The native flowers that feed honey bees, bumblebees, and the hundreds of solitary native bees most gardeners never notice. For North Carolina, the right natives are shaped by Blue Ridge, Piedmont & Coastal Plain and a humid subtropical to montane climate. Every species below, from Common Yarrow and Aromatic Aster to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to North Carolina and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 6–8. Most of our native bees are solitary and unfussy, but they depend on a steady supply of pollen-rich, single (not double) flowers. Open daisy and umbel shapes are easiest for short-tongued bees, while tubular flowers reward the long-tongued bumblebees. Skip pesticides entirely and leave some bare, undisturbed ground and pithy stems where ground- and stem-nesting bees raise their young.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Achillea millefolium
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; happy in sand, clay, rocky, and loam soil, it blooms May through Aug.
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies, sky blue flowers and flowering from Sep to Nov.
Physostegia virginiana
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, pink flowers and flowering in Aug and Sep.
Monarda fistulosa
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and butterflies, lavender flowers and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, cold-hardy to zone 3 and flowering in Sep and Oct.
Liatris spicata
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; for clay and loam ground, it flowers in Jul and Aug.
Silphium perfoliatum
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and butterflies — cold-hardy to zone 3, blooming from Jul to Sep.
Viburnum dentatum
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies — good through zone 8, blooming in May and Jun.
Liatris pycnostachya
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, purple-magenta flowers and flowering in Jul and Aug.
Amelanchier canadensis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees and butterflies; white spring lace flowers, it flowers in Apr and May.
Penstemon digitalis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees, reaching 2–4 ft and flowering in May and Jun.
Hydrangea arborescens
One the bees find first — feeds native bees, cold-hardy to zone 3 and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Bignonia capreolata
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and hummingbirds; reaching 25–50 ft, it flowers in Apr and May.
Geranium maculatum
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, hardy in zones 3–8 and flowering from Apr to Jun.
Ilex verticillata
One the bees find first — feeds native bees — hardy in zones 3–9, blooming in Jun and Jul.
Eutrochium maculatum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, mauve-pink flowers and flowering from Jul to Sep.
Dicentra eximia
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and hummingbirds, rose pink flowers and flowering from Apr to Aug.
Mertensia virginica
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees, sky blue flowers and flowering from Mar to May.
Veronicastrum virginicum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, 3–5 ft tall and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Coreopsis lanceolata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies, reaching 1.5–2 ft and flowering from May to Jul.
Aquilegia canadensis
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees — for rocky and loam ground, blooming from Apr to Jun.
Cornus florida
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and butterflies — spreading 15–25 ft, blooming in Apr and May.
Cercis canadensis
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — hardy in zones 4–9, blooming in Mar and Apr.
Pycnanthemum muticum
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — 2–3 ft wide, blooming from Jul to Sep.
27 more also qualify: Foamflower, Woodland Phlox, Purple Coneflower, Swamp Milkweed, American Beautyberry, Great Blue Lobelia, Buttonbush, Butterfly Weed, Black-Eyed Susan, Scarlet Beebalm, Golden Alexanders, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Showy Goldenrod, Stiff Goldenrod, Creeping Phlox, Ninebark, Common Boneset, American Elderberry, Fragrant Sumac, Common Milkweed, Inkberry Holly, Spicebush, Blue Vervain, Red-Twig Dogwood, New Jersey Tea, Wild Lupine, Rattlesnake Master.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.