Grab these Downloads for Quick Reference!
Rhizobia bacteria are primarily responsible for pulling nitrogen out of the air and making it available to plants, which then use the nitrogen to create proteins.
The legume family (the pea & bean family) of plants are able to form a mutually beneficial relationship with rhizobia bacteria. Because of this, growing legumes in your gardens and landscapes can help improve the health of nearby plants through the nitrogen they add to the soil around them.
Click on each tab to view the nitrogen-fixing plants in that category. (You can download three PDF’s listing nitrogen-fixing plants, below.)
Clovers grown as cover crops.
-Alfalfa (perennial)
-Bean, Fava/Bell
-Bean, Hyacinth
-Bean, Jack
-Bean, Velvet
-Birds Trefoil (perennial)
-Clover, Arrowleaf
-Clover, Balansa
-Clover, Berseem
-Clover, Crimson
-Clover, Mammoth Red (perennial)
-Clover, New Zealand White (perennial)
-Clover, Red (perennial)
-Clover, Subterranean
-Clover, Sweet (perennial)
-Clover, White (perennial)
-Cowpea
-Lespedeza, Annual
-Lespedeza, Serciea (perennial)
-Medics
-Pea, Field
-Pea, Winter
-Peanut, Perennial (perennial)
-Soybeans
-Sun Hemp
-Velvet Bean
-Vetch, Bigflower
-Vetch, Chickling
-Vetch, Common
-Vetch, Hairy
Blue lupins.
-Indigo (all Indigofera genus)
-Lupins
–Ahipa
-Beans, Bush
-Beans, Garbanzo
-Beans, All Others (black, anasazi, lima, kidney, etc.)
-Beans, Snap
-Beans, String
-Breadroot (Prairie Turnip)
-Jicama
-Lentils
-Peanut (Groundnut)
-Peas, Green
-Peas, Snap
-Peas, Snow
-Peas, Sweet
Carob tree with unripe pods.
-Alder trees
-Black Locust
-Carob
-Japanese Pagoda
-Kentucky Coffee Bean
-Laburnum trees
-Locust tree
-Mesquite trees
-Russian Olive
Blue rain wisteria.
-Bean, Scarlet Runner
-Bean, Wild
-Groundnut
-Groundnut, Fortune’s
-Groundnut, Price’s
-Hog Peanut
-Kudzu (Japanese arrowroot)
-Pea, Beach
-Pea, Butterfly
-Pea, Earth-Nut
-Peas, Vining Garden Peas
-Vetch, American
-Vetch, Bitter
-Vetch, Tufted
-Vetch, Wood
-Wisteria, American
-Wisteria, Japanese
-Wisteria, Kentucky
PDF: List of Nitrogen-Fixing Plants & Their Zones
PDF: Cover Crops (both leguminous cover crops and grasses)
PDF: Secondary Crops (crops with more than one purpose, including those that are able to fix nitrogen)
Great information!
Interesting! I have never read that before. We usually have a few bean plants near our garden. I will have to locate them a little closer next year.
Oh, thanks, this is really helpful!! Pinning.
Thanks for sharing – very interesting!
This is so cool! I had no idea about this at all. Thanks for sharing!
All your .pdf files are coming up as 404 errors.
Thank you for letting me know! I’ll fix it asap.
Still returning 404 error!
I’m so sorry. Thank you to my readers for being on top of it! I have now fixed them and double-checked them. They should all work now!
Scarlet Runner Bean is a lovely vine that not only fixes nitrogen but also produces sweet nectar in red pea blooms that attract and feed hummingbirds. A double benefit. I think that the beans are edible but I haven’t tried that yet.
Please don’t plant invasive species like scotch broom and russian olive. Ask your local master gardeners for advice.
Great comment. Thank you!
No Russian Olive is so correct. Our township in Michigan sold them years ago and I assume they did not know just how invasive they are.
Now they are everywhere! We had to hire a farmer to brush whack them off our property. You can’t hand dig them out…..Our neighbors pasture was taken over by them and now the horses cant use the pasture.
it help me so mi=uch
Do sweet pea flower plants have nitrogen fixing properties?
Yes, they do. They’re in the legume family.
hi,
iam david kiptum from eldoret kenya i like to know where i get this plants, i want to took for trial taste plse.
Which plant, exactly, are you looking for?
Don’t forget to add Goumi to the list of nitrogen fixers. Non-invasive and produces tasty and highly nutritious berries.
Like your updates
Your information is so important
Firstly, this is great information, thank you. Secondly is there a map or reference for what areas the zones refer to?
Yes. The USDA has a great zones map here: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/