10 Great Annuals for Pollinators

1. LARGE FIRECRACKER PLANT

VERMILLIONAIRE^® Cuphea

If your porch, patio or window boxes are located in full blazing sun, this is the plant for you. This vigorous annual thrives in heat and doesn’t mind if the soil dries out a bit now and then. Its cigar-shaped flowers keep right on coming from spring into fall atop the bushy, green foliage. Try pairing it with the Luscious^® Goldengate^™ Lantana which thrives in the same conditions. Hummingbirds adore it.

18-28” tall x 12-24” spread. Full sun

2. BUSH DAISY

High Noon^® Euryops pectinatus

10-14” tall x 12-18” spread. Part sun to sun.

3. BUTTERFLY FLOWER

Karalee^® Petite Pink Gaura

You’ll love the vigorous growth of this improved Gaura. Though it is petite by Gaura standards, it holds its own as a flowering thriller for mixed containers and in landscapes where its plentiful pink blooms will appear all season long. Gaura is heat and drought tolerant and requires little maintenance to thrive all season. It is attractive to butterflies. This variety is perennial in zones 6-10.

14-20” tall x 12-18” spread. Full sun.

4. GLOBE AMARANTH

Truffula^® Pink Gomphrena

This is such a fun plant! It is loaded with small, fluffy pink flowers with yellow-orange stamens and it blooms like crazy in the heat. Gomphrena blossoms attract pollinating bees and butterflies which add color and movement to your garden. This is a fairly large plant that shines best in landscapes, but you could also use it as a filler in large container recipes.

22-28” tall x 22-26” Spread. Full Sun. Perennial in zones 9-11, grown as an annual elsewhere.

5. SUNFLOWER

Suncredible^® Yellow Helianthus hybrid

Sunflowers are great cut flowers and Suncredible Yellow is perfect for the home cut flower garden. The plant has multiple stems and will bloom for weeks on end. The flowers are 3 to 4 inches in diameter and are the perfect size to use in cut flower arrangements. If I had to pick a flower emblematic of summer, I’d choose the sunflower. Who doesn’t love cheery yellow sunflowers? These heat loving plants are quite appealing to both bees and butterflies.

24-36” tall x 20-32” spread. Full sun.

6. LANTANA

Luscious^® Royale Red Zone^™ Lantana
Luscious Royale lantanas are somewhat smaller plants than standard lantanas. This petite selection packs the same dynamite bloom power as its big brothers and sisters. It fits easily in containers and window boxes either grown on its own or paired with other sun loving plants. Clusters of fragrant, red, orange and yellow tricolor blooms attract pollinators all season. All of our Luscious lantanas have low seed set, but Red Zone is certified as sterile which helps to keep it in bloom from spring through fall without deadheading. It is heat and drought tolerant and attracts birds, butterflies and bees.

12-26” tall x 12-24” spread. Full sun.

7. SWEET ALYSSUM

White Knight^® Lobularia

The pale yellow flowers of this beautiful new sweet alyssum are the perfect color for Easter, fairy gardens and moon gardens. It is a great component in combination recipes and works wonderfully in the landscape as well. While you may be used to sweet alyssum blooming mostly during cooler spring weather, Proven Winners’ varieties all have good heat tolerance and will bloom all summer in most climates. They attract both butterflies and bees.

8-12” tall x 18-24” spread. Part sun to sun. easy, this is the plant for you.

8. EGYPTIAN STAR FLOWER

Sunstar^® Red Pentas lanceolata

Pentas flowers are umbels created by a multitude of small flowers. Because the flowers are massed together, they create a big splash of color, while giving hummingbirds many tiny flowers to sip from. These richly colored, tough plants love the summer heat and will bloom all summer long. They are great when planted in landscapes as well as when used in containers. Pentas attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

18-22” tall x 16-24” spread Part Sun to Sun.

9. SALVIA

Rockin’^® Playin’ the Blues^® Salvia hybrid

We’ve taken this popular super-sized salvia and made its awesome flower power even better. Bright violet blue flowers emerge from purple calyxes which hold their color after the flowers are spent, giving the illusion of being in bloom over a longer period. New flower spikes continue to emerge all season long above the bushy, bright green foliage, even in the hot, humid conditions of the deep south. This plant is the perfect thriller for large containers and a fantastic vertical element for landscapes. Pollinating bees, butterflies and hummingbirds will delight in its flowers from spring through fall.

2-4’ tall x 2-3’ spread. Part sun to sun.

10. SALVIA

Unplugged^® So Blue^™ Salvia farinacea

If you want to see pollinators in your garden, plant a salvia. This new selection is a nice large blue salvia, forming a dense, bushy clump of silver green foliage topped with true blue flowers all season. Butterflies, hummingbirds and bees delight in their sweet nectar. Planting this medium-sized annual is a quick way to get a lot of color in your landscape in a short amount of time. It works great as a thriller in medium and small container combinations too.

14-24” tall x 12-16” spread. Part sun to sun.