Prairie Blazing Star
Liatris pycnostachya
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Ohio · Zones 5–7
Native Pollinator Plants in Ohio
Native plants that turn a yard into a season-long buffet for bees, butterflies, and the insects that keep the food web running. Every species here is genuinely native to Ohio and the wider flora of the Midwest and hardy through zones 5–7 — proven performers for Ohio's humid continental climate across Eastern Corn Belt & Allegheny Plateau, not a generic list. Local standouts include Prairie Blazing Star and Smooth Hydrangea. A garden that feeds pollinators all season needs something in bloom from the first warm days of spring through the last of fall. Aim for at least three species flowering at any given time, plant in generous drifts of one kind rather than singletons so foragers can work efficiently, and leave seed heads and hollow stems standing over winter to shelter the next generation.
The plants
58 native species for Ohio
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 5–7 · see this collection in other states.
Smooth Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators and native bees while it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Part shade
- Average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies right through when it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Foamflower
Tiarella cordifolia
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators and native bees as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 6–12 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees while it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, native bees, and specialist bees as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 6–16 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Pasque Flower
Pulsatilla patens
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, native bees, and specialist bees while it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 6–12 in
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Wild Bleeding Heart
Dicentra eximia
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees as it blooms Apr through Aug.
- Part shade
- Average
- 12–18 in
- Blooms Apr–Aug
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees right through when it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Nectar and pollen for the garden — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees right through when it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it blooms Apr through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 8–15 ft
- Blooms Apr–Sep
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and native bees while it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms May through Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies as it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, native bees, and specialist bees while it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Keeps pollinators fed — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
A reliable nectar stop — it draws pollinators, native bees, and songbirds while it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees right through when it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, butterflies, and native bees as it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Works hard for pollinators — it draws pollinators, hummingbirds, and butterflies while it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
34 more also qualify: Maximilian Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, Serviceberry, Short-Toothed Mountain Mint, Flowering Dogwood, Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, Black-Eyed Susan, Cardinal Flower, Arrowwood Viburnum, Showy Goldenrod, Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Obedient Plant, Culver's Root, Dense Blazing Star, Wild Bergamot, Wild Ginger, Red-Twig Dogwood, Compass Plant, Inkberry Holly, Rattlesnake Master, Stiff Goldenrod, Fragrant Sumac, Ninebark, New Jersey Tea, Purple Prairie Clover, American Elderberry, Common Milkweed, Creeping Phlox, Blue Vervain, Spicebush, Wild Lupine, Bearberry, Common Boneset.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Ohio
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
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.