Pollinator Patch favourites for shady spots

OSEAN’s pollinator patch program has distributed close to 5,000 native perennials since the program began in 2022! From all the perennials that the pollinator patch program has given away, a few have stood out as favourites. But, you may wonder…what are those perennial plants? Well, this blog will teach you a bit about each of the favourite perennials, give a brief description and explain why gardeners choose to plant those compared to other plants!

Here are the top 6 plants for shady spots. All of them are beginner friendly, as long as they are planted in a location which meets their soil and moisture requirements. If you have more sun than shade, check out our top 6 picks for sunny spots.

1. Wild Columbine

2. Blue-stemmed Goldenrod

3. Zigzag Goldenrod

4. Early Figwort

5. White Snakeroot

Wild Columbine

Scientific name: Aquilegia canadensis

Family: Ranunculaceae

Description of plant

• Bloom colour: multiple (Wild red columbine: Red and Yellow)

• Grows up to 3 feet tall

Full sun to full shade

Medium soil humidity / Blooms April to May / Harvest seeds June to July

Wild Columbine is a great plant for both the pollinator patch program and gardeners because it is capable of growing in both shade and sun! Other important factors can include that this native perennial has low or medium water usage and can tolerate low to moist and well drained sandy soils. This is a really good plant for beginners as it is an easy plant to look after and notice their habits and preferred conditions. The wild columbine has red and yellow blooms, and can spread on its own through their seeds that are scattered against the base of the plant. This gives gardeners control over their space, letting them choose how much of the wild columbine they would want, and lets them play around with the structure of the garden. The wild columbine attracts a variety of pollinators! For example, the plant attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and hawk moths, while finches and buntings eat the seeds of the plant.

Blue-stemmed Goldenrod

Scientific name: Solidago caesia

Family: Asteraceae

• Green stem and leaves

• Purplish branches

• Capable of growing up to 1-3 feet

• Spread out yellow flower head clusters

Full sun to part shade

Medium soil humidity / Blooms July to August / Harvest seeds October to November

The Blue-stemmed Goldenrod tends to grow better in drier soils and enjoys to be in either shade or part shade. It attracts many pollinators such as birds, a variety of bees, butterflies, and skippers.

Zigzag Goldenrod

Scientific name: Solidago flexicaulis

Family: Asteraceae

• Blooms into a yellow flower

• Can grow up to 2-4 feet high

• Green point edged leaves

Part shade to full shade

Medium soil humidity / Blooms July to September / Harvest seeds in October

Swamp milkweed is one of the pollinator Patch Program’s favourite native perennial plants and gardeners as well! This perennial is known for its pink and purple star-like flower clusters that bloom around early summer. A few things about swamp milkweed is that they prefer to grow in full sun or part-shade and thrive in medium to moist soils. They are also capable of Zigzag Goldenrod is a very clean and simple plant that can be found in forests, which makes it one of OSEAN’s favourite native perennial plants. This plant prefers to live in part shade, or complete shade, with rich, moist soil. With these conditions, the Zigzag Goldenrod will be an easy plant to take care of, while being able to bloom between July until October. t is capable of propagating on its own through rhizomes or through their seeds. Lastly, the Zigzag Goldenrod can attract a pollinators such as birds and butterflies, and bees, which create a great addition to your garden!

Early Figwort

Scientific name: Scrophularia lanceolata

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Red flower colour

Can grow up to 5 feet

Yellow-green stems

Part shade to full shade

·       Dry to medium soil / Blooms May to June / Harvest seeds August to September

Early Figwort is a native perennial plant that blooms around May and June. This is a good plant for gardeners that would like to have some plants that bloom earlier. Early Figwort prefers to grow in areas that are part-shaded and can thrive in moist to drier soils. This plant is one of the pollinator patch program’s favourite perennials of 2023, as it attracts plenty of pollinators such as butterflies, bees, insects, and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and is capable of bringing more life to any garden as the plant is very rich in nectar!

White Snakeroot

Scientific name: Ageratina altissima

Family: Asteraceae

• White and spike-like flower heads

• Medium, green coloured leaves

• Can grow up to 3 feet tall

Full sun to part shade

Medium soil humidity / Blooms August to September / Harvest seeds in October

Lastly, the White Snakeroot is a unique plant due to its spiky flower head. It blooms for  quite a long time starting from July to the end of the growing season, which is the one of the longest blooming plants from the perennials mentioned in this blog post. This means that the White Snakeroot is a wonderful choice if attracting pollinators is important, as many pollinators can enjoy it for a good 5 months! A few pollinators that the White Snakeroot attracts are bees, moths, and butterflies such as the Painted Lady.

Thank you for reading about the Pollinator Patch Program’s favourite shade perennials! These descriptions are here to help gardeners and future learners of the importance of understanding what certain plants need to grow, flourish, and thrive!

And if you’d like to keep exploring, check out our list of favourite native plant resources.