Native know-how
Minnesota native plants we grow
Native plants are the ones that were here before we were — the species Minnesota’s bees, butterflies and birds evolved alongside. They handle our winters without coddling, they want our soil, and once established most of them need far less water than the bedding plants beside them.
We grow 14 wild Minnesota species in our own greenhouses in East Bethel, alongside everything else on the benches. They’re marked with a leaf on the plant list so you can pick them out at a glance.
Why natives are worth the bench space
A monarch caterpillar can eat milkweed and nothing else — not a substitute, not a close relative, only Asclepias. That’s the clearest version of a general rule: specialist insects need the plants they co-evolved with, and generalist ornamentals can’t stand in for them. Plant a few natives and you’re feeding things a petunia never will.
The practical case is just as good. Little bluestem doesn’t flop. Butterfly weed shrugs off a dry August. Joe Pye weed will take the wet corner of the yard that kills everything else. These are plants adapted to exactly the conditions you already have.
The 14 natives on our benches
- Asclepias Incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) wild species only The monarch host for average-to-moist soil — fragrant pink umbels the butterflies line up for.
- Asclepias Syriaca (Common Milkweed) 1 variety The classic monarch host plant — plant it and they will genuinely come.
- Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterfly Weed) wild species only A blazing orange native (or the Hello Yellow cultivar) for hot dry spots — a monarch magnet that hates being moved, so pick its spot once.
- Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset) 1 variety A moisture-loving native with white umbels — a late-season pollinator workhorse.
- Eutrochium Purpureum (Joe Pye Weed) 1 variety The full-sized native Joe Pye — a butterfly landing pad the size of a dinner plate.
- Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia) 1 variety A true-blue late-summer native for moist spots — bumblebees disappear inside the blooms.
- Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) 1 variety The native lavender bee balm — prairie perfume and nonstop bee traffic.
- Penstemon digitalis 1 variety The straight native species — white bells over sturdy stems, beloved by bumblebees.
- Ratibida pinnata (Yellow Coneflower) 1 variety A graceful prairie native — drooping gold petals around a gray cone that smells of anise when crushed.
- Rudbeckia hirta 1 variety The native black-eyed Susan itself — short-lived but self-sows into a permanent presence.
- Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) wild species only The prairie's blue-green grass that turns copper-red for fall and feeds the songbirds.
- Solidago speciosa (Showy Goldenrod) 1 variety Golden plumes for late season — and no, goldenrod doesn't cause your allergies (ragweed does).
- Vernonia fasciculata (Common Ironweed) 1 variety Royal-purple native height for late summer — monarchs fuel up on it before heading south.
- Zizia Aurea (Golden Alexander) 1 variety An early native umbel for pollinators — and a host plant for black swallowtail caterpillars.
What about cultivars?
Plenty of garden favorites are bred from native plants — Sombrero coneflowers, Summer Eclipse false sunflower, Soulmate milkweed, Chameleon little bluestem. They’re good garden plants and many still feed pollinators, but they aren’t the wild plant, so we only put the MN Native mark on the straight species.
Starting a native corner
You don’t need to convert the whole yard. A three-by-six strip with milkweed, wild bergamot, yellow coneflower and a clump of little bluestem gives you bloom from June through September, seed heads for the goldfinches, and structure that holds up through the snow.
Two things worth knowing. Natives put their first season into roots rather than top growth, so a plant that looks unimpressive in July is doing exactly what it should. And leave the stems standing over winter — a good share of native bees overwinter inside them, and cutting everything back in October throws them out with the tidying.
Come see them, or call (763) 742-8774 and we’ll tell you what’s looking good. Everything here is grown by us, in our houses, without pesticides.