Fact Sheet
Perilous Plight of the Pollinators
High Value Pollinator Plants
For Dry Sites
This fact sheet contains information about highly valued pollinator plants to consider when designing your landscapes and gardens. The plants include native flowers, shrubs, trees, grasses and herbs. An effective pollinator planting has at least three species blooming at one time, i.e.: 3-early, 3-mid and 3-late, during the growing season. This would include flowers, shrubs and trees. Bunch grasses are listed since they provide nesting habitat for bumble bees.
Native IL Prairie Flowers
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Light Needs |
Bloom Time |
Butterflyweed |
Asclepias tuberosa |
Shade |
mid |
Whorled Milkweed |
Asclepias verticillata |
Full Sun |
mid |
Ohio Horse Mint |
Blephilia ciliata |
Full Sun |
mid |
White Prairie Clover |
Dalea Candidum |
Shade |
mid |
Purple Prairie Clover |
Dalea purpureum |
Shade |
early-mid |
Pale Purple Coneflower |
Echinacea pallida |
Full Sun |
mid |
Showy Sunflower |
Helianthus laetiflorus |
Full Sun |
late |
Rough Blazingstar |
Liatris aspera |
Shade |
late |
Prairie Blazingstar |
Liatris pycnostachya |
Shade |
mid-late |
Wild Lupine |
Lupinus perennis |
Shade |
early |
Wild Bergamot |
Monarda fistulosa |
Shade |
mid-late |
Dotted Mint |
Monarda punctata |
Shade |
mid-late |
Smooth Penstemon |
Penstemon digitalis |
Shade |
early-mid |
Pale Penstemon |
Penstemon pallidus |
Shade |
early-mid |
Compass Plant |
Silphium laciniatum |
Full Sun |
mid |
Stiff Goldenrod |
Solidago rigida |
Shade |
late |
Showy Goldenrod |
Solidago speciosa |
Shade |
very late |
Silky Aster |
Symphyotrichum sericeum |
Full Sun |
late |
Spiderwort |
Tradescantia ohiensis |
Shade |
early-mid |
Native IL Shrubs
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Bloom Time |
Aromatic sumac |
Rhus aromatica |
early |
Sunshine Rose |
Rosa arkansana |
mid |
Carolina Rose |
Rosa carolina |
mid |
Swamp Rose |
Rosa setigera |
mid |
Native IL Trees
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Bloom Time |
Hawthorn |
Crataegus species |
early |
Native IL Prairie Bunch Grasses
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Side-Oats |
Grama Bouteloua curtipendula |
June Grass |
Koeleria cristata |
Little Bluestem |
Schizachyrium scoparium |
Culinary Herbs
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Bloom Time |
Oregano |
Origanum spp. |
mid |
Rosemary |
Rosemarinus officnalis |
late |
Referernce: NRCS Illinois Biology Technical Guide No. 23
Pollinator Biology and Habitat
August 2012
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Download Printable Fact Sheet
A Printed Version of this fact sheet is available in Adobe Acrobat.
Name Fact Sheet
PlantSeries-Dry.pdf (PDF, 329 kb)