Gardening for Pollinators
Prairie plants develop slowly and some species may take 3-5 years or more before they will flower. Patience is the key to a successful and enjoyable prairie planting.
You can grow a pollinator garden of any size, from a few square feet to an acre or more. These gardens benefit monarchs and other pollinators while beautifying your yard or landscape.
There are a multitude of online resources to help you plan your garden or planting.
- Prairie Wildflowers and Grasses of North Dakota (pdf)
- Xerces Society - Many resources including books, fact sheets, identification guides, reducing harm to pollinators from pesticides
- Million Pollinator Garden Challenge - A collaboration of national, regional, and local gardening clubs to create pollinator habitat
- National Wildlife Federation Garden for Wildlife - Community, schoolyard landscapers and gardening tips
- North Dakota State University Extension Service - Resources include demonstration gardens and publications on designing gardens for butterflies and pollinators
- Pollinator Partnership - Gardening and planting guides, pollinator learning center
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pollinators - Podcasts and videos, pollinator gardens and trails, and more
- Additional Resources
Recommended Blooming Plants
Below is a listing of some of the grasses and flowering plants that are native to or grow well in North Dakota.
| Common Name | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Host To | Associated Wildlife |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heart-Leaf Alexander | x | x | Black Swallowtail | Small bees, flies, and other insects frequent the flowers for nectar. | |||||
| Lewis Blue Flax | x | x | |||||||
| Prairie Crocus | x | x | |||||||
| Wild Columbine | x | x | x | Duskywing | Moths, saw flies, and miner flies feed on foliage. Bees and hummingbirds visit frequently. | ||||
| Golden Alexander | x | x | x | Black Swallowtail | |||||
| Large Beardtongue | x | x | |||||||
| Prairie Smoke | x | x | |||||||
| Scarlet Globemallow | x | x | |||||||
| Downy Paintbrush | x | x | x | ||||||
| Narrow-Leaved Coneflower | x | x | Key nectar source for skipper butterflies | ||||||
| Wild licorice | x | x | |||||||
| Prairie Rose | x | x | |||||||
| Swamp Milkweed | x | x | x | Monarch Butterfly | |||||
| Butterfly Milkweed | x | x | x | Monarch Butterfly | |||||
| Common Milkweed | x | x | x | Monarch Butterfly | |||||
| Leadplant | x | x | x | ||||||
| Scarlet Guara | x | x | x | ||||||
| Blanketflower | x | x | x | Highly beneficial to native bees. | |||||
| Showy Milkweed | x | x | x | Monarch Butterfly | Highly attractive to native bees and honey bees. | ||||
| Silverleaf Scurfpea | x | x | x | ||||||
| Purple Prairie Clover | x | x | x | ||||||
| Anise Hyssop | x | x | x | x | Frequently visited by bees and butterflies. | ||||
| Common Yarrow | x | x | x | x | Painted Lady | ||||
| False Sunflower | x | x | x | x | |||||
| Hoary Vervain | x | x | x | x | Frequently visited by butterflies. | ||||
| Wild Bergamot | x | x | x | x | Attracts long-tongued bees: miner, leaf cutting, and cuckoo bees. Attracts butterflies & hummingbird moths. | ||||
| Plains Coreopsis | x | x | x | x | |||||
| White Prairie Clover | x | x | x | x | |||||
| Black-Eyed Susan | x | x | x | Silvery Checkerspot | Attractive to many bees and flies, as well as some butterflies and beetles. | ||||
| Blue Vervain | x | x | x | ||||||
| Cup Plant | x | x | x | Attracts a number of birds | |||||
| Dotted Blazing Star | x | x | x | ||||||
| Grayheaded Coneflower | x | x | x | ||||||
| Ironweed | x | x | x | ||||||
| Joe Pye Weed | x | x | x | ||||||
| Maximillian Sunflower | x | x | x | ||||||
| Prairie Blazing Star | x | x | x | ||||||
| Rocky Mountain Bee Plant | x | x | x | ||||||
| Missouri Goldenrod | x | x | x | ||||||
| Whorled Milkweed | x | x | x | ||||||
| Stiff Sunflower | x | x | x | ||||||
| Ten Petal Blazing Star | x | x | x | ||||||
| Button Blazing Star | x | x | x | x | Attracts bees and butterflies. | ||||
| Meadow Blazing Star | x | x | Attracts bees and butterflies. | ||||||
| New England Aster | x | x | x | ||||||
| Showy Goldenrod | x | x | x | ||||||
| Smooth Blue Aster | x | x | x | Pearl Crescent | Nectar and pollen attract many bees, flies, and butterflies. | ||||
| Stiff Goldenrod | x | x | x | The stems are perches for songbirds and the seeds are a late season bird food. Monarchs and other pollinators frequent the flowers. | |||||
| White Heath Aster | x | x | x |
Recommended Grasses
- Indian grass: Nesting site for many birds and insects. Many grasshoppers eat the foliage. Birds eat the seeds.
- Little bluestem: Host to Skippers (Dakota). Nesting site for songbirds and insects. Mining beetles, thrips, and leafhoppers eat the foliage. Birds eat the seeds.
- Side oats grama: Leafhoppers, grasshoppers, and stinkbugs eat the foliage. Birds eat the seeds.
- Big bluestem: Host to Ottoe Skipper. The caterpillars of several skippers (Dusted, Leonard's, Ottoe, etc.) feed on the foliage, as well as many beetles. Birds eat the seeds.
- Prairie dropseed: Grasshoppers and leafhoppers eat the foliage. Birds eat the seeds.
- Switchgrass
- Prairie junegrass
- Canada wild rye
- Indian grass: Nesting site for many birds and insects. Many grasshoppers eat the foliage. Birds eat the seeds.
- Junegrass
