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Quick Start Based on Planting Conditions
Quick Start Based on Planting Conditions
Choose the list that best matches your garden space and select a few plants with different bloom times.
View spreadsheet of the plants suggested below (including bloom time, light needs, height, spacing, and pollinator benefits).
Good for Containers
Good for Containers
These more compact, drought tolerant plants work well in containers - or in the ground. Use the thriller (tall plants), spiller (cascading plants), filler (medium plants) formula for drama and try to feed pollinators all summer long.
Early Bloomers
Cranesbill (Geranium maculatum)
Creeping Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)
Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata)
Golden Alexanders (Zizia aptera)
Mid-to-Late Bloomers
Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Canada Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Purple Bee Balm (Monarda Media)
Anise Hyssop (gastache foeniculum)
Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Purple Coneflower dwarf (Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Knee High’)
Joe Pyeweed "Baby Joe" (Eutrochium dubium)
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint)
Downy Skullcap (Scutellaria incanum)
Late Season Bloomers
Heath Aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides)
Dwarf New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’)
False Aster - dwarf (Boltonia asteroides ‘Jim Crocket’)
Willowleaf Sunflower - dwarf (Helianthus salicifolius ‘Low Down’)
Eurybia divaricata (White Wood Aster)
Purplehead Sneezeweed - dwarf (Helenium flexuosum ‘Tiny Dancer’)
Short-Pappus Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’)
Medium Full-Sun Plants
Medium Full-Sun Plants
Ranging from 1-4' in height, these sun-loving plants are at home in the ground in most gardens.
Early Bloomers
Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)
Golden Alexanders (Zizia aptera)
Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)
Showy Wild Garlic (Allium canadense var. lavendulare)
Midland Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)
Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)
Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Mid-Season Bloomers
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Wild Bergamot (Mondarda fistulosa)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata )
Small Wild Yellow Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria)
Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)
Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)
Coreopsis (Coreopsis Grandiflora)
Mid-to-Late Bloomers
Northern Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii)
Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis)
Late Season Bloomers
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Gentians (Gentiana)
White/Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea)
Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
Large Full-Sun Plants
Large Full-Sun Plants
Growing up to 4-8', these plants need more room, but can be used sparsely in smaller gardens.
Early Bloomers
Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)
Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)
Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Mid-Season Bloomers
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Asclepias syrica (Common Milkweed)
Bunch Flower (Melanthium virginicum)
Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium)
Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata )
Mid-to-Late Bloomers
Eastern Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Purple Bee Balm (Monarda Media)
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Sweet Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
Common Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata)
Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa)
Rosin Weed (Silphium integrifolium)
Tall Larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum)
Late Season Bloomers
New England Aster (Symphiotrichum novae-angliae)
Stiff leaved goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
Brown Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
Wild Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Purple Giant Hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia)
Tall Coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris)
Shade Loving Plants
Shade Loving Plants
Not all pollinator-friendly plants need full sun. These plants prefer - or can tolerate - shadier spots.
Early Bloomers
Cranesbill (Geranium maculatum)
Creeping Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
Labrador Violet (Viola labradorica)
Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia )
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginiana)
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Celadine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)
Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)
Mid-Season Bloomers
Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata, )
Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Canada Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Calico Beardtongue (Penstemon calycosus)
Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Mid-to-Late Bloomers
Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Purple Bee Balm (Monarda Media)
Hairy Wood Mint (Blephilia hirsuta)
Late Season Bloomers
Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
Zig-Zag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)
Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
Short's Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii)
Heart Leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
White Wood Aster (Aster divaricatus )
What not to plant:
What not to plant:
These plants look good but do not provide food sources for pollinators.
These plants look good but do not provide food sources for pollinators.
Plants treated with pesticides
Flowers with extra petals/double corolla.
Fuchsias
Roses
Cultivated marigolds
Cultivated carnations
Strawflowers
Cultivated geraniums
Daffodils and tulips
Plants with ornamental leaves and no flowers
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