Curated by real gardeners
Plants for Pollinators
Bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects need blooms they can actually use. These plants earn their spot the honest way — every pick below is ranked by how many Sow gardeners grow it, not by what looks good in a stock photo.
The 24 most-saved picks
#1 most savedButterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
#2 most savedCheyenne Spirit Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea 'Cheyenne Spirit'
#3 most savedPink Muhly Grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa 'Gay Butterflies Mix'
Butterfly Kisses Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea 'Butterfly Kisses'
Butterfly Weed Gay Butterflies Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa 'Gay Butterflies'
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa 'Deluxe Butterfly Garden'
Hello Yellow Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow'
Garden Phlox
Phlox paniculata 'Mix'
Purple Coneflower Rainbow
Echinacea purpurea 'Rainbow'
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias x hybrida
Old Farmyard Hollyhock
Alcea rosea 'Old Farmyard'
May Night Sage
Salvia nemorosa 'May Night'
Walker's Low Catmint
Nepeta faassenii 'Walker's Low'
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta 'American Gold Rush'
Pugster Amethyst Butterfly Bush
Buddleja davidii 'Pugster Amethyst'
Garden Phlox 'Rene Duval'
Phlox paniculata 'Rene Duval'
Pugster Pink Butterfly Bush
Buddleia davidii 'Pugster Pinker'
Dwarf Wild Indigo
Baptisia minor
Blanket Flower
Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Mixed Border'
Incrediball Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens 'Incrediball'
Zinnia Raggedy Ann
Zinnia elegans 'Raggedy Ann'
Cinderella Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella'
Prairie Phlox
Phlox pilosa
Pollinators questions
What makes a plant good for pollinators?
Single (not double) flowers with accessible nectar and pollen, long bloom windows, and planting in groups of three or more so foragers can work efficiently. Native species tend to support the widest range of local pollinators.
When should pollinator plants bloom?
Aim for a relay: early-spring bloomers feed emerging queens, summer plants carry the colony season, and late-fall asters and goldenrods fuel migration and overwintering. A good pollinator bed has something open from March to frost.
Keep exploring
More collections
Find the right pollinators plants for YOUR yard
Sow matches plants to your zone, sun, and style — then designs the bed and reminds you how to care for it.
