Trubus Online
The digital nursery for serious growers
12,400+ verified species profiles, each reviewed by certified horticulturists and mapped to USDA Hardiness Zones, bloom windows, and water needs. Independent, peer-checked, and the most thorough open plant index on the web — the one serious growers keep open in a tab.
Every profile in the database can be narrowed by the variables that actually drive success in a backyard — not by marketing tags. Combine the facets to find plants that fit your soil, your light, and your USDA Zone in seconds.
Narrow by your Zone 1 through 13. Profiles include sub-zone half-step resolution for Zone 5b, 6a, 7b — the bands that actually decide survival.
Full sun, part sun, part shade, full shade, or dappled. Filtered by usable hours of direct light, not the ambiguous "bright indirect" of houseplant marketing.
Low, moderate, or high water — calibrated to established plants in normal soil, not the oversized irrigation volumes that come with new transplants.
Pick a month and the database returns every species that puts on a show during it. Build a twelve-month cutting garden, one filter at a time.
Set a height and spread ceiling for the bed you actually have. The filter uses ten-year mature dimensions, not the optimistic first-year nursery listing.
Filter by ecoregion or state/province of origin to surface natives, near-natives, and climate-adapted selections suited to your bioregion.
Four picks from the editorial team — a mix of edible, native, perennial, and collector's choice — each freshly reviewed against current horticultural research. Tap through for the full care sheet.
Pawpaw · Annonaceae
North America's largest native fruit, ripening custard-textured in September. Cross-pollination notes and grafting guidance now in the profile.
Tennessee Coneflower · Asteraceae
A federally listed species, available from nursery-grown seed. The 2024 review adds new germination protocols for winter-sown plugs.
Yellow Lady's Slipper · Orchidaceae
A notoriously fussy native terrestrial orchid, now documented with propagating lab protocols and ethically sourced nursery alternatives.
Common Sage · Lamiaceae
A Mediterranean staple revised with new data on drought tolerance and a refreshed pruning calendar keyed to bloom timing.
No species name yet? Start with intent. Each collection is hand-assembled by our editorial horticulturists and updated quarterly as new cultivars are verified.
Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and edible flowers — from grafted apples to window-sill thyme.
North American natives and near-natives, tagged by ecoregion for your bioregion.
Tropicals and indoor-adapted species, with humidity and light requirements that reflect real apartment conditions.
Unusual species and heritage cultivars, each verified for propagation source and ethical nursery availability.
Drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, and cold-hardy selections for gardeners adapting to shifting regional norms.
Perennials, shrubs, and groundcovers proven to thrive in low-light conditions, from dappled to full shade.
The Trubus database is built by people who actually grow plants — not by anonymous contributors. Here is what our review pipeline looks like.
Backed by a 2.5-acre reference garden in Hood River, Oregon, where every claim about a plant's performance is independently grown and observed before it reaches the page.
The free database opens the door. A Trubus+ membership unlocks the room beyond it: the Plant Care Calendar keyed to your ZIP code, unlimited profile saves, region-specific frost-date mapping, and the weekly Grower's Briefing delivered every Sunday.
Week-by-week task lists for 217,000+ growers, keyed to your frost dates and microclimate.
Build as many garden plans as you want. Members track plantings, notes, and bloom logs in one place.
A single Sunday email: what to plant this week, what to watch for, and one long-read from the editorial board.
No charge for 30 days. Cancel any time from your account dashboard. Members joined in 2024 average 11.6 saved plants within their first month.