florida native pollinator favorites

Frostweed (verbesina virginica)

• biennial or perennial

• herbaceous

• blooms in late summer to late fall

• pollinator favorite

• 3-8ft tall

• when stems freeze, they emit water, and ice beads form

• found in prairies, pastures, forest openings, along streams, and on roadsides

Rattlesnake Master (eryngium yuccifolium)

• perennial

• pollinator favorite

• 4-5ft tall

• drought tolerant

• thought to cure rattlesnake bites

• mid summer to early fall

White Wild Indigo (baptisia alba)

• perennial

• pollinator favorite

• 24-48in tall

• 24-30in wide

• fatal to cows and irritating to humans if ingested

• flowers last for about three weeks

Purple False Foxglove (agalinis purpurea)

• hemiparasitic

• annual

• found in woodlands, roadsides, and open areas

• pollinator favorite

• 1-4ft tall

• found in woodlands, roadsides, and open areas

Ohio Spiderwort (tradescantia ohiensis)

• perennial

• herbaceous

• 2-3ft tall

• 18-30in wide

• blue sometimes rose flowers

• blooms in succession about 6 weeks

• each flower lasts only a day

• leaves and stems are reported to be edible (fresh or cooked)

• dormant during summer in warm months

Grass-Leaved Goldenrod (euthamia graminifolia)

• perennial wildflower

• 20-35 flowers

• blooming mid summer to late fall

• leaves emit a scent when crushed

• pollinator favorite

• 3-6ft tall

• 1-2ft wide

• found in moist meadows, prairies, roadsides, conifer swamps, or sandy moist shorelines

Sweet Goldenrod (solidago odora)

• perennial

• clump-forming

• 4 in long leaves smell like anise when crushed

• midsummer to early fall blooming

• pollinator favorite

• 2-4ft tall

• 1-2ft wide

Giant Ironweed (vernonia gigantea)

• perennial

• clump-forming

• late summer to early fall

• each flowerhead consists of 30-50 flowers

• pollinator favorite

• grows along ponds, streams, and meadows

• 5-8ft tall

• 3-6ft wide

Spotted Bee Balm (monarda punctata)

• pollinator favorite

• perennial or biennial

• grows in clumps

• aromatic green foliage

• inhabits dry prairies, open woodlands, sandhills, and roadsides

• 18-24in tall

• 9-12 in wide

• early to mid summer, sometimes late summer

Blue Mistflower (conoclinium coelestinum)

• perennial

• pollinator favorite

• midsummer to late fall

• spreads quickly

• 18-36in tall and wide

Black-Eyed Susan (rudbeckia hirta)

• biennial/short-lived perennial

• long blooming

• wildflower

• pollinator favorite

• 2-3ft tall

• 1-2ft wide

• found in open prairies, grasslands, sunny roadsides and fields, disturbed ground, pastures, old meadows, dry slopes, and woodland edges

Leavenworth’s Tickweed (coreopsis leavenworthii)

• annual

• 1-2 in across flowers

• 1-3ft tall

• 6-18 in wide

• pollinator favorite

• blooming year-round, heaviest during May-July

• likes wet areas

Lanceleaf Tickseed (coreopsis laceolata)

• perennial

• 2in across flowers

• late spring to midsummer

• each flower has 8 yellow rays, toothed at tips

• pollinator favorite

• 12-24 in tall

• 12-18 in wide

• likes sunny, dry areas