Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Columbine is easy to grow and tolerates a wide range of conditions. Red and yellow 1"-2" lantern-shaped flowers are hummingbird magnets. Under favorable conditions Columbine spreads readily. Larval host plant for a cute little butterfly, the Columbine Duskywing. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: prefers Part Sun
Soil: Moist to Average
Height: 1-2 feet
Blooms: April-June
Flowers: Red with Yellow center
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
When looking for a milkweed plant for the home garden, Swamp Milkweed is usually the best fit. It is not stocky nor does it spread vigorously by rhizomes. The milkweeds are one of the best nectar plants to attract pollinators, especially the monarchs which rely on milkweed foliage in the caterpillar stage.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Moist to Average
Height: to 4 feet
Blooms: June-August
Flowers: Pink
White Turtlehead
Chelone glabra
Well sought-after host plant for the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly. Blooms are white, sometimes tinged with pink. Perfect plant for a damp spot with intermittent light. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Part Sun
Soil: Moist
Height: 2'-4 feet
Blooms: August-October
Flower: White, White & Pink
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A popular plant for good reason. Blooms attract pollinators in summer and their seed feeds birds in the cold months. Beautiful in a home or business planting and in a vase. One larval host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly and Wavy-lined Emerald moth. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: June-August
Flowers: Purple-Magenta
Southern Blue Flag Iris
Iris virginica
Plant with sword-like leaves and large blue-violet flowers (1-3 cm across) is also well-rooted to help prevent erosion in low areas. Best grown in consistently moist organic soils. Good candidate for a rain garden.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Moist-Wet
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: June
Flowers: Blue-Violet with Yellow
Spotted Beebalm
Monarda punctata
Showy pagoda-like white to deep pink bracts form a ring below less conspicuous spotted yellow flowers. Low maintenance, long-lasting bloom period, though a 'weak perennial' but may self-seed. A pollinator favorite.
Light: Part to Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: July-September
Flowers: Yellow, White-Pink Bracts
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
White to pink tubular flowers fill the flowering stalk attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Makes a lasting cut flower. Spreads readily. Consider using in contained situation for home garden use.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Blooms: August-October
Flowers: White to Pink
Downy Skullcap
Scutellaria incana
Blue flowers are conspicuous and attractive, gorgeous in masses. Primarily pollinated by bumblebees. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Blooms: July-September
Flowers: Blue
Yellow Giant Hyssop
Agastache nepetoides
A 'one-stop-shop' for bees and butterflies with many flowers in dense terminal spikes. Deer resistant. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average
Height: to 6 feet
Blooms: July-September
Flowers: Yellow-Green
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Tall wispy, white candelabra-like flowers attract a multitude of pollinators and produce an especially strong effect when a number are planted together in a group. Candidate for rain gardens.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 4 to 7 feet
Blooms: May-August
Flowers: White
Rose Turtlehead
Chelone obliqua
Attractive especially when planted in groups. Best planted in intermediate light with moist well-drained soil such as in a rain garden.
Light: Intermediate
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Blooms: July-August
Flowers: Pink
Purple Giant Hyssop
Agastache scrophulariifolia
With spikes from 1" to 6" long, this plant makes an excellent source of late-season nectar indeed. Crushed foliage emits a pleasant licorice fragrance.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average
Height: 2 to 5 feet
Blooms: July-October
Flowers: Pale Purple-Lavender
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
Perfect for a sunny border, the tubular flowers are white or tinged with pink and attract a variety of native bees & hummingbirds. Foliage is a smooth, glossy dark green.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 3-5 feet
Blooms: April-June
Flowers: white to pink
Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium fistulosum, Eutrochium fistulosum
Billowy clusters of pinkish-purple flowers are lovely en mass, especially in a damp area. Height can be controlled by trimming by up to 1/2 in June. Excellent for attracting butterflies, as a cut flower and dried. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average to Wet
Height to 7 feet
Blooms July to September
Flowers: Pinkish-Purple
Royal Catchfly
Silene regia
Excellent hummingbird plant with red flowers to 2" across. Makes a lovely addition to a pollinator garden.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average, well-drained to Dry
Height: to 4 feet
Blooms: July to August
Flowers: Red
Allegheny Monkey Flower
Mimulus ringens
Best used for bordering ponds and waterways, for erosion control & to support pollinators. Flowers resemble snapdragons. Rhizomatous perennial. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: June to September
Flowers: Pink to Purple
Rose Vervain
Verbena canadensis
Attractive low mounding short-lived perennial with an extended bloom period. Good for ground cover, hanging baskets, window boxes, rock gardens & in pots. Attracts hummingbirds.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: to 1.5 feet
Blooms: May to August
Flowers: Pink to Purple
Snow Squarestem
Melanthera nivea
Enjoy flocking butterflies from mid-August through late September by planting Snow Squarestem within view. Snow Squarestem treats pollinators with copious amounts of nectar. Although it has a square stem, it is a member of the Aster Family. Pruning it back periodically to 2-3 feet is recommended to encourage a full, rounded shape. In nature it occurs in edge habitat, flood plains, & disturbed openings. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 5 feet
Blooms: early June to late September
Flowers: White with Black anthers
Hairy Beardtongue
Penstemon hirsutus
Front yard worthy. At 18 inches tall, this plant will grow in full sun to shade, moist soil to dry. Lovely purple tubular flowers support the hummingbird & many pollinators. Under-used as a yard plant. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full Sun to Shade
Height: to 18"
Soil: Moist to Dry
Blooms: May to June
Flowers: Pink-Purple
Carolina Wild Petunia
Ruellia caroliniensis
A wonderful little plant that produces a relatively big, cheerful flower (to 2" long). Blooms intermittently throughout the growing season. Drought tolerant. One larval host plant for the Common Buckeye butterfly & a source of nectar for hummingbirds. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Part to Full Sun
Soil: Moist to Dry
Height: 6-24"
Blooms: May-September
Flowers: Pale Purple
Pale Beardtongue
Penstemon pallidus
At the nursery, this beardtongue flowers early, is typically 2' tall or less and stays put. It's a good choice for early nectar & for a spot in the front yard. Flowers white to pale pink on downy stems.
Light: Full sun to Part shade
Soil: Dry to Medium
Height: 1 to 2.5 feet
Blooms: May to July
Eastern Whiteflower Beardtongue
Penstemon tenuiflorus
In nature found in western Kentucky on thin calcareous soil in open woods. Graceful white tubular flowers benefit hummingbirds. Kentucky source seed.
Light: Full sun to Part Shade
Soil: Medium, well-drained to Dry
Height: to 2.5 feet
Blooms: April to June
Figwort
Scrophularia marilandica
Tall plant with airy panicles of flowers providing ample nectar for pollinators, including the hummingbird. Lots of pollinator visitation. Grown from Kentucky source seed.
Light: best in intermediate light
Soil: Medium
Height: 3 to 8 feet
Blooms: July to September
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Shrub. Showy white flowers borne in spherical clusters draw numerous pollinators. Bees use nectar for making honey, seeds feed wildlife. Great for borders, rain gardens or as a specimen plant, even erosion control. Larval host plant for a number of species of Lepidoptera. Prune to desired shape. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.
Light: Full to Part Sun
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 5 to 12 feet
Blooms: June-September
Flowers: White
Rose Mallow
Hibiscus moscheutos
Although not a woody plant, this plant fills out like a bush & dies back to the ground each winter. Rose Mallow flowers are large, 4" to 6" across and showy. Ideal for a rain garden, hummingbird garden, or grouped along a patio, pond or ditch. Trim to desired height. A larval host plant to the following butterflies: Common Checkered Skipper, Painted Lady, and Gray Hairstreak.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 3 to 7 feet
Blooms: July-October
Flowers: White to Pink with Maroon center
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Gorgeous trumpet-shaped scarlet flowers with orange throat attract hummingbirds & butterflies. Growth form tends to be "bushy," filling out nicely against a support. Easily trained to a trellis or arbor by tying & trimming to shape. Red berries feed birds in fall.
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average
Length: 10 to 15 feet
Blooms: May to June
Flowers: Red & Orange
Indian Pink
Spigelia marilandica
Striking red & yellow flowers attract hummingbirds. Grows best in moist well-drained soil.
Light: Part Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Blooms: June
Flowers: Red & Yellow