Bee-Friendly Plants

The Upright Prairie Coneflower is a beautiful meadow wildflower that produces an abundance of beautiful, vibrant yellow petals. This breathtaking variety is known for growing wild in the plains states. The Prairie Coneflower gets its name for its yellow petals surrounding tall cones. This flowering plant produces light-green foliage that creates a beautiful backdrop for the textured blooms.

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a native North American herb with a rich history and distinctive characteristics. Historically used by Indigenous peoples for its medicinal properties, Boneset earned its name from its traditional use in treating fevers and musculoskeletal ailments. Originating from the eastern United States, this perennial plant is recognized for its unique features and growing habits. Boneset typically grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet and has a bushy, upright growth habit.

At maturity, the Rattlesnake Master Eryngium produces uniquely shaped beautiful white blooms that reach up to 4 feet high! This variety prefers moist soils and sites with full sun to partial shade. The Rattlesnake Master has been used medicinally by American Indians as a diaphoretic.

The Five Spot Nemophila creates a beautiful carpet of many, unique white and purple blooms that is really a stunning sight to see. This variety is an annual wildflower that easily and quickly grows from its seeds. The Five Spot grows fast and blooms profusely, and then it dies back with the first frost of fall. This variety may re-seed itself if the seeds fall on bare ground.

Baby Blue Eyes Nemophila is a quick growing low carpet blooms that fade from dark blue to sky blue centers and is often seen in the blooming in spring. This variety is an annual that is a profuse bloomer of simple flowers. The Baby Blue Eyes is known to re-seed itself for a display the following spring.

The pretty blossoms of Yellow (Coneflower) consists of bright skirts of hard to find yellow daisy-like petals surrounding a brown bristly center. This variety's deep taproot allows the coneflower to survive in very dry conditions, but it is also happy in humus-rich garden soil and full sun. The Yellow Coneflower is visited by nectar seeking butterflies in June and small seed eating birds in the fall.

Hirtella Asclepias, more commonly known as Hirtella Milkweed or sometimes grouped under Asclepias hirtella and Tall Green Milkweed, is a native prairie species historically found across the central United States in moist to moderately dry meadows, savannas, and open grasslands. It is recognized for its tall, slender stems topped with rounded clusters of pale green to yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and monarch caterpillars.

The Sneezeweed Helenium produces a numerous amount of beautiful, large, daisy-like yellow flowers that bloom in the late summer and early autumn! Despite its common name, this variety presents no problems for most allergy sufferers.

The Indiangrass is a warm-season bunchgrass that is native to central and eastern North America and provides cover and food for wildlife. This grass can reach up to seven feet tall and is a common species of the Tallgrass Prairie. The beautiful, plume-like seed heads are very ornamental making them excellent for prairie and conservation mixtures.

Indian Summer Rudbeckia (Rudbeckia hirta), an award-winning variety of Black-Eyed Susan, is cherished for its brilliant, long-lasting blooms and adaptability in the garden. First popularized in the late 20th century, this hardy annual or short-lived perennial produces extra-large daisy-like flowers—often 6–9 inches across—with golden-yellow petals surrounding dark chocolate-brown centers. Plants grow 3–4 feet tall with sturdy, branching stems, making them excellent for borders, pollinator gardens, and cut flower arrangements.

S. and Canadian prairies, historically thriving in moist meadows and open grasslands and long recognized for its exceptional value to monarch butterflies, which flock to its nectar-rich blooms during migration. It produces tall, airy stems topped with loose spikes of vibrant, feathery purple flowers, each with elongated styles that give the blossoms a delicate, wispy appearance. The plant’s narrow leaves form an attractive upright clump, and its blooms appear later in the season, providing important late-summer nectar.

Dwarf Blazing Star (Liatris cylindracea) is a petite, drought-hardy species native to the dry prairies, glades, and rocky outcrops of the central and eastern United States, where its deep taproot allowed it to persist through challenging conditions. Unlike the taller prairie Liatris types, L. cylindracea stays low and compact, often producing short, sturdy flower spikes lined with cylindrical clusters of vivid purple blooms that open from the top down and draw in bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

Wild quinine carries pearly white button-like flower heads above coarse gray-green foliage for much of summer. The rigid stems hold their shape beautifully in prairie gardens, pollinator borders, and dried arrangements. A deep root system helps established plants perform through heat and dry spells.

White snakeroot brings clouds of bright white flowers to shaded edges when many woodland plants have finished blooming. It adapts to clay and moist soil, forming upright clumps that supply late nectar for insects. All plant parts contain toxic compounds, so place it thoughtfully around livestock and pets.

Hemp agrimony carries broad clusters of dusty pink flowers on tall branching stems from summer into early fall. It grows best in moist soil along pond margins, damp borders, and naturalized areas. This Eurasian perennial is valued for its long bloom and strong attraction to bees and butterflies.

Rosinweed is a robust prairie perennial with bright yellow daisies held on strong upright stems. Its coarse foliage and substantial form provide bold structure in sunny naturalistic plantings. Deep roots help established plants endure heat and dry periods while the seedheads feed birds.

Sweet black-eyed Susan bears golden daisies with dark brown centers on tall, well-branched stems. Its long display runs from summer into early fall and adds height without looking heavy. Gently aromatic foliage and sturdy growth make it a memorable choice for meadows and back borders.

Goldilocks produces fluffy double golden blooms with warm, darker centers. This compact selection flowers quickly and supplies abundant summer color in sunny beds, containers, and cutting gardens. Regular harvesting encourages branching and keeps new buds developing.

Creeping Jacob’s ladder pairs fernlike leaflets with loose clusters of sky-blue spring flowers. The compact clumps settle naturally into shaded borders, woodland gardens, and the edges of paths. Even moisture helps extend flowering and keeps the foliage fresh into summer.

American alum root creates a handsome mound of maple-shaped foliage for shaded beds and woodland edges. Slender stems carry airy sprays of tiny cream flowers above the leaves in late spring. Its adaptable habit works well as a textural groundcover in average, well-drained soil.

Closed Bottle gentian opens the late-summer season with clusters of deep blue, bottle-shaped flowers that remain mostly closed. Strong bumblebees push into the blossoms to reach their nectar, making the plant fascinating to watch. It prefers cool, humus-rich ground with dependable moisture and light afternoon shade.

White turtlehead produces creamy white blossoms, often brushed with pink, on sturdy upright stems. The hooded late-summer flowers add fresh color to moist woodland borders and streamside plantings. It performs best in rich soil that remains evenly moist through the growing season.

Pink turtlehead carries rosy hooded flowers above a dense clump of deep green foliage. Its late-season display is especially useful in rain gardens, wet borders, and areas with heavy soil. The upright stems remain tidy while supporting butterflies and other visiting pollinators.

Cream Wild False Indigo sends up pale yellow flower spikes above softly textured foliage in late spring and early summer. Its deep-rooted, shrubby habit fits sunny prairie gardens, dry borders, and naturalized plantings. Decorative seedpods extend the season and provide texture after flowering.

Marsh marigold brightens the early garden with glossy foliage and cheerful golden flowers. It thrives in consistently moist soil beside ponds, streams, rain gardens, and other low areas. The clumping plants bring welcome color before many other perennials begin blooming.

Late Figwort, also called Maryland Figwort, is an eastern and central North American perennial whose genus name recalls its long history in herbal use. Tall square stems carry small reddish-green, nectar-rich flowers from midsummer into fall. Native bees, wasps, butterflies, and hummingbirds visit the blooms, while birds use the plant for food and shelter. Grow it in loamy or sandy soil from full sun to shade after 60 days of cold, moist stratification, and surface sow the tiny seeds.

Water Horehound is native to nearly all of the contiguous United States and has long occupied open marshes, fens, and wet meadows. Although it belongs to the mint family, its foliage lacks the strong mint scent; small white flowers sit in the leaf axils. Those flowers can serve small pollinating insects, while the stems add cover in wetland habitat. Give it sun or partial shade and moist to wet soil.

Seedbox is a North American native of moist prairies and marsh edges, named for its distinctive cube-shaped seed capsule. Small yellow flowers appear at the leaf joints on reddish stems. Bees visit the blooms and leaf-feeding insects use the foliage. Grow it in sun to partial shade in medium-wet soil or a rain garden.

Wild Geranium is native to eastern North American woods and has a long history in woodland gardens. Pink-purple spring flowers feed bees and butterflies, while the crane's-bill seed mechanism flings ripe seeds away from the parent plant. Divided leaves form low, spreading patches that shelter small woodland life. Give it sun to shade and medium to moderately dry soil.

Bottle Gentian is a slow-growing North American perennial whose closed blue flowers have earned the older name Closed Bottle Gentian. Bumblebees are strong enough to push into the late-season blossoms and are its principal pollinators. The long-lived plants bring color to wet meadows when many summer flowers have faded. Grow in sun to partial shade and medium to moist soil.

Flat-topped Aster was formerly known as Aster umbellatus, a reminder of its changing botanical classification. Native to North American wet meadows and moist prairies, it flowers earlier than many asters with broad clusters of pale rays. Bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and butterflies visit the blooms; turkey and swamp sparrows also use the plant. Give it sun to partial shade and moist soil, with room for rhizomes.