Pollinator Plant Lists and Habitat Restoration Guides

native plant habitat
Great spangled fritillary butterfly (Speyeria cybele) on Echinacea purpurea in residential native flower garden.  photo:  Laurie Schneider

This page contains pollinator plant lists, land restoration guides, and helpful links for choosing plants and how-to instructions for pollinator habitat restoration and gardening.

Bee friendly plants (some plants have links to videos)

(by Karl Foord ph.d., extension educator, and Mary Hockenberry Meyer, professor, University of Minnesota horticulture ) 

Plant name

Common name

Color

Bloom time

Nectar

Pollen
Prunus spp. plum, cherry white may X X
Malus spp. crabapple white may X X
Rubus spp. rasberry, blackberry white may X  
Brassica arvenish wild mustard yellow may X X
Penstemon grandiflorus beardtongue lavendar may-june X X
Allium schoenoprasum chive pink may-june X X
Rosa palustris swamp rose pink may-june   X
Tithonia rotundifolia mexican sunflower red may-oct X X
Zizia aurea golden alexanders yellow may-july X X
Ascleplas syrica common milkweed pink july X X
Asclepias incarnata red milkweed pink july X X
Veronicastrum virginicum Culver's root white july X  
Amorpha canescens leadplant purple july X X
Baptisia australis blue false indigo blue july X X
Penstemon digitalis smooth penstemon white june-july X X
Eryngium yuccifolium rattlesanke master white june-july X X
Salvia azurea blue sage blue june-july X  
Dalea purpurea purple prairie clover purple june-july X X
Helianthus occidentalis sunflower yellow june-july X X
Nepeta x faaseni catmint purple june-july X  
Allium spp. onion white june-july X X
Gallardia pulchella indian blanket orange aug-oct X X
Silphium perfoliatum cup plant yellow aug-sept X X
Silphium lancelota compass plant yellow aug-oct X X
Borage officinalis borage lavendar aug-oct  X X
Lobelia siphilitica great blue lobelia blue aug-sept X  
Monarda fistulosa bergamot lavendar aug-sept X  
Verbena hastata blue vervain blue aug-sept X  
Epilobium augustifolium fireweed pink aug-sept X  
Agastache foeniculum lavendar hyssop purple aug-sept X  
Echinacea purpurea purple coneflower purple aug-sept X  
Monarda punctata dotted mint lavendar aug-sept X  
Vernonia fasciculata ironweed red aug-sept X  
Helianthus mollis downy sunflower yellow aug-sept X X
Physostegia virginiana obedient plant pink aug-sept X  
Eupatorium maculatum joe pye weed pink aug-sept X X
Eupatorium altissiumum tall boneset white aug-sept X X
Liatris spicata dense blazingstar purple aug-sept X  
Gaillardia pulchella blanket flower red/yellow aug-septe X X
Verbena bonariensis so.american vervain purple aug-oct X X
Campis radicans trumpet vine red aug-oct X X
Solidago rigida stiff goldenrod yellow aug-oct X X
Hylotelephium telephium sedum autumn joy pink aug-oct X X
Helianthus strumosus woodland sunflower yellow aug-oct X X
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae new england aster purple aug-oct X X