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POLLINATOR PLANT OF THE YEAR
Working on a pollinator garden? These plants are a must!
Woolly ironweed wins 2026 Pollinator Plant of the Year–by ONE vote
In a tight race that attests to the power of a single vote, Woolly ironweed bested Shrubby boneset in this year's 2026 Pollinator Plant of the Year contest. The race ran neck-and-neck the entire two-week voting period with the two contenders trading the lead daily. But after 229 votes, the drought tolerant purple bloomer in the Aster family pulled ahead of its white flowering counterpart in the final days of the contest. The final tally: Woolly ironweed 115 votes, [...]
And the winner is: Lemon Beebalm for 2025 Pollinator Plant of the year
Votes are in and Lemon Beebalm, Monarda citriodora, wins the title of 2025 Pollinator Plant of the Year. Raucous, fluffy flower heads perched atop whorls of decorative bracts aptly describe Beebalm, also known as bergamot or horsemint. Its tubular flowers call to mind a lion’s mane or stack of ruffles and prove irresistible to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The luscious lavender bloomer qualifies as a plant with purpose and is featured as one of 25 such plants in my [...]
Clammyweed named 2024 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year
The people have spoken: Clammyweed takes the title as 2024 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year with 60% of the vote. The poll launched January 22 and closed at 7 pm on February 7 with 321 votes cast. The final count: Clammyweed 192, Partridge Pea 129. Clammyweed -- Photo by Melody Lytle via Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center The drought tolerant, purple blooming member of the caper family thrives in extreme heat and [...]
Votes are in! Mealy Blue Sage wins 2023 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year
Votes are in for the 2023 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year and Mealy Blue Sage snags the title with 67% of the vote. "It’s been a favorite of mine for years," said Lee Marlowe, president of San Antonio's Native Plant Society, which partners with the Texas Butterfly Ranch on executing the poll. Citing it "one of the best all-around native plants for landscapes in our area" Marlowe noted how bumblebees and bees tend to congregate on the flowers, while [...]
Gayfeather snags 2022 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year, but might be hard to find
The votes are in for the 2022 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year and the winner is...Gayfeather, commonly known as Liatris or Blazing Star. This year marked the second attempt by this distinctive purple blooming wildflower to claim the title and so it did with more than double the votes of its challenger Engelmann’s daisy. The final tally of 192 votes showed Gayfeather 131, Engelmann's daisy, 61. The poll launched in mid January and closed February 16. Monarch butterfly [...]
2021 Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year: Frostweed
Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, won the most votes in 2021's Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year poll. This year was Frostweed's second attempt at claiming the title and so it did, besting its competitor Gayfeather, Liatris mucronata, 79 to 64. The poll, which launched in mid January and closed at the end of the month, drew 143 votes from citizen gardeners. "Frostweed is deserving of this title because it is such an important plant that is surprisingly absent in the nursery [...]
