35 Native Pollinator Plants in Minnesota

Minnesota's diverse ecosystems are home to a remarkable array of native wildflowers, crucial contributors to the state's flourishing biodiversity. In this exploration of Minnesota's native wildflowers, we have listed out 35 different plants that will give a burst of color to your landscape while supplying an important source of habitat food for bees, butterfly’s and other pollinators that traverse the state's landscapes, ensuring the continued vitality of its rich natural tapestry. Ask KG how we can design your landscaping .

BLUE:

A bush with purple flowers and green leaves

Anise Hyssop ( Agastache Foeniculum)

  • Blooms : Summer
  • Size : up to 4 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, part shade, shade
  • Soil Types : Sandy, well-drained soil

A bunch of purple flowers with yellow centers

Smooth Aster (Aster laevus)

  • Blooms : Summer into Fall
  • Size : Up to 4 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Well drained, loamy soil

A bush with purple flowers and green leaves is growing on a sidewalk.

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia Australis)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : 3-5 feet tall 
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Moist, well drained, or clays. Tolerates lime

A close up of a purple flower with a yellow center

Northern Blue Flag  (Iris versicolor)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : Up to 3 feet tall 
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, Wet

A bunch of purple flowers are growing in a garden

Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica)

  • Blooms : Summer into fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall 
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, Wet, Clay, Loam, or Sand

A bunch of purple flowers are growing in a garden.

Wild Blue Phlox  (Plox divaricate)

  • Blooms : Spring
  • Size : Up to 20 inches tall 
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, Sand, Loam, Clay

A bunch of blue flowers are growing in the grass.

Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)

  • Blooms : Spring
  • Size : Up to 20 inches tall
  • Light Requirement : Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist

A bunch of purple flowers are growing on a plant

Blue vervain  (Verbena hastata)

  • Blooms : Summer into fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, part shade, shade
  • Soil Types : Moist soils

GREEN:

A close up of a plant with green leaves and yellow flowers

Prairie Alumroot  (Heuchera richardsonii)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : Up to 3 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry, Sandy/gravelly soil

ORANGE:

A bunch of orange flowers are growing in a garden

Butterly Weed  (Asclepias tuerosa)

  • Blooms : Spring thru summer into fall
  • Size : 1-2 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Prefers well drained, sandy soils

PINK:

A bunch of purple flowers are growing in the grass

Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)

  • Blooms : Spring into fall
  • Size : Up to 20 inches tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist Soil

A field of pink and purple flowers with green leaves

Swamp Milkweed  (Asclepias incarnata)

  • Blooms : Summer into fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement: Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist

A bush with pink flowers and green leaves in a garden

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

  • Blooms : Spring
  • Size : Up to 18 inches tall
  • Light Requirement : : Sun, Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry to moist

A close up of a bunch of purple flowers with green stems

Obedient Plant  (Physostegia virginiana)

  • Blooms : Fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, humus-rich soil

A small purple flower is surrounded by green leaves.

Wild Geranium  (Gernium maculatum)

  • Blooms : Fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist soils

PURPLE:

A bee is sitting on a purple flower

Michaelmas Daisy  (Aster novae-angliae)

  • Blooms : Fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist soils

A bunch of purple flowers are growing on a plant

Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandifloras)

  • Blooms : Summer
  • Size : 20” – 36” Tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Sand Soils/lime to chalky soils

A bee is sitting on top of a purple flower.

Purple Prairie Clover  (Dalea purpurea)

  • Blooms : Summer
  • Size : Up to 2 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Dry

A bunch of pink flowers with brown centers are growing in the grass.

Purple Coneflower   (Echinacea purpurea)

  • Blooms : Spring into fall
  • Size : Up to 4 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : : Sun, Part shade
  • Soil Types : Well-drained, sandy or richer soils

A garden filled with lots of purple flowers and green plants.

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum)

  • Blooms : Fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, Wet

A bunch of purple flowers are growing in a field.

Prairie Blazing Star  (Monarda fistulosa) 

  • Blooms : Spring thru Fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry to moist

A close up of purple flowers surrounded by green leaves.

Wild Bergamot  (Monarda fistulosa) 

  • Blooms : Spring thru Fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Party Shade 
  • Soil Types : Dry to moist

Three purple flowers are growing in the grass.

Bracted Spiderwort  (Tradescantia braceata) 

  • Blooms : : Spring into summer
  • Size : Up to 18 inches tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist to dry soils

RED:

A close up of a red flower with a yellow center

Red Columbine  (Aquilegia Canadensis)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : Up to 3 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry to moist

A hummingbird is perched on a red flower

Cardinal Flower  (Lobelia cardinalis)

  • Blooms : Spring to fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, wet

A bunch of red flowers are growing in a garden surrounded by green leaves.

Scarlet Bee Balm  (Monarda didyma)

  • Blooms : Summer to fall
  • Size : 2-4 feet tall 
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, wet

WHITE:

A bush with white flowers and green leaves

Canada Anemone  (Anemone canadensis)

  • Blooms : Spring thru Summer
  • Size : Up to 30 inches tall 
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist, sandy soils

A close up of a plant with white flowers on it

Rattlesnake Master  (Eryngium yuccifolium)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types : Well-drained soils

YELLOW:

A bee is sitting on a yellow flower

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

  • Blooms : Spring thru Summer
  • Size : Up to 2 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade, Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry

A bunch of yellow flowers are surrounded by green leaves

False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)

  • Blooms : Summer
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Dry, sandy soils

A bunch of yellow flowers are growing in a field

Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

  • Blooms : Spring into fall
  • Size : Up to 5 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part shade
  • Soil Types : Dry to moist

A bunch of yellow flowers with black centers in a field

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

  • Blooms : Spring to Fall
  • Size : Up to 3 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun
  • Soil Types :  Dry to moist

A close up of a yellow flower with a red center surrounded by green leaves.

Sweet Coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)

  • Blooms : Summer into fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist

A bush with lots of yellow flowers and green leaves

Showy Goldenrod  (Solidago speciosa)

  • Blooms : Fall
  • Size : Up to 6 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist

A bush with yellow flowers and green leaves in a garden.

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

  • Blooms : Spring into Summer
  • Size : Up to 3 feet tall
  • Light Requirement : Sun, Part Shade
  • Soil Types : Moist

This list is a great start when looking at incorporating native flowers into your landscape plans. Adding these plants will be a great start to attracting butterfly’s’, supporting bee populations, and bringing a splash of color to your yard! If you would like to have one our experienced representatives, come out and walk through your property to help create a plan for installing new plantings, you can follow this LINK to set up a consultation.
For more great information, check out our page on Pollination gardens and bee friendly lawns  
If you like more information on any of these varieties listed or would like to learn more about native plantings follow the links below:

Ready to Start on Your Next Project?

Call us at (763) 568-7251 or visit our quote page.

Picture of a side yard KG Landscape regraded to solve a problem in Minneapolis
By Kent January 26, 2026
Struggling with side yard water problems in Minneapolis–St. Paul? See when French drains or re-grading works best for small yard drainage fixes.
By Kent Gliadon January 22, 2026
Protect your Plymouth patio and deck from frost heave by installing French drains that keep clay soil dry around hardscape and footings.
Backyard fire pit area with plantings around it
By Kent Gliadon January 15, 2026
One Edina family had a 25-foot slope and nowhere for their kids to play. See how we turned it into a lawn, sport court, and fire pit.
Front yard landscaping at corner of the garage with waist bin storage
By Kent Gliadon January 14, 2026
See how one Plymouth project turned an overlooked side yard into a design feature that matches the rest of the property.
By Kent Gliadon January 12, 2026
A Plymouth family turned a steep, unusable side yard into a private hot tub area with stone steps, drainage solutions, and boulder walls.
By Kent Gliadon January 11, 2026
See how a Plymouth family replaced basic builder landscaping with a custom flagstone walkway, strategic plantings, and a front yard that matches their home.
By Kent Gliadon January 9, 2026
Learn how French drains solve drainage problems in tight Minneapolis side yards without sacrificing walkway space or function.
By Kent Gliadon January 7, 2026
Stop roof water and sump pump discharge from saturating your Plymouth yard. Learn how to tie everything into one drainage system.
By Kent Gliadon January 3, 2026
Where All That Water Is Actually Coming From  Your backyard stays wet. You've noticed the soggy spots, the mud, maybe some frost heave damage to your patio or fence. You're thinking about French drains. But before you start digging trenches, look up. A huge amount of water hitting your yard isn't coming from rain falling on the lawn. It's coming from your roof. A moderate rainfall on a typical Plymouth home puts hundreds of gallons through your gutter system. Every bit of that water exits through your downspouts. Where it goes from there determines whether you have a drainage problem or not. Then there's your sump pump. Every time it kicks on, it's pushing water out of your basement and into your yard. On a wet property, that pump might run dozens of times a day. All that water has to go somewhere. If your downspouts dump water next to your foundation and your sump pump discharges into a side yard that drains toward your backyard, you're adding water to an already saturated situation. French drains alone might not be enough. You need to manage the sources. The Problem With Surface Discharge Most downspouts in Plymouth end with a splash block or a short extension that dumps water a few feet from the foundation. That's technically moving water away from the house, but not far enough.
By Kent . December 6, 2025
Why wooden lake steps always fail—and why Minnetonka and Orono homeowners are switching to stone. A contractor explains the replacement.