Native Plants for Bees in Arizona

The native flowers that feed honey bees, bumblebees, and the hundreds of solitary native bees most gardeners never notice. For Arizona, the right natives are shaped by Sonoran & Chihuahuan deserts, Mogollon Rim and a arid, hot low desert to cool high country climate. Every species below, from Desert Marigold and Pasque Flower to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Arizona and the wider flora of the desert Southwest and hardy through zones 5–10. Most of our native bees are solitary and unfussy, but they depend on a steady supply of pollen-rich, single (not double) flowers. Open daisy and umbel shapes are easiest for short-tongued bees, while tubular flowers reward the long-tongued bumblebees. Skip pesticides entirely and leave some bare, undisturbed ground and pithy stems where ground- and stem-nesting bees raise their young.

21 native species for Arizona

Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 5–10 · see this collection in other states.