener (not a botanist) can use it.

For the wider field, including journals, planners, and plant ID, see the best gardening apps of 2027.

Last checked: October 11, 2026. Apps change quickly, so if something here is out of date, let me know.

The best native plant and pollinator apps, at a glance

If you want to…	Best tool
Plan a yard that supports wildlife	Wildr Places
Remember what you planted and who came to visit, with advice that knows your garden	Percy
Identify plants, bugs and wildlife quickly	Seek by iNaturalist
Check whether something is native or introduced where you are	iNaturalist
Report an invasive plant	EDDMapS
Find native plants in Texas	Wild Thumb
Find native plants for your ZIP code (free websites)	NWF Native Plant Finder and Audubon Native Plants

1. Wildr Places: for planning a yard that supports wildlife

If your question is "what should I plant so my yard does more for birds and pollinators?", Wildr Places is where you should start.

Wildr starts by giving your yard a Wildr Score, based on questions you answer about how you tend your space: how much of the property is lawn, whether you use fertilizer or pesticides, turn off exterior lights at night, leave the leaves in fall, have a birdbath or a pollinator water station, etc. It's a useful way to see your property's ecological health, and it suggests steps you can take to improve it.

Wildr also lets you add the native plants you're growing, and when you do, it shows how many species each one supports. From there you can see exactly which species, with photos for each, and filter for the rare or imperiled ones. You can also add sightings to keep track of which ones you've seen firsthand.

I've added 17 native plant species from my own garden so far and Wildr informed me that they are supporting 723 different species, including dozens that are rare or imperiled. It turns out that wrinkleleaf goldenrod that's so popular with my bumblebees helps 179 other species too. It's a staggeringly concrete demonstration of the impact a single gardener can make with just a few thoughtful choices.

Wildr also has plant ID that's powered by iNaturalist (more on them below), so you can identify plants and wildlife where you live, or connect your account and bring in sightings you've previously logged on iNaturalist. For plants, Wildr tells you whether they're native or invasive, and lets you add them to your place if you're growing them.

Wildr takes the often overlooked things seriously too: leaving the leaves, adding water, building a brush pile, making windows safer for birds. Some of the most valuable things you can do for wildlife aren't plants at all, and Wildr treats them that way.

Wildr does a remarkable job of organizing a lot of complex information and making it easy to understand. If you couldn't tell, I'm a big fan of this one.

Wildr grew out of Plan it Wild, a native-habitat landscaping business, and its broader work has involved partners including Homegrown National Park. It's free on iPhone and Android. One tip: search for Wildr Places, because an unrelated social app is also called Wildr.

A small local note: Wildr is made just up the road from me here in Westchester County, NY. I don't know anyone there. I just love what they're building, and it's nice when the best app in a category also turns out to be a neighbor.

2. Percy: for remembering what works (and who visits) in your native garden

Percy is the garden journal that remembers everything about your garden, which makes it a great companion to the other apps on this list.

Part of the joy of a native garden is the payoff. You plant milkweed on a hunch, and one August morning there's a monarch caterpillar on it, eating the exact thing you planted it for. Those are the moments that make all the digging worth it, and they're also the easiest to lose track of. Percy keeps a record of your plants, but more importantly, it keeps those moments. The bumblebee asleep in the coneflower, or the morning your goldenrod became the most popular hangout in the neighborhood. I think that's also how caring for wildlife sticks. Duty gets you through one fall of not raking the leaves. Delight gets you through ten.

You just hold a button and tell it what's happening in your garden the way you'd tell a friend: "I planted three New England asters by the fence," or "A hummingbird just found the cardinal flower!" You can say it, type it, or add some photos. Percy does all the work to capture it for you. It saves the plant, the date, and the weather, and files it in a beautifully organized space called The Nest. It feels like a coffee table book about your garden that writes a new page every time you share a note.

Percy remembers everything you share, so the more you mention, the better it knows your garden, and the better it can show you how that garden has changed over time. By your second season, Percy can start connecting dots and sharing insights you may never have noticed. Did the monarchs come earlier this year? Did things flower earlier or later? Which plants attracted the most adorable napping bumblebees?

Ask for advice about your native garden

Percy's memory is especially helpful for advice. Because it knows your garden, it gives you advice based on where you actually live. Try "What are some good native plants for the shady corner by the oak tree?" and you get an answer in plain conversation, written for your garden, not a generic growing zone. A few months later, ask "When did the monarchs show up last year?" and Percy can answer from your own notes. It also gives you a heads-up in the app before frost, a heat wave, heavy rain or a dry spell, and about every two weeks it sends a Garden Letter, an email about your garden with a short naturalist's note tucked in.

Identify plants, insects and issues

Percy also works as a native plant identification app for where you garden. It IDs plants, insects and plant problems from a photo, and then focuses on the question that comes after the name: what does this mean for my garden? Ask about a bug on your coneflowers and Percy lets you know if it's a friend or a foe, so you don't squash that hoverfly you were trying to attract. A yellowing tomato leaf gets a likely diagnosis and organic-first advice. And if Percy isn't sure, it gives you a short list: "Could be X or Y, and here's how to tell."

It also tells you when a plant is native or invasive where you garden, drawing on federal and state sources in the US and national sources in the UK, Canada and Australia, and it stays quiet elsewhere rather than guess.

I learned why that matters after spending two summers naively encouraging English ivy up a stump in my backyard (I wrote about it in plant ID is only the beginning). Percy's ID is designed to help you remember your garden and know what to do next.

That said, for digging deeper into a species' native range or seeing its impact on wildlife, iNaturalist and Wildr are the better plant ID tools.

Keep the season

By the end of the season, Percy has a record of what you planted, who visited, and what the weather did in between. Percy turns that into a Migration Report, an incredible keepsake that captures the story of your season in the garden. The first ones arrive in January 2027.

Percy is a great companion to use with Wildr. Use Wildr to plan your native garden. Then use Percy to remember what happened in it, and get on with enjoying it.

Percy has a native iPhone app and works in any browser on Android or desktop. Your first full growing season is free, then it's $39 a year.

3. iNaturalist: for checking what's native or introduced where you are

If your question is less "what should I plant?" and more "what exactly is growing here, and does it belong?" iNaturalist is one of the deepest resources for answering that question.

You photograph a plant, insect, bird, mushroom or just about anything else living, and iNaturalist gives you an identification suggestion right away. Then the observation can be opened up to a global community of naturalists and scientists, who can weigh in and help refine the ID.

When an observation has the required information (date, location, media, and a wild organism) and the community reaches sufficient agreement on the identification, it can become Research Grade and be shared into biodiversity datasets used by researchers. So your backyard's bumblebees become a scientific record, which gives them serious bragging rights in the bumblebee community.

For native gardening, one of iNaturalist's most useful features is its place data. On the website, it can show whether a species is considered native, endemic, or introduced in a particular place, based on community-maintained checklists. Coverage varies, but in well-documented areas it can be an incredibly useful way to answer the question that a species name alone can't: is this plant actually from here?

It's also worth exploring iNaturalist's Projects. Search near where you live and you'll often find local pollinator surveys, native bee counts, bioblitzes, invasive-species monitoring projects and other community-science efforts. A sighting from your yard can end up contributing to a much bigger picture of what's living in your region.

iNaturalist is cautious when it isn't sure. It may suggest a genus instead of confidently naming a species, and a community-confirmed identification can take hours or days. That restraint is part of what makes it useful.

If you want to know what's growing wild around you, whether it's native or introduced there, and maybe contribute the observation to science while you're at it, iNaturalist is where I'd look.

It's free on iPhone, Android and the web.

4. Seek by iNaturalist: for identifying plants and wildlife, especially with kids

Seek is iNaturalist's simpler, more immediate sibling. Open it, point your camera at a plant or animal, and it starts narrowing the identification in real time from family to genus to species as you hold the camera.

It also works on insects, birds, mushrooms, and most other living things, including my dog, which Seek correctly identified as a Domestic Dog, and because she is a doodle, there is extra emphasis on the domestic.

Seek is especially good when you want the identification itself to be the activity. There's no account required, your observations stay on your device by default, and the camera identification works offline. It also has badges and challenges, which make it one of the easiest nature apps to hand to a kid and say, go see what you can find. (Be warned, they may not give your phone back.)

Seek is careful about uncertainty too. If it can't confidently identify a species, it may stop at a broader group rather than guessing. Sometimes that means you get an answer like "dicots," which is botanically accurate and emotionally unsatisfying. But I'd rather have an app be transparent when it doesn't know. I wish more humans would do the same.

You can optionally connect Seek to iNaturalist and post observations there, but you don't need to. If you're on a walk, gardening with kids, or just curious about what's living around you, Seek is one of the easiest places to start.

It's free on iPhone and Android.

5. EDDMapS: for reporting an invasive plant

When you find an invasive plant, reporting it helps. EDDMapS, from the University of Georgia's Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, lets you report invasive species sightings across the US and Canada with a photo and your location. Reports go through EDDMapS verification workflows before being treated as verified records, which helps catch new invasions early, while they're still small enough to stop.

It's free. It's built for reporting rather than gardening advice, but if you've ever pulled porcelain berry or multiflora rose and wondered whether it mattered beyond your garden, this is where it counts.

6. Wild Thumb: for Texas gardeners

Some of the best native plant tools are regional, because "native" is regional. Wild Thumb, from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation's Pollinators & Prairies program, recommends Texas native plants for your local climate, with pollinator information, design ideas, and care reminders. It's free on iPhone and Android.

If you garden in Texas, it's worth having. (So is our Texas native and invasive plant guide.) Outside Texas, check your state's native plant society. Several run their own tools, like the California Native Plant Society's Calscape.

Free native plant websites worth bookmarking

Some of the most useful native plant tools aren't apps. Bookmark them on your phone and they work fine in the garden center aisle.

• NWF Native Plant Finder: enter your ZIP code and get native plant recommendations based on Doug Tallamy's research. From the National Wildlife Federation, with the US Forest Service and the University of Delaware.
• Audubon Native Plants Database: native plants for your ZIP code, plus local places to buy them.
• Pollinator Partnership planting guides: free regional guides to planting for pollinators, found by ZIP code.
• Calscape: a California Native Plant Society tool for finding plants native to your specific part of California, with filters for things like sun, water, plant type, wildlife value, and local nurseries.
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: a database of more than 9,000 North American native plants you can filter by state.
• Homegrown National Park Biodiversity Map: a national map of yards and gardens planting for biodiversity.
• Bumble Bee Watch: photograph bumble bees and submit sightings to help track declining species. From the Xerces Society and partners.

What about native cultivars?

Some native plant people will tell you cultivars (sometimes called "nativars") don't count. I'm not a purist, and the research is more forgiving than the debate.

Trials at the Mt. Cuba Center found that many native cultivars draw insects about as well as the straight species, and a University of Vermont study found a few that beat it. The ones to think twice about are cultivars bred for red, blue, or purple leaves, which caterpillars avoided in University of Delaware research from Doug Tallamy's lab, and double-flowered forms, where bees can have a hard time reaching the pollen and nectar. It isn't a rule for every plant, either. In Mt. Cuba's goldenrod trial, 11 of the top 12 performers were straight species.

If you can find a locally appropriate straight species, especially from local or regional seed, that's often the safest ecological choice. But a 'Lavendelturm' Culver's root in the ground beats a perfect plant you never got around to buying.

And you don't have to take anyone's word for it. Watch your own garden. If the bees are all over your cultivar coneflower, write that down. That's evidence too.

What makes a good native plant app?

A useful native plant app should be location-aware, distinguish native from introduced or invasive species, show where its ecological data comes from, and help you act on the information. For pollinator gardening, it should ideally connect plant choices to the insects, birds or other wildlife they support.

Which native plant app should you use?

If you only download one, pick it by the job:

• Starting a native garden from scratch? Wildr Places, plus the NWF Native Plant Finder.
• Want to keep the moments, learn from them, and get advice that knows your garden? Percy.
• Curious what grows wild around you, and whether it belongs there? iNaturalist.
• Out on a walk with kids? Seek.
• Found an invasive? Report it on EDDMapS.

They work well together. Wildr suggests milkweed for a sunny corner. You plant it and tell Percy. A few weeks later you tell Percy about the first monarch caterpillar, and next year you'll know when to start looking.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an app that tells you if a plant is native or invasive? Yes, a few, and each does a different job. iNaturalist goes deepest. It can show whether a species is native or introduced in a particular place, based on community checklists (most reliably on its website). Wildr Places, whose ID is powered by iNaturalist, tells you whether a plant is native or invasive and then shows what it does for local wildlife, including how many species it supports. Percy tells you whether a plant is native or invasive where you garden, then remembers it as part of your garden, so when you ask what to do next, like how to get rid of an invasive or what to plant in its place, the advice is based on your garden's history.

What is the best free native plant app? Wildr Places is free and built for choosing native plants for wildlife. iNaturalist and Seek are free for identifying plants (here's how the plant ID apps compare). The National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder is a free website, not an app, and is excellent for finding natives by ZIP code.

Is there a good pollinator garden app? The closest thing to a dedicated one is Wildr Places, which shows how many species each native plant supports. A few older pollinator apps have been discontinued. For planning, the NWF Native Plant Finder and the Pollinator Partnership's free regional guides are also excellent. Once your garden is planted, Percy remembers which pollinators show up and when, and gives advice based on what's happening in your garden.

How do I report an invasive plant? Use EDDMapS, a free app from the University of Georgia, to report invasive species sightings in the US and Canada. Your state's department of agriculture or invasive species council may also take reports.

Do native cultivars (nativars) help pollinators? Often, yes. Research has found that many native cultivars support pollinators and caterpillars about as well as the straight species, and a few do better. Cultivars bred for strongly altered leaf color or heavily doubled flowers can sometimes provide less ecological value, depending on the plant and trait. Locally appropriate straight species, especially from local or regional seed, are often the safest ecological choice, but a green-leaved, single-flowered cultivar is still a good plant for wildlife.

Why does "native" depend on where you live? A plant is native to a specific region and ecosystem, not a whole country. A plant native to one part of the US can be a problem in another. We explain more in What Is a Native Plant?, and our state native plant guides cover native and invasive plants state by state.

What is the best app for identifying native plants? iNaturalist is strongest for checking whether a species is native or introduced in a particular place. Wildr Places shows what a native plant does for local wildlife, and Percy remembers it as part of your garden and gives advice based on that.

What is the best app for planning a pollinator garden? Wildr Places is my pick because it recommends native plants for your region and shows which insects and other wildlife those plants support. The NWF Native Plant Finder and Pollinator Partnership guides are excellent free web alternatives.

If you want the longer argument for why "is it native?" matters more than "what is it?", I wrote about what a plant app owes the world.