"Bald cypress might be a tree that you plant, you could plant native switch grass or purple coneflower, or black-eyed Susans," said Marcus Long, with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.

Native plants are used to the cold, even when the temperature gets this low, he added. “They’re used to the heat,” Tancig said. “They are adapted to bugs, to the diseases and fungus.

Native plants are more than just part of the scenery. They’re the backbone of functioning ecosystems — especially for native birds and insects. When these plants disappear, so do the species that ...