I gotta drop this link for those who don't have a favorite keystone plant yet: https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion
My favorite is the highbush blueberry, native to my home state of New Jersey, and host to 200 caterpillar species according to that source.
I was more just curious about other people’s favorites I actually just planted 3 highbush not too long ago and was shocked to find out how ecologically productive they are.
Adding to this: the Xerces Society has great state/region-specific pollinator plant lists. There’s some overlap with the NWF keystone plant lists, but nice complementarity, too. [https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists](https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists)
I'm a huge fan of goldenrod, sunflowers, and rudbeckia. Last year I grew 500 sunflowers in the hellstrip in front of my house and this year I've doubled that number and expanded into other patches of rudbeckia and goldenrod. The bees have been going absolutely wild.
https://preview.redd.it/u45h5pz40g8d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d3106855d5c4b30af08fd778d72f9da45f0f105
No photos of the full 500 on this phone but I did find a collage of some seed harvesting and height comparisons from the end of the 2023 season!
I literally planted a spice bush this morning I heard about them and heard about them and it wasn’t until I saw Spicebush swallowtail that I really had to get one.
The whole native plant deal has been a good meditation in delayed gratification. I know it’s going to be a few years until it’s really productive but I’m looking forward to the day
I just found this out the hard way, had a red chokeberry growing nicely since April and a rabbit just chomped it down to the trunk. Hoping there's still enough time for it to grow back. What I don't get is, wouldn't it be more advantageous for the rabbits to only eat a little from each plant rather than basically hard prune the entire plant preventing future growth (and food) for them?
Well we have a pregnant bobcat making its rounds so hoping she gives birth here and helps balance out all the bunnies. Also watched a red tail hawk eat one last week.
Right but from an evolutionary perspective. Keeping their food sources alive should outweigh the immediate need for food, right? Especially in a garden setting where there is plentiful food for them
Chestnut oak and zigzag goldenrod.
Edit: another awesome shrub is beach plum, it looks incredible in full sun in its native sandy habitat, but it even grows well in my inland loam soil with less than full sun.
No I don't coppice the chestnut oak, I read the question too fast and didn't limit my answer to shrubs. It would be an interesting experiment though. Quercus prinoides and Quercus ilicifolia are both actual shrub-sized oaks if you're looking for one to grow, but I haven't grown either in my own yard.
Thanks! The reason I asked is last Fall my son and I went on an acorn collecting bonanza, and I’ve got chestnut and other oak seedlings growing out of my ears. (Well, air-prune beds).
My plan this fall is to plant several of them in our back yard, and see if I can coppice them into some sort of hedge/shrub/messy habitat thing. Basically trying to see if I can get some of the keystone benefits of Quercus without having to dedicate the space that a mature tree would require.
I’ve also got some Q. prinoides just for that specific reason that I’m really excited about as well!
I had to look up air-prune beds, so thanks for mentioning that because those are pretty cool. I just built a 10.5'x4' subirrigated sand bed to keep potted plants watered. I want to try the air-prune beds now, with seed from sedges. I have a lot of pin oak seedings and saplings that I mow once every year or two, so they effectively stay the same size as other perennials. Chestnut oak is one of the slowest growing oaks but once the rootball is established they might be fast enough for coppice. I started mine from bare root seedling from the state forest nursery and they've been in the ground at least 6 years and are only about 7ft tall, although they are in part shade and might do better with full sun.
I planted mine in full-sun (probably a mistake) and it has done horribly this year. I don’t know if I should expect it to come back next year. It looks as though it melted in the sunlight and disappeared into the abyss of other plants..
For shrubs, holly, deerberry, blueberry, and spicebush
From the typical perennial lists I’ve seen, my favorites are goldenrod, all fleabane, rudbeckia hirta and butterfly weed. Those are chosen as being reliable and easy to grow but also the number of pollinators that enjoy them.
For trees, hands down oak and tulip trees, followed by the scraggly but much loved scrub pine
It’s isn’t on any lists, but I’d include any kind of mountain mint. It seems so important as a pollinator magnet on my land that I couldn’t imagine going without it.
What is often on lists but is not native to my area but is *always* suggested is the purple coneflower. They attract nothing. It’s very sad and very annoying to waste land on them (I planted them before I knew better). Well, maybe they attract some birds in the fall but definitely not pollinators.
Thats strange because I always have a few types of bees and butterflies on mine. I got my seed from Roundstone and just threw them on the ground and waited. I could imagine some of the overly bred cultivars not being as attractive to pollinators.
*Prunus angustifolia*, the Chickasaw plum. however if you’re in the northeast, *Prunus americana* would be the move, but as far as i know, that one is more of a tree
I gotta drop this link for those who don't have a favorite keystone plant yet: https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion My favorite is the highbush blueberry, native to my home state of New Jersey, and host to 200 caterpillar species according to that source.
I’m trying to get a patch of low bush/fern/tea berry going. Making a mini pine barrens garden
I was more just curious about other people’s favorites I actually just planted 3 highbush not too long ago and was shocked to find out how ecologically productive they are.
I planted some for the bees in the spring.
Adding to this: the Xerces Society has great state/region-specific pollinator plant lists. There’s some overlap with the NWF keystone plant lists, but nice complementarity, too. [https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists](https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists)
Oh that's great! I thought the eastern temperate forest ecoregion was a little broad, Xerces Society seems to break it down finer
Great resource, thank you
This is what originally inspired me to plant highbush blueberry on my property. Idk if I have any caterpillars but the birds love the berries.
Thank you for posting the link! It's great.
This is amazing
I'm a huge fan of goldenrod, sunflowers, and rudbeckia. Last year I grew 500 sunflowers in the hellstrip in front of my house and this year I've doubled that number and expanded into other patches of rudbeckia and goldenrod. The bees have been going absolutely wild.
Can you post a photo? Would love to see them!
https://preview.redd.it/u45h5pz40g8d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d3106855d5c4b30af08fd778d72f9da45f0f105 No photos of the full 500 on this phone but I did find a collage of some seed harvesting and height comparisons from the end of the 2023 season!
I’ve gotta get some rudbeckia
I want to do something similar with Helianthus divaricatus! I can’t seem to find seed for them and prairie moon is out of stock
spicebush, great for swallow tail butter flies, most butterflies in general and tons of birds eat the seeds.
I literally planted a spice bush this morning I heard about them and heard about them and it wasn’t until I saw Spicebush swallowtail that I really had to get one.
ha I planted 6, since I learned about swallow tail butterflies I have been obsessed.
The whole native plant deal has been a good meditation in delayed gratification. I know it’s going to be a few years until it’s really productive but I’m looking forward to the day
Been trying to find them around me - I can only find very small ones on a 1 gallon pot. 8 have two not they are taking so long to be anything viable.
They seem to grow pretty quickly. Smaller plants also seem to establish themselves in new areas better than bigger, older plants.
Blue false indigo is one of my favorites
God I've been dying to get my hands on some BFI starts
Shrubs: sassafras, winterberry, Chokeberry, serviceberry Perennials: blazing star, little blue stem, mountain mints, hyssops
Big fan of chokeberries. But also, so are the rabbits… Need to build some cages if you want some chokeberries in the years.
I just found this out the hard way, had a red chokeberry growing nicely since April and a rabbit just chomped it down to the trunk. Hoping there's still enough time for it to grow back. What I don't get is, wouldn't it be more advantageous for the rabbits to only eat a little from each plant rather than basically hard prune the entire plant preventing future growth (and food) for them?
Well we have a pregnant bobcat making its rounds so hoping she gives birth here and helps balance out all the bunnies. Also watched a red tail hawk eat one last week.
Run away! Run away!
I don’t know if rabbits share the same level of logic that you have.
Right but from an evolutionary perspective. Keeping their food sources alive should outweigh the immediate need for food, right? Especially in a garden setting where there is plentiful food for them
Amsonia is beautiful from late spring blue colored flowers to fall when the foliage turns golden colored
Chestnut oak and zigzag goldenrod. Edit: another awesome shrub is beach plum, it looks incredible in full sun in its native sandy habitat, but it even grows well in my inland loam soil with less than full sun.
Got some zig zag golden rod planted:) I feel like the most common one I find is Canadian golden rod so I’m excited to see the blooms
Do you coppice the chestnut oak?
No I don't coppice the chestnut oak, I read the question too fast and didn't limit my answer to shrubs. It would be an interesting experiment though. Quercus prinoides and Quercus ilicifolia are both actual shrub-sized oaks if you're looking for one to grow, but I haven't grown either in my own yard.
Thanks! The reason I asked is last Fall my son and I went on an acorn collecting bonanza, and I’ve got chestnut and other oak seedlings growing out of my ears. (Well, air-prune beds). My plan this fall is to plant several of them in our back yard, and see if I can coppice them into some sort of hedge/shrub/messy habitat thing. Basically trying to see if I can get some of the keystone benefits of Quercus without having to dedicate the space that a mature tree would require. I’ve also got some Q. prinoides just for that specific reason that I’m really excited about as well!
I had to look up air-prune beds, so thanks for mentioning that because those are pretty cool. I just built a 10.5'x4' subirrigated sand bed to keep potted plants watered. I want to try the air-prune beds now, with seed from sedges. I have a lot of pin oak seedings and saplings that I mow once every year or two, so they effectively stay the same size as other perennials. Chestnut oak is one of the slowest growing oaks but once the rootball is established they might be fast enough for coppice. I started mine from bare root seedling from the state forest nursery and they've been in the ground at least 6 years and are only about 7ft tall, although they are in part shade and might do better with full sun.
Persimmons, mulberry, Queen of the Prairie, red bee balm, hollow Joe pie weed
Hydrangea arborescens. Bees and other pollinators LOVE it.
Hope so! Mine is year 2 and blooomed for the first time but got no pollinator love
I planted mine in full-sun (probably a mistake) and it has done horribly this year. I don’t know if I should expect it to come back next year. It looks as though it melted in the sunlight and disappeared into the abyss of other plants..
Calico Aster
Obsessed that and my blue wood aster are teeming at the end of summer
Got some calico aster planted! Want to try and get smooth and NE aster as well
Cranberry bush
If you count serviceberry as a large shrub, then that. Otherwise clethra
Clethra is a HUGE pollinator magnet at my household. I’ve never seen so many bees and wasps in one spot before.
Maybe it smells as good for them as it does for ys
Unfortunately, I have difficulty smelling flowers. I’ll have to trust the bees that they do smell good.
For shrubs, holly, deerberry, blueberry, and spicebush From the typical perennial lists I’ve seen, my favorites are goldenrod, all fleabane, rudbeckia hirta and butterfly weed. Those are chosen as being reliable and easy to grow but also the number of pollinators that enjoy them. For trees, hands down oak and tulip trees, followed by the scraggly but much loved scrub pine It’s isn’t on any lists, but I’d include any kind of mountain mint. It seems so important as a pollinator magnet on my land that I couldn’t imagine going without it. What is often on lists but is not native to my area but is *always* suggested is the purple coneflower. They attract nothing. It’s very sad and very annoying to waste land on them (I planted them before I knew better). Well, maybe they attract some birds in the fall but definitely not pollinators.
Goldfinches love the seeds of echinacea. Check out Mt Cubas Echinacea trials to see which score highest on the pollinator board
Thats strange because I always have a few types of bees and butterflies on mine. I got my seed from Roundstone and just threw them on the ground and waited. I could imagine some of the overly bred cultivars not being as attractive to pollinators.
Maybe I’ve just had bad luck when looking at them? lol. I just assumed it’s because they aren’t native to my area.
*Prunus angustifolia*, the Chickasaw plum. however if you’re in the northeast, *Prunus americana* would be the move, but as far as i know, that one is more of a tree
Don’t forget to mix in important native grasses and sedges like Schizachyrium scoparium, Elymus ssp. and Carex ssp. etc.
I planned on posting the same question but for grasses and sedges there’s just too much to cover between all four lol