Arkansas Native Plants List for Supporting Monarchs and Pollinators

The Partnership has created this list of native plants appropriate for plantings throughout Arkansas. Use this list to help guide your plantings for year-round blooms and support for pollinators.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Bloom Period	Flower Color	Light Needs¹	Water Needs²	Approx. Height (ft.)	Benefits³	Comments
Aesculus pavia	red buckeye	Spring to Early Summer	red	sun to shade	M	6-10	B, H	Small tree for rain gardens, but can also be drought tolerant
Amorpha canescens	leadplant	Summer to Fall	blue/purple	sun to light shade	L, M	2-3	B, Bu	Woody shrub
Amsonia tabernaemontana	Eastern bluestar	Spring	blue	sun to med. shade	M	2-3	B, Bu
Aristolochia tomentosa	Dutchman's pipevine	Spring to Summer	yellow/green	part sun to shade	M, H		Bu	Host plant for pipevine swallowtail larvae
Asclepias incarnata	swamp milkweed	Spring to Summer	pink	sun	L, M	4-5	Bu, M	Native to NWA, can tolerate moisture
Asclepias sullivantii	prairie milkweed	Spring to Summer	rose/lavender	sun	M	2-3	B, Bu, M
Asclepias syriaca	common milkweed	Early to Mid-Summer	lavender	sun to part shade	M	2-6	B, Bu, M	Vigorous spreader
Asclepias tuberosa	butterfly milkweed	Late Spring to Summer	orange	sun	L, M	1-2.5	B, Bu, M, H	Can bloom again in fall!
Asclepias viridis	antelopehorn milkweed	Spring to Summer	green/purple	sun	L, M	1-2	B, Bu	Spreads slowly
Baptisia alba v. macrophylla	white wild indigo	Summer	white	sun	M	2-3	B, Bu
Callirhoe involucrata	wine cup	Early Spring to Summer	dark purple-red	sun	L	0.5-1.5	B, Bu	Drought tolerant once established
Ceanothus americanus	New Jersey tea	Spring to Summer	white	sun to light shade	L, M	3-4	B, Bu, H	Woody shrub
Cephalanthus occidentalis	buttonbush	Summer	white	sun to light shade	M, H	6-10	B, Bu, H	Woody shrub - good for rain gardens
Cercis canadensis	Eastern redbud	Spring	pink	sun to part shade	L, M	20-30	B, Bu	Small tree
Conoclinium coelestinum	blue mistflower	Summer to Fall	blue-purple	sun to part shade	M, H	1.5-2	B, Bu	Can spread vigorously
Coreopsis lanceolata	lanceleaf coreopsis	Spring to Summer	yellow	sun to part shade	L	2-3	B, Bu, M	May take 2 years to establish.
Dalea purpurea	purple prairie clover	Spring to Fall	lavender-purple	sun to part shade	L	1-3	B, Bu
Echinacea pallida	pale purple coneflower	Summer	lavender	sun to part shade	L, M	2-3	B, Bu
Echinacea purpurea	purple coneflower	Summer	purple	sun to part shade	L, M	2-5	B, Bu
Eryngium yuccifolium	rattlesnake master	Summer	white	sun	M	2-5	B, Bu	Good pollinator plant
Eupatorium perfoliatum	Common boneset	Late Summer to Fall	white	sun	M, H	4-6	B, Bu	Important for fall migration
Eutrochium purpureum	Joe Pye Weed	Summer	pink-purple	sun to part shade	M, H	3-7	B, Bu	Good for rain gardens.
Glandulararia canadensis	rose vervain	Spring to Summer	pink	sun	L	0.5-1.5	B, Bu	Poor and well-drained soil needed
Helianthus angustifolius	narrowleaf sunflower	Fall	yellow	sun	M	1	B, Bu
Helianthus divaricatus	woodland sunflower	Summer	yellow	part shade to shade	L, M	2-6	B, Bu	may form colony
Liatris aspera	tall blazing star	Summer to Fall	purple	sun	L, M	2-3	B,Bu, H	Excellent nectar plant for butterflies!
Liatris pycnostachya	prairie blazing star	Summer	purple	sun	L, M	2-4	B, Bu, H	Excellent nectar plant for butterflies!
Lindera benzoin	spice bush	Spring	yellow	shade	M, H	6-14	B, Bu	Host plant for spice bush swallowtail larvae! (small tree)
Monarda bradburiana	Eastern beebalm	Spring	pink/purple/white	sun to shade	L, M	1-2	B, Bu, H	may form a colony
Monarda fistulosa	wild bergamot	Spring	pink/purple	sun to light shade	M	2-4	B, Bu, H	Great plant for pollinators!
Penstemon digitalis	foxglove beardtongue	Summer	white	sun to light shade	M, H	2-4	B, Bu, M, H	Great plant for moths!
Phlox divaricata	woodland phlox	Spring	purple	sun to shade	M	1-3	Bu, H	Great nectar source for butterflies!
Phlox paniculata	garden phlox	Summer to Fall	pink/purple/ white	sun to shade	M, H	2-4	B, Bu, H	Great nectar source for butterflies!
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium	slender mountain mint	summer	white	sun	L, M	1-1.5	B, Bu	Excellent nectar plant for butterflies!
Pycnantheum muticum	clustered mountain mint	Summer to Fall	white	sun to part shade	L, M	1-3	B, Bu	Excellent nectar plant for butterflies!
Rudbeckia hirta	Black-eyed Susan	Summer	yellow	sun	M	1-2.5	B, Bu	Annual or short-lived perennial
Rudbeckia fulgida	Black-eyed Susan	Summer	yellow	sun	L. M	2-3	B, Bu
Salvia azurea	azure blue sage	Summer to Fall	blue	sun to light shade	L, M	3-5	B, Bu
Solidago caesia	wreath goldenrod	Fall	yellow	sun to part shade	L	1.5-3	B, Bu	Goldenrod which tolerates some shade
Solidago nemoralis	gray goldenrod	Summer	yellow	sun to light shade	L, M	1.5-2	B, Bu	Thrives in poor, dry soils in sunny locations
Solidago petiolaris	downy ragged goldenrod	Summer to Fall	yellow	part sun	L, M	1-4	B, Bu, M	Nectar source for monarch butterflies
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae	New England aster	Fall	purple	sun	M	3-6	Bu	Great for migrating monarchs!
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium	aromatic aster	Fall	purple	sun	L, M	1-3	Bu
Vernonia arkansana	curlytop ironweed	Summer	purple	sun to light shade	M, H	3-4	B, Bu
Vernonia baldwinii	Baldwin's ironweed	Summer	purple	sun	L, M	3-5	B, Bu
Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver's root	Spring to Summer	white/blue	sun to light shade	M, H	4-7	Bu
Zizia aurea	golden alexanders	spring	gold	sun to light shade	L, M	1-2.5	B, Bu	Host plant for black swallowtail larvae

¹Light Needs:

Sun: An area that receives at least six hours of more of direct, mid-day sun, includes the south or west side of buildings and trees.

Sun to light shade: Includes area conditions listed for sun plus the east and north sides of buildings and trees where plants have considerable open sky overhead.

Light to medium/part shade: Includes areas with dappled sunlight and bright areas underneath trees; i.e., open sky not directly overhead.

Shade: Dappled to dense shade; areas that receive morning and evening sun in summer; areas on north sides of buildings and underneath trees

²Water Needs:

High (H), Medium (M), Low (L)

³Benefits:

Bees (B), Butterflies (Bu), Moths (M), Hummingbirds (H)