The native flowers that feed honey bees, bumblebees, and the hundreds of solitary native bees most gardeners never notice. North Dakota sits in a landscape of Northern mixedgrass prairie & Drift Prairie, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its cold, semi-arid character. The list below — led by Spotted Joe-Pye Weed and Culver's Root — is filtered to species genuinely native to North Dakota and the wider flora of the Great Plains and hardy through zones 3–4. 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.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–4 · see this collection in other states.
Eutrochium maculatum
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, mauve-pink flowers and flowering from Jul to Sep.
Veronicastrum virginicum
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — 3–5 ft tall, blooming from Jun to Aug.
Rudbeckia hirta
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees and butterflies; 12–18 in wide, it blooms Jun through Sep.
Silphium perfoliatum
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies, yellow flowers and flowering from Jul to Sep.
Solidago speciosa
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; hardy in zones 3–8, it flowers in Sep and Oct.
Zizia aurea
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, hardy in zones 3–8 and flowering from Apr to Jun.
Liatris spicata
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — good through zone 9, blooming in Jul and Aug.
Amelanchier canadensis
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies — white spring lace flowers, blooming in Apr and May.
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — happy in clay and loam soil, blooming in Sep and Oct.
Physostegia virginiana
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; pink flowers, it flowers in Aug and Sep.
Aquilegia canadensis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees — reaching 1–2.5 ft, blooming from Apr to Jun.
Asclepias incarnata
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and butterflies — rose pink flowers, blooming in Jul and Aug.
Cercis canadensis
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil, blooming in Mar and Apr.
Pulsatilla patens
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it; cold-hardy to zone 3, it flowers in Mar and Apr.
Monarda fistulosa
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and butterflies, reaching 2–4 ft and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Liatris pycnostachya
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, hardy in zones 3–9 and flowering in Jul and Aug.
Agastache foeniculum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, 2–4 ft tall and flowering from Jun to Sep.
Geum triflorum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, spreading 12–18 in and flowering in Apr and May.
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies, cold-hardy to zone 3 and flowering from Sep to Nov.
Gaillardia aristata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies, red & gold flowers and flowering from Jun to Sep.
Asclepias tuberosa
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees and butterflies — vivid orange flowers, blooming from Jun to Aug.
Berlandiera lyrata
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies — hardy in zones 4–10, blooming from May to Sep.
Coreopsis lanceolata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies — cold-hardy to zone 3, blooming from May to Jul.
Penstemon digitalis
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees — spreading 1–2 ft, blooming in May and Jun.
17 more also qualify: Great Blue Lobelia, Purple Coneflower, Common Yarrow, Maximilian Sunflower, Compass Plant, Red-Twig Dogwood, New Jersey Tea, Ninebark, Common Boneset, Stiff Goldenrod, Fragrant Sumac, Common Milkweed, American Elderberry, Purple Prairie Clover, Showy Milkweed, Blue Vervain, Rattlesnake Master.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.