15 Pollinator Plants For Southwest Gardens

Pollinator gardening has long been a passion of mine, but Southwest pollinator plants can be difficult to find due to the extreme heat and dryness of the region. The primary goal of pollinator planting is to draw as many different species of butterflies, moths, bumblebees, and honeybees as possible. 

In my pursuit of making my yard a hospitable place for pollinators, I have come to understand that there are three essential parts of a pollinator garden:

Baldwin’s Ironweed, also known as Western Ironweed, is a robust Aster family member. With its flashy, bright purple flowers, this plant is especially attractive to bees. Bees see color in terms of ultraviolet light, so blues and purples are the most appealing. 

An exceptionally drought-tolerant plant, Baldwin’s Ironweed is loved by bees and butterflies alike. It is a very valuable late-season nectar source.

Flowering in late summer and into the fall means this plant is in bloom long after most others have exhausted their nectar supply. It likes full sun early in the day with some protection from harsher afternoon light.

Beardtongue

	botanical name Penstemon
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 3’-5’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Pretty Penstemon, also known as Beardtongue, is a beautiful addition to the pollinator garden. Blooming in early summer, this nectar-rich plant bridges the gap between the spring nectar flow and the summer maturing flowers. Penstemon is perennial, making this a great foundational choice. 

Some varieties can grow quite large, up to 8’ tall, while others are more diminutive, topping out at a mere 6”. The flowers are tubular and come in red, white, purple, yellow, and pink. They like to have space to spread out and do not compete well, so don’t plant them next to other plants that like to take over.

Black Samson Echinacea

	botanical name Echinacea angustifolia
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Like all flowers in the coneflower family, Black Samson is wonderfully drought tolerant and beloved by pollinators for the wealth of nectar it provides. The flowers are showy, with narrow pink petals surrounding a large, dark center. The flowers strongly resemble its cousin, Echinacea purpurea.

This plant is relatively low maintenance and tolerant of a wide variety of soil types, including alkaline and clay-based soils. It stays low to the ground, not growing above 2’ tall, and thrives best in cultivation, whereas, in the wild, it can be underwhelming. Bees and butterflies are both attracted to this ample nectar producer.

Blue Wild Indigo

	botanical name Baptista australis
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 2’-4’
	hardiness zones 3-9

This Pea family member is a tough, resilient plant that can tolerate a wide variety of soil and weather conditions. It is very drought-tolerant and doesn’t mind poor soil. It likes full to part sun and is toxic to humans. 

Blue Wild Indigo’s purple and blue flowers attract many pollinators, especially bumblebees. Most importantly, it is a host plant for a variety of butterflies, including the Eastern Tailed-Blue, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskwing, and Sulphurs. This plant will draw the butterflies in and keep them coming back.

Carolina Larkspur

	botanical name Delphinium carolinianum
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 1’-3’
	hardiness zones 2-11

Also known as Prairie Larkspur, Carolina Larkspur is a delicate plant that produces tall spires of pretty, blue flowers that bees love. The flowers can range from nearly white to pink to deep violet. Ruby-throated hummingbirds and many butterflies are also attracted to varieties of Larkspur.

This drought-tolerant plant appreciates drier soil. Though it is native to the Southeastern United States, its constitution makes it an excellent choice for Southwestern gardens as well. It is heat tolerant but will drop its flowers in mid-summer. Don’t fret! They are very likely to bloom again when the weather cools down a bit.

Coral Vine

	botanical name Antigonon leptopus
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Shade
	height 30’-40’
	hardiness zones 9-11

If you’re not yet acquainted with Coral Vine, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to one of the most popular pollinator plants in the garden.

It grows as a perennial only in zones 9-11, but can be grown as an annual elsewhere. It is a fast grower, so it covers a lot of space and feeds a ton of pollinators throughout the summer months.

The delicate vines grow up to 40’ long and attach easily to any support it is given. Clusters of bright pink, lacy flowers magnetize bees and other pollinators throughout the blooming season. Give Coral Vine some space and you won’t regret it. This stunning vine is always a crowd-pleaser.

Desert Senna

	botanical name Senna covesii
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 2’
	hardiness zones 4-7

This lovely and cheerful member of the pea family is also a bee favorite. It is a plant that is pollinated by “buzz pollination,” meaning that it needs bees to pollinate it. However, it is also a host plant to both the Sleepy Orange and Cloudless Sulphur butterflies. The most frequent visitors of Desert Senna will unquestionably be the bumble bees.

This is a smaller variety of Senna, with some larger types growing to small tree heights. More of a small shrub, this plant produces sweet, yellow, star-shaped flowers. It is native to the desert southwest and has an attractive shape as a low hedge.

Dotted Blazing Star

	botanical name Liatris punctata
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 12”-18”
	hardiness zones 4-9

Dotted Blazing Star commonly plays a starring role as a cut flower. This late bloomer fills a major void for pollinators during the late summer dearth and into the fall months when few plants bloom. It likes full sun and dry soil. It tolerates sandy soil and has a long taproot for moderate drought tolerance.

Very large flower heads sit atop tall, narrow stems covered in fine, green leaves. The tops of the stems are bursting with these bright purple flowers, which retain their color even when dried. Liatris punctata will attract butterflies as well as birds to your yard.

Goldenrod

	botanical name Solidago
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 2’-5’
	hardiness zones 2-8

To the casual observer, Goldenrod may be just a roadside weed. But to the pollinator enthusiast, it is a wonderful addition to the pollinator garden.

This pretty perennial is a vital food source for bees, butterflies, and other flying insects, as well as birds that feast on it’s ample seedheads in late fall. If you plant this in your garden, it will attract pollinators far and wide. 

Goldenrod, or Solidago, is very easy to grow and prefers full sun. It likes soil that is well drained and dry to moderately moist. In times of abundant moisture, Goldenrod will provide plentiful nectar and abundant pollen.

Leadplant

	botanical name Amorpha canescens
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 2’-3’
	hardiness zones 3-8

If you want to add some interesting texture to your pollinator paradise, look no further than Leadplant. The silvery green leaves are densely packed together to form what resembles fern, or a fringe-like texture. It has a long taproot, making it very drought-tolerant and long-lived. Leadplant can tolerate full sun but prefers partial shade.

The ample sprays of purple flowers attract many pollinators to the garden. In addition to bees, Leadplant plays host to several moths and butterflies. On the list are its namesake,

Leadplant Flower Moth, as well as Southern Dogface Sulphur, Eastern-Tailed Blue, Silver-Spotted Skipper, and Magdalen Underwing. As both an abundant nectar source and a host to many, you can’t go wrong planting Leadplant in your garden.

Lupine

	botanical name Lupinus
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 1’-3’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Lupines are more than just good pollinator plants. They are absolutely stunning additions to any garden landscape. These Pea family members produce large spikes of fragrant flowers in blue, purple, red, yellow, and white. In addition to their beauty, they are nitrogen fixers, so they give nitrogen back to the garden for other plants to use!

Many pollinators are fans of colorful Lupine flowers. Plant these in your garden for abundant honeybees, bumblebees, mason bees, and hummingbirds. Fortunately, they are not particularly attractive to deer or rabbits and have very few pests.

Pineneedle Milkweed

	botanical name Asclepias linaria
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 2’-5’
	hardiness zones 9-11

Dubbed the “monarch magnet,” Pineneedle Milkweed is an important food source in any Southwestern pollinator garden. If you want to attract butterflies, plant one or a few of these, and Monarchs will become regulars in your yard.

Milkweed species are host plants for Monarch and Queen butterflies, meaning they are their larval food. Butterflies lay eggs on milkweed so their caterpillars can feast on the plant foliage during development.

This milkweed looks a bit different from what Southeastern gardeners are accustomed to. Rather than long, ovate, flat leaves and flashy orange and red blooms, this species has many, small, pine-needle-like leaves topped with small clusters of white flowers. It is easy to grow and nearly as drought-tolerant as succulents and cacti.

Prairie Acacia

	botanical name Acaciella aungustissima
	sun requirements Full Sun to Shade
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 7-10

Here is another plant to add to your garden if you’re hoping to attract more butterflies. Prairie Acacia is not just attractive to bees and butterflies for its ample nectar supply, but it is also the larval food (host plant) for a surprising number of moths and butterflies.

The Syssphinx Raspa moth is one of the rarer and more interesting pollinators that this plant plays host to. Prairie Acacia can grow taller and more treelike in warm climates.

In zone 8 and colder, it will grow to small shrub proportions, then likely die back in the winter and return in the spring. The leaves are small and fernlike. At the end of branches are clusters of white or pink, spherical flowers that look a bit like dandelion fluff.

Soapweed Yucca

	botanical name Yucca glauca
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 3-10

Add a Yucca plant to your pollinator garden for an instant boost in personality and texture. Soapweed Yucca is a large, spiny, succulent plant that grows well in hot, dry climates and sandy soil. The spiky leaves grow in a tight rosette, and its large inflorescence appears in the center of the rosette. 

Humans have used different parts of the Yucca plant for various purposes. Its fruits are edible and quite tasty when prepared by someone who knows what they are doing. But humans aren’t the only ones who share a culinary interest in this plant.

This plant has a very unique partner in the pollinator world. There is only one insect that can pollinate Yucca plants, and that is the Yucca moth. The two are so closely dependent upon one another that neither would survive without the other!

Whitebrush

	botanical name Aloysia gratissima
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 10’
	hardiness zones 8-11

The Aloysia genus, commonly called Beebrushes among other regional names, is a wonderful source of nectar for honeybees. Fragrant Beebrush falls into this genus and is a must-have for the pollinator garden. Known best for their sweet-smelling flowers, these plants are very appealing to all types of bees.

Whitebrush is very resilient and tolerant of heat and drought. These plants can grow quite tall and even be trained into small trees. Moreover, it has woody stems and toothy leaves, but the distinguishing characteristic is the fragrant flowers. Whitebrush has a very long blooming period, lasting through the entire summer and fall, making them a valuable plant for nectar collectors.