My Top 10 Native Perennials for Pollinators
Phlox paniculata 'Jeana'
I fell in love with this plant when I was at Chanticleer and saw butterflies and bees just covering it! Phlox paniculata has the tendency to get powdery mildew and require staking but Jeana is more mildew resistant and upright without needing staking. The pale lavender/pink flowers also make this plant a favorite.
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| photo from Mt. Cuba Center |
A midsummer bloomer when food sources are more scarce for pollinators. This is a super easy plant to grow with fragrant foliage and flowers pollinators flock to. It does spread (in the mint family) by rhizomes so some maintenance may be needed. There are several species to choose from such as Pycnanthemum muticum and Pycnanthemum virginianum.
A beautiful fall bloomer to support pollinators later in the season. I love the cultivar 'Raydon's favorite.' Like most asters, Aromatic aster is very tough and low maintenance with a lovely mounded habit. If you don't like how tall it gets this is a good candidate for the chelsea chop aka cutting back a plant around June to control the size. Other plants like Russian sage do well with this method.
I always found the common name Foxglove beardtongue to be rather amusing but these plants are no joke! With early summer tubular flowers for the long tongue bees and hummingbirds, this is a must for your pollinator garden. Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beardtongue) with the bright white flowers is probably one you're very familiar with. There are many cultivars with dark purple foliage such as 'Husker Red' and 'Dark towers'. Penstemons are tough as heck, spread by seed and fit in to many different garden settings and designs.
Echinacea spp. - Coneflower
Honestly so easy to grow but will spread like wildfire from seed (good thing?) Easy enough to edit it where you don't want it. My favorite species is Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower) which has taller more airy stems, compared to the common Echinacea purpurea, and very soft pink, drooping petals. Both provide nectar for butterflies, pollen for bees and seeds for birds. Leaving the seed heads up can provide winter interest and feed the finches in the Fall!
A pollinator plant for those long tongued bees in your life! My favorite species are Monarda fistulosa and Monarda citriodora. The pretty pale lavender tubular flowers are attractive to many bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds. Spreading gently by rhizomes, the attractive flowers and aromatic foliage work well in a sunny pollinator garden. An added bonus is the mildew resistance compared to other Monarda species. One thing that makes me sad about Monarda is the powdery mildew that inevitably comes later in the season but planting species like Monarda fistulosa and making sure to plant in full sun will help prevent that.
I will use Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) anywhere and everywhere. I LOVE the orange flowers and that it hosts monarchs and attracts all sorts of pollinators. Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) is another handsome milkweed that prefers moist soil but will tolerate average and is an excellent monarch host. Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) is an important host for monarchs that you often see popping up on roadsides, parking lots and disturbed areas. I would keep this one in a more wild/meadow style setting as it spreads aggressively by rhizomes - but it is very important for monarchs in these naturalized settings!
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| Taken at Chanticleer |
Zizia aurea - Golden Alexander
Blooming now at the Community Center, this member of the carrot family provides early nectar and pollen and hosts black swallowtails. Very easy and adaptable to grow in full sun to part shade. I'm a sucker for the carrot family (Apiaceae) so this plant has my heart - I just love the umbel flowers! Another alternative for early food also blooming now is Packera aurea (golden ragwort). Both Zizia aurea and Packera aurea are easy to grow and will self sow.
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| Taken at Chanticleer |
Native Grasses
You may be wondering why grasses? They are wind pollinated and don't supply nectar. Many of our native grasses are host plants to moths and butterflies, especially skippers, and provide shelter and overwintering homes. Incorporating grasses into your garden helps support this part of their life cycle while the beautiful flowering plants will support their adult forms. Using grasses is also important aesthetically speaking adding fall/winter interest and an alternative to mulch. I have so many favorite native grasses but to name a few: Bouteloua gracilis (Blue grama grass), Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie dropseed) and Muhlenbergia capillaris (muhly grass).
Eutrochium spp. - Joe pye weed
Tall, late blooming and covered in bees? You have joe pye weed! I love this statuesque plant as a focal plant in the garden. There are several species including Eutrochium purpureum (likes drier soils) and Eutrochium maculatum (moist soils, meadows) both of which can reach heights beyond 6ft tall. Several cultivars exist if you're looking for something a bit shorter and more appropriate for a smaller garden such as 'Little Joe' and 'Baby Joe'. The mauve clusters of flowers form dome shaped heads (corymbs) and bees COVER the flowers late in the season.
