Planting for Pollinators By Susi Algrim Why should we plant native plants? As mentioned in our Gardening for Pollinators handout, native plants are adapted to local soils and climates, they need little fertilizing, and are usually the best sources of nectar and pollen for pollinators. Some native plants also serve as host plants (nurseries) for various native pollinator species. Incorporating native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees into any landscape promotes biological diversity by providing shelter, food for wildlife and over-wintering habitats. Please Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all native plants. These are native plants that are typically found at nurseries or at various seed sources. Prairie = Sun Loving & Woodland = Shade Loving Prairie Perennials Bloom Common Name Botanical Name Color Height Sun Exposure & Soil Moisture Notes Time Western Yarrow Achillea millefolium June - Sept White 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Agastache Full sun to partial shade, dry Anise Hyssop June - Sept Blue, Purple 2 - 4 ft. foeniculum to medium Agastache Full sun to partial shade, Purple Giant Hyssop July - Oct Purple 6 ft. scrophulariifolia medium Host plant for various Hollyhock Alcea rosea June - Aug White, Pink or Red 6 - 8 ft. Full sun, medium butterfly species. Full sun to shade, dry to Wild Garlic Allium canadense May - July Pink 18 in. medium Full sun to partial shade, dry Nodding Onion Allium cernuum June - Aug Pink 1 - 1.5 ft. to medium Full sun to partial shade, dry Prairie Onion Allium stellatum July - Sept Reddish-Pink 1 - 1.5 ft. to medium Full sun to partial shade, Shining Blue Star Amsonia illustris May Light Blue 2 - 3 ft. medium Full sun to partial shade, Narrow-Leaf Blue Star Amsonia hubrichtii April - May Powdery Blue 2 - 3 ft. medium Full sun to partial shade, dry Host plant for American Field Pussytoes Antennaria neglecta April - June White 6 - 12 in. to medium lady butterflies. Full sun to partial shade, dry Pussytoes Antennaria parlinii April - June White 6 - 12 in. Host plant to medium Plantain Leaf Antennaria April - June White & Pink 6 - 12 in. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Pussytoes plantaginifolia Full sun to partial shade, Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis April - May Pink/Yellow/Red 2 - 3 ft. medium Arnoglossum Full sun to partial shade, dry Pale Indian Plantain July - Sept White 7 ft. atriplicifolium to medium Arnoglossum Prairie Indian Plantain June - July White 4 ft. Full sun, medium to wet plantagineum Artemisia White Sage Aug - Sept Yellowish Gray 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium ludoviciana Host plant for various Antelope Horns March - Asclepias asperula White, Green 1 - 2 ft. Full sun, dry to medium butterfly species, Milkweed Oct including Monarchs. Full sun to partial shade, dry Tall Green Milkweed Asclepias hirtella June - Aug Purple, Green 2 - 3 ft. Host plant to medium Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata July - Aug White, Pink 4 - 5 ft. Full sun, medium to wet Host plant Asclepias Purple Milkweed May - July Pink to Purple 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant purpurascens Showy Milkweed Asclepias speciosa May - June Purplish Pink 1 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Prairie Milkweed Asclepias sullivantii June - July Pink 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, medium to wet Host plant Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca June - Aug Pink/Mauve/White 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Yellow to Red- Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa June - Aug 1 - 2.5 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Orange Full sun to partial shade, dry Whorled Milkweed Asclepias verticillata June - Sept White 1 - 2.5 ft. Host plant to medium 1.5 - 2.5 Spider Milkweed Asclepias viridis May - July Green with Purple Full sun, dry to medium Host plant ft. Astragalus Full sun to partial shade, dry Host plant for various Canada Milk Vetch June - Aug Cream 1 - 3 ft. canadensis to medium butterfly species. Host plant for various Full sun to partial shade, dry White False Indigo Baptisia alba April - May Creamy White 2 - 4 ft. butterfly and moth to medium species. Full sun to partial shade, dry Blue False Indigo Baptisia australis May - June Indigo Blue 3 - 4 ft. Host plant to medium Full sun to partial shade, dry Plains Wild Indigo Baptisia bracteata April - June Creamy White 2 - 2.5 ft. Host plant to medium Yellow with Chocolate Flower Berlandiera lyrata May - Oct 1 - 2 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Maroon Brickellia Full sun to partial shade, dry False Boneset July - Oct White to Yellow 1 - 4 ft. eupatorioides to medium Host plant for various Bush's Poppy Mallow Callirhoe bushii June - Aug Magenta 1 - 1.5 ft. Full sun, dry to medium butterfly species. Fringed Poppy Mallow Callirhoe digitata May - Sept Magenta 2 - 4 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Purple Poppy Mallow Callirhoe involucrata May - June Magenta 6 - 12 in. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Full to partial sun, dry to Wild Hyacinth Camassia scilloides May - June Blue 2 ft. medium Pink, Purple or Full sun to partial shade, Rose turtlehead Chelone obliqua July - Sept 2 - 3 ft. White medium to wet Fremont's Leather Full sun to partial shade, Clematis fremontii April - May Purple/White 1 - 1.5 ft. Flower medium Comandra Host plant for buckeye Bastard Toadflax May - July White 3 - 18 in. Full sun, dry umbellata butterflies. Conoclinium Full sun to partial shade, Blue Mistflower July - Oct Blue 1 - 3 ft. coelestinum medium Large-Flowered Coreopsis May - Aug Yellow 1.5 - 2 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Tickseed grandiflora Lanceleaf Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata May - July Yellow 1 - 2 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Prairie 1.5 - 2.5 Coreopsis palmata May - July Yellow Full sun, dry to medium Coreopsis/Tickseed ft. Tall Tickseed Coreopsis tripteris July - Sept Yellow 2 - 8 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Threadleaf Coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata June - Sept Yellow 2.5 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Coryphantha Pincushion Cactus May - Aug Pink 1 - 5 in. Full sun, dry vivipara Host plant for various White Prairie Clover Dalea candida May - July White 1 - 2 ft. Full sun, medium butterfly species. Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea June - Aug Rose/Purple 1 - 3 ft. Full sun, medium Host plant Delphinium Tall Larkspur July - Sept Purple blue 4 - 6 ft. Full sun, medium exaltatum Desmanthus Illinois Bundleflower June - Aug White 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Nitrogen fixing. illinoensis Narrow-Leaf Echinacea Host plant for June - July Pink/Purple 2 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Coneflower angustifolia checkerspot butterflies. Pale Purple Full sun to partial shade, dry Echinacea pallida June - July Pale purple 2 - 3 ft. Host plant Coneflower to medium Yellow Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa June - Aug Yellow 2 - 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Full sun to partial shade, dry Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea June - Aug Purplish Pink 2 - 5 ft. Host plant to medium Engelmannia Engelmann's Daisy May - July Yellow 2 ft. Full sun, dry peristenia Eryngium Rattlesnake Master June - Sept Greenish-white 4 - 5 ft. Full sun, dry to medium yuccafolium Eupatorium Full sun to partial shade, Mist Flower July - Oct Blue violet 1.5 - 3 ft. coelestinum medium Eupatorium Full sun to partial shade, American Boneset July - Sept White 4 - 6 ft. perfoliatum medium to wet Eupatorium Full sun to partial shade, Joe Pye Weed July - Sept Mauve pink 5 - 7 ft. purpureum medium 12 - 18 Host plant for admiral Flowering Spurge Euphorbia corollata June - Aug White Full sun, dry to medium in. butterflies. Full sun to partial shade, Dwarf Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium dubium July - Sept Mauve Purple 3 - 4 ft. medium to wet White then Red Full sun to partial shade, Wild Strawberry Fragaria virginiana April - May 3 - 18 in. Berries medium Full sun to partial shade, Queen of the Prairie Filipendula rubra June - Aug Pink 6 - 8 ft. medium to wet Geranium Wild Geranium April - May Pink/Lilac 1.5 - 2 ft. Full sun to full shade, medium maculatum Reddish Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum May - July 6 - 18 in. Full sun, dry Pink/Purple Glandularia Full to partial sun, dry to Rose Verbena May - Aug Pink to Purple 6 - 18 in. canadensis medium Common Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Aug - Oct Yellow 3 - 5 ft. Full sun, medium to wet Helianthus Host plant for various Maximilian Sunflower Aug - Sept Yellow 3 - 10 ft. Full sun, dry to medium maximiliani butterfly species. Ashy Sunflower Helianthus mollis July - Sept Yellow 2 - 4 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant Helianthus Western Sunflower Aug - Sept Orange-Yellow 2 - 4 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant occidentalis Helianthus Showy Sunflower July - Sept Yellow 5 ft. Full sun, dry to medium Host plant pauciflorus Willow-leaved Helianthus Sept - Oct Yellow 8 - 10 ft. Full sun, medium Host plant Sunflower salicifolius Heliopsis Oxeye Sunflower June - Aug Orange & yellow 3 - 6 ft. Full sun, dry to medium helianthoides Heuchera Full sun to partial shade, dry Prairie Allum Root June - July Green 1 - 2 ft. richardsonii to medium Rose Mallow Hibiscus lasiocarpos July - Oct White & Pink 3 - 7 ft. Full sun, medium to wet Smooth Rose Mallow Hibiscus laevis Aug - Sept White & Magenta 4 - 6 ft. Full sun, medium to wet Hypericum Full to partial sun, medium to Great St. John's Wort July - Aug Yellow 6 ft. pyramidatum wet Ipomopsis Scarlet Gilia Aug - Oct Red 3 ft. Full sun, dry to medium aggregata Bluish Full sun to Partial shade, Zig-zag Iris Iris brevicaulis June 9 - 12 in. Purple/Yellow medium to wet Full sun to partial shade, Crested Iris Iris cristata April Blue with Yellow 6 - 10 in.