Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees while it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Minnesota · Zones 3–5
Native Pollinator Plants in Minnesota
Native plants that turn a yard into a season-long buffet for bees, butterflies, and the insects that keep the food web running. Minnesota sits in a landscape of Northern tallgrass prairie & North Woods, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its cold continental character. The list below — led by Virginia Bluebells and Anise Hyssop — is filtered to species genuinely native to Minnesota and the wider flora of the Midwest and hardy through zones 3–5. 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
59 native species for Minnesota
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–5 · see this collection in other states.
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
A pollinator magnet — 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
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees while it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms May through Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
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
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
A reliable nectar stop — 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
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
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
Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Aug through Oct.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Aug–Oct
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
35 more also qualify: Black-Eyed Susan, Scarlet Beebalm, Wild Geranium, Buttonbush, Dense Blazing Star, Woodland Phlox, Cardinal Flower, Pasque Flower, Chocolate Flower, Prairie Smoke, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Blanketflower, Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Prairie Blazing Star, Smooth Hydrangea, Serviceberry, Foamflower, Ninebark, Showy Milkweed, Compass Plant, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Bearberry, New Jersey Tea, Common Milkweed, Stiff Goldenrod, Wild Ginger, Rattlesnake Master, Red-Twig Dogwood, American Elderberry, Creeping Phlox, Spicebush, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Purple Prairie Clover.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Minnesota
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.