Top plants for your pollinator garden
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Ready to plant a pollinator garden? We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wanted to recommend some plants to get you started! No matter where you're located, use this list to get started with pollinator plants native to your area. Be sure to include varieties that bloom from early spring through late fall to support pollinators throughout the year. Whether you have a few feet on your apartment balcony, a yard in need of landscaping or several acres, these are great plants to help you get started.
Keep in mind that this is a general guide - not every plant will grow well in the variety of conditions throughout each entire region. For best results, ensure your growing conditions are appropriate for the needs of each plant you select. Search for native plant nurseries in your area for specific local recommendations.
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Pacific Region
Native plant recommendations for Idaho, Oregon and Washington
Spring blooming
- Wax current (Ribes cereum)
- Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium)
- Redflower currant (Ribes sanguineum)
- Threadleaf phacelia (Phacelia linearis)
- Common camas (Camassia quamash)
- Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
- Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
- Western Syringa, Lewis Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii)
Summer blooming
- Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
- Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
- Common woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum)
- Sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum)
- Mountain monardella (Monardella odoratissima)
- Scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)
- Tufted evening primrose (Oenothera caespitosa)
- Munro’s globemallow (Sphaeralcea munroana)
- Rocky Mountain bee plant (Cleome serrulata)
- Showy/aspen fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)
- Common blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)
Fall blooming
- Western coneflower (Rudbeckia occidentalis)
- Rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
- West Coast goldenrod (Solidago elongata)
- Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
- Douglas aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
- Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Native plant recommendations for Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands coming soon.
Southwest Region
Native plant recommendations for Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas
Spring blooming
- Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
- Upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
- Prairie flax (Linum lewisii)
- Pinkladies (Oenothera speciosa)
- Antelopehorn milkweed (Asclepias asperula)
- Bitter rubberweed (Hymenoxys odorata)
- Dakota mock vervain (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
- Lemon beebalm (Monarda citriodora)
- Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
- Prairie spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis)
Summer blooming
- White prairie clover (Dalea candida)
- Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Engelmann's milkweed (Asclepias engelmanniana)
- Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
- Cowpen daisy (Verbesina encelioides)
- Threadleaf ragwort (Senecio flaccidus)
- Golden tickseed (Coreopsis tinctoria)
- Purple poppymallow (Callirhoe involucrata)
- Soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca)
- Wavyleaf thistle (Cirsium undulatum)
- Wingleaf soapberry (Sapindus saponaria)
Fall blooming
- Hopi tea greenthread (Thelesperma megapotamicum)
- Prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris)
- Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
- Canada goldenrod (Solidago altissima)
- Yellowstone thistle (Cirsium ochrocentrum)
- Tanseyleaf tansyaster (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia)
- Adonis blazingstar (Mentzelia multiflora)
- Rocky Mountain zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora)
- Willow baccharis (Baccharis salicina)
Midwest Region
Native plant recommendations for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin
Spring blooming
- Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
- Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
- Large-flowered beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Summer blooming
- Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera)
- Prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya)
- Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Fall blooming
- Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
- Stiff goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum)
- Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
- New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
- Smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
Southeast Region
Native plant recommendations for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Spring blooming
- Eastern smooth beardtongue (Penstemon laevigatus)
- Green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)
- Lanceleaf tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata)
- Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
- Eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
- Narrowleaf evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa)
Summer blooming
- Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Dense blazing star (Liatris spicata)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Fall blooming
- Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)
- Lateflowering thoroughwort (Eupatorium serotinum)
- Anise-scented goldenrod (Solidago odora)
- Smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
- Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
- Giant ironweed (Vernonia gigantea)
Native plant recommendations for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands coming soon.
Northeast Region
Native plant recommendations for Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia
Spring blooming
- Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
- Squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis)
- Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis)
- Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
- Golden ragwort (Packera aurea)
Summer blooming
- Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)
- Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
- Narrowleaf mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Fall blooming
- White wood aster (Eurybia divaricata)
- Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
- Wrinkleleaf goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
- New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
- White turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Mountain-Prairie Region
Native plant recommendations for Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming
Spring blooming
- Large-flowered beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- White penstemon (Penstemon albidus)
- Upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
- Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
- Mountain bluebells (Mertensia ciliata)
- Richardson's geranium (Geranium richardsonii)
Summer blooming
- Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
- Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Blue vervain (Verbena hastata)
- Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea)
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Narrow-leaved coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)
Fall blooming
- Stiff-leaved goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
- White health aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides)
- Stiff sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus)
- Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)
- Dotted blazing star (Liatris punctata)
- Common blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)
Alaska
Native plant recommendations for Alaska
Spring blooming
- Beachhead iris (Iris setosa)
- Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
- Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
- Willow (Salix sp.)
- American milkvetch (Astragalus americanus)
- Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
- Northern yellow locoweed (Oxytropis campestris)
- Woolly geranium (Geranium erianthum)
- Broadleaf arnica (Arnica latifolia)
- American pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens)
Summer blooming
- Shootingstar (Primula pauciflora)
- Tall Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium acutiflorum)
- Alpine sweetvetch (Hedysarum alpinum)
- Northern sweetvetch (Hedysarum boreale ssp. Mackenzeii)
- Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
- Tall bluebells (Mertensia paniculata)
- Lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis OR Lupinus arcticus)
Fall blooming
- Arctic goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata)
- Siberian aster (Eurybia sibirica)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium)
- Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
- Wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Mountain larkspur (Delphinium glaucum)
Pacific Southwest Region
Native plant recommendations for California, Nevada and the Klamath Basin in southern Oregon
Spring blooming
- California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
- Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.)
- Desert sage (Salvia dorrii)
- Yucca (Yucca spp.)
- Common camas (Camassia quamash)
- Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
Summer blooming
- California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
- Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
- Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
- Globemallow (Sphaeralcea spp.)
- Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.)
- Coyote mint (Monardella villosa)
Fall blooming
- California aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia)
- Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
- Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis)
- Mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana)
- Rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
- Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
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