Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Alabama · Zones 7–9
Native Pollinator Plants in Alabama
Native plants that turn a yard into a season-long buffet for bees, butterflies, and the insects that keep the food web running. Alabama sits in a landscape of Gulf Coastal Plain & Cumberland Plateau, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its hot, humid subtropical character. The list below — led by Purple Coneflower and Cardinal Flower — is filtered to species genuinely native to Alabama and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 7–9. A garden that feeds pollinators all season needs something in bloom from the first warm days of spring through the last of fall. Aim for at least three species flowering at any given time, plant in generous drifts of one kind rather than singletons so foragers can work efficiently, and leave seed heads and hollow stems standing over winter to shelter the next generation.
The plants
54 native species for Alabama
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 7–9 · see this collection in other states.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, native bees, and songbirds while it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees as it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators and native bees right through when it blooms May through Jul.
- Part shade
- Average
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it blooms May through Oct.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 2–5 ft
- Blooms May–Oct
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it blooms Apr through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
30 more also qualify: American Beautyberry, Serviceberry, Great Blue Lobelia, Crossvine, Wild Geranium, Culver's Root, Smooth Hydrangea, Foamflower, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Wild Bleeding Heart, Short-Toothed Mountain Mint, Common Yarrow, Eastern Redbud, Prairie Blazing Star, Golden Alexanders, Virginia Bluebells, Stiff Goldenrod, Creeping Phlox, Wild Ginger, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Spicebush, Inkberry Holly, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Ninebark, Common Milkweed, Rattlesnake Master, American Elderberry, New Jersey Tea.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Alabama
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.