Picking the right pollinator plants is the first step to making a garden that stays colourful and alive all year. These plants bring in bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other good pollinators that make your garden grow. You can have continuous blooms that help local wildlife and make your garden look better if you give them the right amount of sunlight, shade, water and soil.
This guide will show you how to pick the best plants for pollinators, take care of them and make a garden that looks beautiful all year long.
What Makes a Plant a True “All Season” Pollinator Choice?
From early spring to late autumn, the best plants for pollinators are those that give them nectar and pollen. One of the best things about these plants is that they can attract many pollinators. This way, your yard will always be full of buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies.
When you plan your yard, make sure to include both native and perennial plants that bloom at different times. The best pollinator plants bloom all season long, resulting in a healthy environment that supports pollinators all year.
The Things That Make Great Pollinator Plants
- Flowering for long amounts of time in different seasons
- Lots of nectar and pollen sources
- Able to grow in a range of soils and water conditions
- Native to the area, so it helps local birds and insects
If you don't know where to start, TN Nursery has a lot of hardy, easy to grow pollinator plants for all season blooms. These plants are great for new and experienced growers.
Top Pollinator Plants We Recommend
TN Nursery has carefully chosen a number of the best native plants for pollinators that grow well all over the United States. Here are some great choices that will keep your garden full of life:
1. Wild Geranium
The soft purple flowers of the Wild Geranium plant that grows from early spring to late summer make it a very pretty perennial. This natural plant is one of the best pollinator plants because it gives bees and butterflies nectar they need. It does best in wet, well drained soil with some shade.
Care Tip: Give it lots of water when it's dry and cut back dead flowers to make it grow again.
2. Bloodroot Plant
The Bloodroot Plant blooms early in the spring and is also great for attracting natural pollinators. It has soft white flowers that open wide to show bright yellow centres that attract bees from far away. Bloodroot does best in wooded places with some shade. It has a natural look that works well in Perennials borders and shaded beds.
Care Tip: To keep the plants growing, make sure the soil is full of organic matter and stays consistently wet.
3. Coneflowers
Many people say that coneflowers especially Echinacea types are the best plants for pollinators. From midsummer to autumn they bloom big flowers that look like daisies. These tough plants can handle weather which makes them low maintenance and good for pollinators
4. Black Eyed Susans
Black Eyed Susans are happy and bright flowers that keep their colour for a long time and produce a lot of pollen. Because they bloom for a longer time, your yard stays colourful and provides food for pollinators during important months.
5. Milkweed
Milkweed is very important for monarch butterflies because it provides nectar and a place for their eggs to live. By adding milkweed to your yard, you can make it a safe place for these migrating butterflies and help protect species at the same time.
How to Choose and Care for Pollinator Garden Plants
It takes more than just picking colourful flowers to understand how to choose pollinator friendly plants. It's about picking plants that bloom at different times and go well with each other.
How to Choose and Plant Things Step by Step
- Begin with native species as native plants naturally grow in the conditions of their area and draw pollinators that are native to that area.
- Include flowers that bloom early, in the middle of the season and late in the season.
Use a variety of plant heights and textures. This gives many types of pollinators a place to hide and food to eat. - Don't use chemical pesticides. Instead, use natural or organic ways to get rid of pests.
- Before you plant, make sure the dirt is rich in nutrients, drains well and gets enough sunlight. Once established, the majority of pollinator plants for all season blooms require little care.
Check out TN Nursery's full selection of native plants that help keep ecosystems healthy for more ideas.
Maintaining a Year Round Pollinator Garden
You don't have to stop working on your butterfly garden after you plant it. With the right care, the plant will keep growing and pollinators will keep working on it.
Tips for Seasonal Maintenance
- Spring - Cut back old stems and add compost to the dirt to make it better.
- In the summer - Water deeply when it's dry and remove the spent flowers.
- Autumn - Leave some seed heads whole so birds can eat them in the winter.
- In the winter - Don't prune too much; dead roots provide a place for insects to stay.
If you follow these easy steps, your best pollinator plants will give you colour and life all year long.
Common Challenges and Solutions
There are things that can go wrong with even the best native plants for pollinators, like not enough drainage, pests, or very high temperatures.
What to do:
You can help the soil drain better by adding sand or organic matter. Instead of chemicals, use natural pesticides like neem oil. Water your plants early in the morning to avoid fungus problems.
Make sure your best pollinator plants bloom all season by keeping an eye on them and giving them the care they need at the right time.
FAQs
What are pollinator plants?
Pollinator plants are those that make nectar and pollen to attract birds and animals that help spread pollen.
Which pollinator friendly plants bloom the longest?
Black Eyed Susans, Wild Geraniums and coneflowers are all great choices for flowers that bloom for a long time.
What are native pollinator plants?
Native pollinator plants are types that grow naturally in your area and help wildlife and ecosystems there.
How to choose pollinator friendly plants for your garden?
Choose a variety of local plants whose blooming times are spread out and whose colours go well together.
Where can I buy the best pollinator plants at an affordable rate?
TN Nursery is a reputable online nursery that sells a lot of native species and has high quality pollinator plants that are also cheap.
