Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Oklahoma · Zones 6–8
Native Pollinator Plants in Oklahoma
Native plants that turn a yard into a season-long buffet for bees, butterflies, and the insects that keep the food web running. Oklahoma sits in a landscape of Cross Timbers & mixedgrass prairie, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its continental, hot summers character. The list below — led by Serviceberry and Maximilian Sunflower — is filtered to species genuinely native to Oklahoma and the wider flora of the Great Plains and hardy through zones 6–8. 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
64 native species for Oklahoma
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Aug through Oct.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Aug–Oct
Foamflower
Tiarella cordifolia
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators and native bees as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 6–12 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, native bees, and specialist bees as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, native bees, and specialist bees as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 6–16 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Prairie Blazing Star
Liatris pycnostachya
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees as it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it blooms Apr through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
Chocolate Flower
Berlandiera lyrata
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms May through Sep.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms May–Sep
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
A pollinator magnet — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
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
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Keeps pollinators fed — 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
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
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
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it blooms May through Oct.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 2–5 ft
- Blooms May–Oct
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A pollinator magnet — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, native bees, and songbirds right through when it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
40 more also qualify: Flowering Dogwood, Pasque Flower, Culver's Root, Black-Eyed Susan, Swamp Milkweed, Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Smooth Hydrangea, Foxglove Beardtongue, Crossvine, New England Aster, Wild Bergamot, Scarlet Beebalm, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Anise Hyssop, Cardinal Flower, Showy Goldenrod, Wild Bleeding Heart, American Beautyberry, Blanketflower, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Dense Blazing Star, Virginia Bluebells, Compass Plant, Inkberry Holly, Red-Twig Dogwood, Fragrant Sumac, Common Milkweed, Rattlesnake Master, New Jersey Tea, Showy Milkweed, Purple Prairie Clover, Creeping Phlox, Ninebark, Stiff Goldenrod, American Elderberry, Wild Ginger, Common Boneset, Spicebush, Wild Lupine, Blue Vervain.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Oklahoma
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.