Pollinator Plants for the Southern Plains

Whether you have the outer space to make an expansive , pollinator - friendly landscape or just enough room to pot up a twain plants that are pollinator favorite , we can all do our part in helping these beneficial bugs . A good berth to start is seeking out the plants that support the pollinators aboriginal to our area . To aid in that search , we asked regional expert to apportion some of the good pollinator industrial plant for their region . Below , you ’ll find four pick for the Southern Plains . To learn even more about gardening for pollinator , check outGardening for Pollinators : Everything You Need to Know and Grow for a Gorgeous Pollinator Garden .

1. Foxglove penstemon

Name : Penstemoncobaea

Zones:5–8

Size:1 to 2 feet grandiloquent and wide-cut

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; dry to medium soil

aboriginal range : southerly and central United States

Foxglove genus Penstemon emulates spring excitement when it bug out up . Showy , magnanimous , tube-shaped efflorescence brook out in a kind of colors . The heyday range from white to pinks and purple . True to its name , the plant resembles the more widely realize foxglove ( Digitalispurpurea , Zones 4–8 ) , but it brings the many benefits of a aboriginal plant life . This perennial is the larval host for the dotted checkerspot butterfly stroke and attracts a wide sort ofmoths . Many additional pollinators frequent the flowers , including other butterflies , aboriginal bees , bumblebee , and hummingbirds . The bell - shape blossom pose next to each other up and down the flower stalk . After it has bloomed , the flower stalk can be write out back or left for seed to ripen ( and run seed - run through birds ) .

picture : millettephotomedia.com

2. White mistflower

Name:Ageratina havanensis

Zones:7–11

Size:3 to 6 feet tall and wide

condition : Full sun to partial shade ; well - drained soil

aboriginal range : Edwards Plateau in Texas to northern Mexico ; Cuba

In fall , ashen Conoclinium coelestinum is carpeted in fuzzy , fragrant white blooms that pollinators flock to . It ’s a favourite of sovereign butterfly stroke , who stop by on their way to Mexico to get a drink of its nectar for their long flight of steps . Many other butterflies — as well as hummingbird , moth , and bee — enjoy the blossoms too . Not only does blank mistflower provide plenteous nectar and pollen , but it also serves as the larval horde flora for Rawson ’s metalmark butterfly . A severe prune in late winter will promote more blooms and a denser shrub pattern . In leap , a secondary , optional light pruning will form it further and controlthe height . ashen Eupatorium coelestinum performs best in full sunshine . While it will take partial shade , that often results in a stretch industrial plant with few flower .

3. Coral honeysuckle vine

Name:Lonicerasempervirens

Zones:4–9

Size : Vining 8 to 15 feet marvellous and 3 to 6 foot spacious

Conditions : Full Sunday ; well - drained soil

Native range : Southeastern United States

Coral honeysuckle is an attractive spring - blooming , rise vine . The flowers are shaped like slender trumpets that are red in colour with noticeable white-livered stamens . The foliage is semi - evergreen , and right below the blossoms the leaves are fused around the stem . The initial burst of blooms occurs in midspring , and then the plant will continue flowering intermittently throughout summer . estimable air circulation will aid prevent downy mold . This plant is the larval host for the spring azure butterfly and the snowberry clearwing moth . aboriginal plant like this develop alongside native pollinators , take form a specialized , essential relationship . With so much home ground red , it is essential for gardeners to leave these larval host plants for the pollinator that involve them .

4. Texas liatris

Name:Liatrispunctatavar.mucronata

Zones:6–9

Size:1 to 3 foot tall and 1 to 2 feet full

Conditions : Full sun ; dry to medium soil

aboriginal range : South - cardinal United States

This liatris provides a soft grain in both its muzzy blooms and its unique leafage . Throughout natural spring and summer , Texas liatris acts like a genteel dry land cover , then in late summertime the bloom spikesbegin to elongate before break open into galvanic purple wand . These spectacular flowers pull in and support a panoptic array ofpollinators during the tumble season . Liatris looks especially showy when plant in mass , and the blooms keep well as shortened flowers . It is a terrific nectar source for butterflies and bees , and the ejaculate are eaten by many hoot species . This coinage ego - seeds , which can be advantageous , as it is an excellent transplantation candidate due to its bulblike storage structure called a corm . Be aware that overwatering can conduce to corm rot with this plant .

Amy Gallowayis a horticulturist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin , Texas .

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Foxglove penstemon

Photo: courtesy of Marilyn McBroom Knight

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Photo: courtesy of Marilyn McBroom Knight

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