Top Ten Pollinator Plants on the Berea Urban Farm
We grow these and other flowers as part of our Pollinator Pathway and throughout the farm as we work to improve habitat for pollinators. We grow seedlings of pollinator plants in our greenhouse each spring and provide them to Berea households and organizations such as the Madison County Conservation District.
Zinnia
(Zinnia elegans)
Attracts: Bees and butterflies, esp. monarchs
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Life cycle: Annual
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Height: 24-30”
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Spacing: 9-12”
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Light: Full sun
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Blooms: June-Oct
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Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
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Life cycle: Perennial
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Height: 2-3’
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Spacing: 18-24”
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Light: Full sun
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Blooms: June-Oct
Yarrow
(Achillea millefollium)
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, other insects
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Life cycle: Perennial
Height: 2-3'
Spacing: 1-2'
Light: Full sun
Blooms: June-Oct
Borage
(Borago officinalis)
Attracts: Bumblebees and honeybees
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Life cycle: Annual; readily self-sows
Height: 18”-30”
Spacing: 12”
Light: Full sun
Blooms: June-Oct.
Marigolds –Red Gem and Tangerine Gem
(Tagetes spp.)
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, other beneficial insects
Life cycle: Annual
Height:10-12"
Spacing: 12”
Light: Full sun
Blooms: May-Oct
Sunflower
(Multiple varieties)
Attracts: butterflies, bees, other insects
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Life cycle: Annual
Height and spacing: Depends on variety
Note: Choose varieties that produce pollen and nectar
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Light: Sun
Blooms: June-Sept
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Attracts: Butterflies, hummingbirds (host plant to Monarchs)
Life cycle: Annual
Height: 2-4'
Spacing: 1’
Light: Full-part sun
Blooms: June-Aug
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Anise hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum or anethiodora)
Attracts: bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Life cycle: Perennial
Height: 24-36”
Spacing: 6-12” plant spacing; 24-36” row
spacing
Light: Sun
Blooms: June-Sept
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Bee balm
(Monarda didyma)
Also called Sweet Bergamot
Attracts: bees and hummingbirds
Life cycle: Perennial
Height: 28 – 45”
Spacing: 18-24”
Light: Sun to part shade
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Blooms: July-Sept
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Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Attracts: bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, ants, flies and beetles
Life cycle: Perennial
Height: 3’
Spacing: 12-18"
Light: Full-part sun
Blooms: June-Sept
For more information on pollinator plants for Berea households:
Green Garden Buzz: Fuss free organic gardening for you and the bees
http://www.greengardenbuzz.com/
Grow Appalachia: Flowers for Pollinators
https://growappalachia.berea.edu/2016/05/05/flowers-for-pollinators/
Xerxes Society: Southeast Region Pollinator Plants