Iowa Natives

The Eastern Pollinator Blend is a wildflower mixture for pollinator conservation in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. The western planting boundary would be a line straight south from the eastern borders of North and South Dakota. This mix contains a balanced blend of native annuals and perennials that provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season. If you have specific mix requirements for pollinator conservation projects, please contact us regarding a custom mix for your area. Plant at 5 oz. per 1,000 sq.ft. or 7-14 lbs. per acre.

The Buffalo Grass is a warm-season grass that is the predominant component of the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains. Once established, it is extremely drought tolerant and tough. It can be used as a xeriscape lawn grass for water conservation, and it is a common component in range mixtures. White Tailed Deer, Bison and Prairie Dogs utilize it for forage, and it is a larval host for the Green Skipper. Plants are stoloniferous and can invade flower beds if an edging or barrier is not used.

Every season brings something new from Black Chokeberry, a hardworking native shrub. Aronia melanocarpa opens clusters of white spring flowers, then sets glossy black berries packed with antioxidants that are great in juice, jams and baking. In fall, the leaves turn brilliant shades of red and orange. This multi-stemmed shrub adapts to both wet and sandy soils, making it ideal for rain gardens, hedges and naturalized plantings.

Distinctive corky, warty bark sets this tough, adaptable native shade tree apart at a glance. Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) handles wind, drought, poor soil and city conditions with ease, and its small, sweet purple fruits are relished by birds through fall and winter. Its spreading, elm-like crown makes it a dependable choice for shade, windbreaks and street plantings. This seed was collected in the northern part of the species' range for extra cold hardiness.

Fragrant white blossoms cover this tough, thicket-forming native in early spring, before the leaves emerge. American Plum (Prunus americana) follows its flowers with small, sweet-tart red to yellow plums in late summer, perfect for fresh eating, jams and pies. It is extremely hardy and drought tolerant, and its dense growth makes a great windbreak, wildlife shelter or edible hedge on farms and larger properties.

Windbreaks, screens and erosion control plantings rarely get a better candidate than this tough, adaptable native evergreen. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) has dense, aromatic foliage and a neat pyramidal to columnar shape, and it shrugs off cold, heat, drought, wind and poor soil. Female trees carry dusty blue berries through fall and winter that birds love, and the fragrant reddish wood has been prized for generations.

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.

Common Rush has been cultivated more widely than other rushes and occurs across much of the world, including North American wetlands. Bright green, nearly leafless stems make a fine-textured stand beside ponds. Wetland birds forage and shelter among the stems and seeds. Grow in full sun on medium to wet soil.

Fowl Manna Grass is one of North America's most widespread wetland grasses, occurring from shaded woodland pools to open marshes. Its airy panicles and soft foliage provide cover for small animals. Geese graze the leaves, and the moth Elachista irrorata uses it as a host plant. Grow it in sun or shade on moist to wet 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.

Blunt Spike Rush is a small North American wetland native with a different life history from many rushes: it is an annual that reseeds. Upright stems and compact seed heads offer cover for frogs and perches for dragonflies. Aquatic beetles, leafhoppers, and shore flies also use its wet habitat. Sow in full sun on mud or consistently wet soil.

Wood Reed Grass is native from eastern Canada through the eastern and central United States, where it grows in damp woods and thickets. Its tall, wavy seed panicles turn tan late in summer, adding movement to shaded plantings. Seed heads and dense stems give birds forage and cover, while deer usually leave mature stands alone. Grow it in partial to full shade and moist, fertile soil.

Hairy-fruited Lake Sedge has a long natural role in North American marshes and lake-edge sedge beds. Underground rhizomes create extensive stands that shelter wetland insects and waterbirds. Because this cool-season sedge spreads strongly, it fits restoration-scale plantings better than small beds. Give it full sun and wet ground.

Awl-fruited Oval Sedge, also called Blunt Broom Sedge, is a native of North American wet lowlands. Its pale green blades and July seed spikes give it a lighter look than many other sedges. Moth, skipper, and butterfly larvae use sedge foliage, and waterfowl and songbirds eat the seeds. Plant in sun or partial shade in moist to wet soil.

Short's Sedge is a native of the central and eastern United States, from Kansas toward the Atlantic coast. Its commemorative common name is part of the botanical history of Carex, while dark cylindrical seed heads make this species distinctive in summer. Moist woods and sedge meadows provide its natural habitat and support the small insects and birds associated with sedge stands. Grow it from sun to shade in medium to medium-wet soil.

Spreading Oval Sedge, also known as Greater Straw Sedge, belongs to North American moist fields, thickets, and open forests. This cool-season perennial flowers in early summer and tolerates sun through shade. Its seed-bearing clumps add cover and forage for small insects and seed-eating birds. Grow it in medium to medium-wet soil where a flexible woodland-edge sedge is needed.

Plains Oval Sedge, historically also called Shortbeak Sedge, occurs across North American open ground, from dry disturbed sites to seasonally flooded margins. Golden-brown oval seed spikes stand above a compact mound in fall. Like other native sedges, it contributes seed and cover to birds and habitat for small insects. Its wide moisture tolerance makes it useful in sunny or partly shaded restoration plantings.

Blue Joint Grass is a widespread North American wetland grass with a long natural role in streamside and meadow plant communities. Pink-green summer seed heads rise above rhizomes that help hold damp soil in place. Its dense growth offers cover for wetland insects and birds, and it can spread quickly across restoration sites. Give it full sun to partial shade and moist to wet ground.

Elm-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia) is a distinctive North American native plant. Arching sprays of yellow flowers appear from midsummer into fall above elm-like leaves, bringing late nectar to woodland edges. It matures at approximately 36 inches tall and flowers from early to mid summer through mid to late summer through early to mid fall. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium to medium conditions, with loamy soil or sandy soil. Space plants 18–24 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Upland White Goldenrod (Oligoneuron album) is a distinctive North American native plant. Compact plants carry uncommon white goldenrod flowers and thrive in dry, open ground where taller species may struggle. It matures at approximately 12 inches tall and flowers from late spring to early summer through early to mid summer through mid to late summer. Plant it in full sun, in dry to dry-medium conditions, with sandy soil, dry soil or poor soil. Space plants 12–18 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Downy sunflower forms upright colonies of silver-green foliage topped with clear yellow daisies. The soft leaves and sturdy stems give sunny prairie plantings a distinctive texture from spring through fall. Once established, it tolerates dry soil and offers seeds for birds after bloom.

Shrubby St. John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum) is a distinctive North American native plant. This well-behaved native shrub forms a rounded habit and covers itself with bright yellow flowers that are especially attractive to bumblebees. It matures at approximately 48 inches tall and flowers from early to mid summer through mid to late summer. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium through medium-wet conditions, with loamy soil, clay soil, sandy soil or poor soil. Space plants 36–48 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Allegheny Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens) is a moisture-loving native perennial with violet-blue, snapdragon-like flowers. It thrives along pond margins, in wet meadows, and in rain gardens where soil stays consistently moist. The upright plants bloom through summer and provide nectar for bees and other pollinators. Mature flowering stems typically reach about 18 to 24 inches tall.

Don't let the name fool you! This is mainly an Eastern native plant. Known botanically as Helianthus occidentalis, the Western Sunflower has a distinctive growth habit that makes it easy to recognize. Most of its leaves cluster in a rosette at the plant’s base, while a slender stalk rises from the center and can reach about three feet tall. A brilliant yellow flower head appears at the top of the stem. Because the stalk bears very few leaves, the species is also commonly called the “naked-stemmed sunflower” or “few-leaved sunflower.”

North American Wildflower Blend combines annual and perennial favorites selected to perform across many regions of the United States. The varied species create a broad tapestry of familiar colors, with annuals providing quick blooms and perennials adding longer-term persistence. Local climate and soil conditions determine which flowers become most prominent, giving each planting its own regional character.

The Midwest Blend contains wildflower species that are native to or naturalized to the Midwest US and will brighten up any landscape. This blend is formulated for IL, IN, IA, eastern KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, eastern NE, OH, WI, southern Manitoba and Ontario.

Translucent scarlet berries that look like cranberries follow the late spring lacecap clusters of white flowers on this hardy native viburnum. American Cranberrybush (Viburnum trilobum) has maple-like, three-lobed leaves that turn red to purple in fall, and its fruit hangs on into winter for birds. Tough, cold hardy and adaptable to moist soils, it makes an outstanding hedge, screen or wildlife shrub for northern gardens.

Patchwork bark that peels away to reveal creamy white limbs makes this massive, fast-growing native shade tree instantly recognizable. American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) has broad, maple-like leaves and round, dangling seed balls that hang on through winter. It loves moist ground along streams and rivers, where it helps hold banks in place, yet adapts to many landscape sites. Give it room and it becomes a stately, long-lived landmark.

Velvety, antler-like branches give this bold native shrub or small tree its name. Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) carries long, tropical-looking compound leaves that blaze scarlet, orange and gold in fall, and upright cones of fuzzy crimson fruit that persist through winter. It thrives in dry, poor soils where little else grows, making it excellent for slopes, roadsides and naturalized areas. The fruit is also used to make a tangy, lemonade-like drink.

Grass grows right up to the trunk beneath the light, dappled shade of this tough, fast-growing shade tree. Thornless Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) has a graceful, open crown of tiny, fernlike leaflets that turn golden yellow in fall and practically vanish into the lawn. It handles heat, drought, wind, road salt and urban conditions with ease, making it a favorite street and lawn tree. This seed is collected from thornless parents.