Plants for Year-round Bee Forage

Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs and Trees for Pollinators

Annuals
Some flowers may look pretty but contain no nectar. These do!
Zinnias – great for all pollinators Salvia Mexican sunflower – brings the big butterflies Coleus – late bloom when not much else is blooming Tickseed sunflower Black eye Susan Cosmos – early bloomers Swamp sunflower Verbena Mexican sage Borage Pentas Garden Phlox

Trees
Provide ample food with a small footprint.
Eastern Redbud White, Pin, Red, Oglethorpe, Chestnut Oaks – Keystone species Basswood Tulip Poplar Black Locust Southern Catalpa Fringe Tree Maples Sourwood Downey Service Berry American and Yupon Holly Native Witch Hazel Crabapples Oglethorpe Oak Shag bark Hickory Paw Paw Gray & Silky Dogwood Red and Yellow Buckeye American & Chickasaw Plum Seven Sons Non Native Black Locust American Yellowwood Sweetbay Magnolia

Trees

Provide ample food with a small footprint.

Eastern Redbud
White, Pin, Red, Oglethorpe, Chestnut Oaks – Keystone species
Basswood
Tulip Poplar
Black Locust
Southern Catalpa
Fringe Tree
Maples
Sourwood
Downey Service Berry
American and Yupon Holly Native
Witch Hazel
Crabapples
Oglethorpe Oak
Shag bark Hickory
Paw Paw
Gray & Silky Dogwood
Red and Yellow Buckeye
American & Chickasaw Plum
Seven Sons Non Native
Black Locust
American Yellowwood
Sweetbay Magnolia

Shrubs
Bigger bang for your buck. Lots of blooms.
Vitex New Jersey Tea Chokeberry St. John's Wort Sumac – not a weed to pollinators Button Bush Pepperbush Ninebark Hydrangea paniculata Dwarf hollies Virginia Sweetspire Abelia Black Chokeberry Weigela Shrub Buttonbush Arrowhead & Blackhaw Viburnum Sweetshrub American Indigo Meadowsweet Elderberry Euonymus americana Highbush Blueberry

Weeds for Bees
Great for meadows or unmowed areas.
Late boneset Clover Fleabane Sensitive / Partridge pea Crown beard Golden rod –beneficial to bees late in the season Cat’s ear dandelion Asiatic hawksbeard Spanish needles Trumpet vine Fetch Clover – instead of grass Henbit Deadnettle Comfrey Dandelions Camphor weed Common Yarrow Pokeweed

Perennials Genus	Common Name	Bloom Time	Notes
Agastache	Hummingbird mints, Hyssops	Spring to summer	A variety of colors and species
Asclepias	Milkweed (Butterfly, Whorled, Common, Showy, Swamp)	Great for butterflies including Monarchs	Lovely colors
Coreopsis	Tickseed	Early bloomer	Balls of sunshine early
Coleus	Coleus	If you let it bloom, it will be great for late summer nutrition	Great for color and variety to your garden
Echinacea	Coneflower	Great summer bloomer for all pollinators	Who doesn't love these? Bees sure do!
Eryngium yuccafolium	Rattlesnake master	Summer	Very unique plant and great for our native bees
Eryngium	Sea holly	Summer	Blue globes
Eupatorium	Joe Pye Weeds & Mistflowers	Summer to fall	Great native
Gaillardia	Blanket Flower, Indian Blanket	Summer to fall	Lovely colors and long-lasting blooms
Liatris	Blazing stars, Glowsticks, and Gayfeathers	Summer	Adds height and color
Monarda	Beebalm - huge selection of colors, heights and bloom	Summer to fall	Great for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds
Nepeta	Catnips, Catmint	Summer to summer	Bountiful blooms
Passiflora incarnata	Passion flower - Maypops	Summer to winter	Host plant for the Gulf Fritilary
Pycnanthemum flexuosum	Appalachian Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	Love Mountain mints and so do our bees!!
Pycnanthemum incanum	Hoary Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	Love these and so do flower flies!
Pycnanthemum muticum	Short Toothed / Clustered Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	Love it!
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium	Narrowleaf Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	All native to the U.S.
Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum	Hairy Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	Lovely mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum	American Mountain Mint	Summer to fall	Another one bees love
Ratibida pinnata	Prairie Coneflower	Summer to fall	You will love seeing all the native bees this one attracts
Rudbeckia	Black Eyed Susans, Golsturm	Summer to fall	Great for our native bees
Salvia x sylvestris	May Night	Spring to fall	Deep purple flowers attract a host of native bees early
Salvia greggii	Autumn sage	Spring to fall	Ruby red flowers great for hummingbirds
Silphium	Rosinweeds	Yellow daisy-like late summer to fall	Lovely native
Silphium perfoliatum	Cup flower	Yellow daisy-like late summer to fall	Tall striking plant
Solidago	Goldenrods	Summer to winter	Provides fall pollen
Symphyotrichum	Asters	Late summer to winter	Purple to white
Symphyotrichum carolinianum	Climbing aster	Fall	Late bloomer for our bees
Veronica umbrosa	Georgia Blue - Speedwell	Spring to summer	Lovely blues and purples
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexander	Spring to summer	Adds golden color