Harebell, heart-leaved Alexanders, orange hawkweed, and prairie coneflower are some of the best Minnesota wildflowers because they add color and interest to your garden.
Planting native wildflowers will save you from hectic maintenance and ensure you have a lovely yard from spring to fall (for most wildflower species). This article categorizes wildflowers by color, use, and by their specific characteristics to help you find what you’re looking for instead of wasting time in the market.
Minnesota wildflowers by color
If you’re looking for a specific color (or maybe a combination of colors) to fill up your Minnesota landscape, here they are:
Blue wildflower: Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Also known as bluebell bellflower, this perennial plant blooms from June to October giving your lawn the prettiest pale blue to violet to bright purple flowers. Each flower has 5 slightly flaring pointed lobes making a bell shape nodding that has a long style protruding from the center.
The style tip splits into 3 parts while the plant has up to one-inch long basal leaves, round to heart-shaped, that typically wither away by the time flowers bloom. Although Harebell is capable of self-fertilization, bees primarily pollinate this flower.
Excellent choice for: Rock gardens, banks, and sunny walls
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 6
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Summer and fall
Fragrance: No noticeable scent
Attracts: Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies
Mature height: 1-2 feet
Sunlight needs: Full sun to shade
Soil preference: Moist but well-drained, chalk, loam, sand
Water needs: Moderate (one inch of water or rainfall per week)
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: Safe for consumption, in fact, a great source of vitamin C
Where to buy: Check Morning Sky Greenery
Pink wildflower: Nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum)
Developing beautiful pompom-like clusters of small, light pink flowers on long slender stalks, this plant brings just the right amount of rosiness to a garden. Also widely known as Lady’s leek, wild onion makes a lovely addition to any lawn with its carefree, bulbous, and herbaceous nature.
Allium cernuum is easy to grow and is one of many plants that tolerate drought in Minnesota once established. The flowers can range from light pink to deep rose and are mostly bell-shaped with 6 tepals (petals and sepals that look alike) slightly spreading or erect. Each stem bears up to 30 flowers, blooming in summer.
These blooms are complemented by narrow, linear leaves that die late in the summer. The plant arises from a bulb, which resembles a small, domestic onion, American Indians use that as food and medicine. Plus, it also has the same strong onion-like odor.
Excellent choice for: Bed and borders, and for underplanting roses and shrubs
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Summer (Early and mid)
Fragrance: Onion smell when bruised or cut
Attracts: Bees, butterflies
Mature height: 1-2 feet
Sunlight needs: Full sun to shade
Soil preference: Moist but well-drained, chalk, clay, loam, sand
Water needs: Moderate
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: No, the bulb is edible
Where to buy: Blazing Star Gardens
Yellow wildflower: Heart-leaved Alexanders (Zizia aptera)
Alexanders produce slightly domed clusters of tiny, bright yellow flowers that bloom in June. It’s named after a German botanist Johann Ziz and is a short-lived perennial boasting large, flat-topped clusters. Each cluster is made up of 7 to 16 groups (umbellets) of up to 20 bright yellow flowers.
Flowers have five petals usually, folded inward, and five yellow stamens. Its basal and lower stem leaves are heart-shaped with blunt or rounded tips and long stalks. Zizia flowers make an exceptional early-season source of nectar for bees and butterflies.
Finely-toothed leaf edges are sharp, so keep that in mind if you’ve got toddlers around.
Other names: Heart-leaved meadow parsnip, meadow parsnip, meadow zizia
Excellent choice for: Informal and cottage garden styles, prairies, and meadows
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Spring and summer
Fragrance: Pleasant, sweet, celery-like smell when crushed
Attracts: Bees
Mature height: 1-3 feet
Sunlight needs: Full sun to shade
Soil preference: Moist but well-drained, clay, loam, sand
Water needs: Low to moderate
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: No, but the root of Zizia aptera might be toxic
Where to buy: Prairie Moon Nursery
White wildflower: Large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
It has three petals, three green sepals around the petals, and three big leaves – keeping a perfect harmony. They bloom around May and make an important source of pollen for early-season bees.
Each plant produces a single, large trillium flower at the end of its 2- to 3-inch long stalk rising above a whorl of 3 leaves atop each stem. As the flower ages, it turns to a lovely rosy pink.
Other names: White trillium, snow trillium
Excellent choice for: Informal and cottage-style gardens, beds and borders, underplanting shrubs and roses.
USDA hardiness zone: 4 to 8
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Summer
Fragrance: Sweet
Attracts: Bees and butterflies
Mature height: 8-18 inches
Sunlight needs: Partial shade to shade
Soil preference: Moist but well-drained, chalk, loam, sand
Water needs: Moderate
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: None
Where to buy: Gertens
Orange wildflower: Orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)
This is an invasive, hairy herbaceous plant that produces beautiful, densely clustered orange flowers sitting atop erect leafless, hairy stems. Each flower head is approximately 15 to 30 mm in diameter, with several rows of bright reddish-orange, flame-like, florets.
It spreads by runners over short distances and seeds over larger areas. It has rosettes of the tooth- and stalk-less, spatula-shaped, hair-covered leaves in the perfect shade of green to complement the orange.
Other names: Devil’s paintbrush
Excellent choice for: Ornamental plant in gardens
USDA hardiness zone: 4 to 8
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Summer
Fragrance: Sweet, maple-syrup-like smell
Attracts: Butterflies
Mature height: 1-2 feet
Sunlight needs: Full sun or partial shade
Soil preference: Well-drained
Water needs: Moderate
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: No, but shouldn’t be consumed
Where to buy: BluPrairie native plant nursery
Purple wildflower: Blazing star (Liatris spp.)
Producing dense spikes of rose-purple, showy flower heads, this is one of the common Minnesota wildflowers. This plant has distinctive bracts at the base of flower heads and grass-like leaves with a white mid-vein.
Minnesota’s climate favors several species of this perennial plant, while they’re at their happiest in open, dry, mesic, or moist prairies and grassy meadows. Its flowers bloom in July and August and give your lawn a beautiful purple hue.
Excellent choice for: Beds and borders, informal and cottage style gardens, meadows, or along with other native Minnesota prairie plants.
USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Duration: Perennial
Bloom time: Summer
Fragrance: Faint vanilla smell
Attracts: Butterflies and bumblebees
Mature height: 1-5 feet
Sunlight needs: Full sun
Soil preference: Moist but well-drained, clay, chalk, loam, sand
Water needs: Low to moderate
Maintenance needs: Low
Potential hazards: Not known to be toxic to humans or pets
Buy from: Check out the nearest native plant resources near you here.
Some other popular options to consider
Minnesota Lawns to Legumes program offers assistance and grants to homeowners for simply planting wildflowers in their yards. So why wait? Here are some of the other common native Minnesota flowers to fill your lawn with:
Very fragrant: Prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
Prairie coneflower, commonly called the Mexican hat plant due to its shape, is an adaptable wildflower that produces bright and fresh yellow flowers and grows up to 3 feet tall. From June through August, your lawn will be filled with yellow and orange hues and a subtle floral scent.
This wildflower likes full sun, has moderate water needs, will grow in several soil types, and attracts beautiful butterflies. They often bloom by the thousands and fill up your yard for weeks. Coneflower’s seed heads further extend the season of interest, birds love to feed on the seeds during fall and winter.
Quick to sprout: Spreading Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans)
A spring ephemeral, Polemonium is a light blue flower that grows in partial shade, and moist soil and kick starts your summer by adding freshness and a lovely hue to your landscape. It boasts beautiful flowers from mid-spring to early summer and is perfect for shaded rock gardens and as a ground cover.
It has a creeping growth habit and has pinnately compound leaves (that resemble a ladder), bell-shaped flowers on sprawling, weak stems, and attracts bees. This wildflower is used for medicinal purposes too.
Longest blooming season: Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Vibrant orange butterfly weed blooms from June to September, giving you a lawn full of flowers for months. With low maintenance needs, just like any other native Minnesota plant, you just need to give this plant full sun and well-drained soil for healthy growth. You’ll see beautiful clusters of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers blooming continuously throughout summer.
It works best in beds and borders, butterfly gardens (as it’s a great nectar source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds), meadows, and prairies. Remember that butterfly weed is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. Buy orange butterfly weed here.
Late to bloom but easiest to grow: New England aster (Symphytrichum novae-angliae)
Worth the wait, this purple wildflower blooms as late as August and produces big masses of flowers till October. Its biggest plus is that besides keeping your lawn colorful late into the fall, it attracts a large number of pollinators like bees and butterflies. New England aster likes moist but well-drained soil, full sun, and an inch of water per week to grow healthy and strong.
This herbaceous perennial may grow up to 7 feet tall, has rough and hairy leaves, a fuzzy stem, and produces a dry seed (achene) that matures in late fall.
Best Minnesota wildflowers by different characteristics
By habitat:
- For woodlands: Woodland sunflower (Helianthus strumosus), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
- For prairies: Prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum), leadplant (Amorpha canescens),
- For wetlands: White turtlehead (Chelone glabra), bluejoint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis), New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae angliae)
- For meadows: Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
By lifestyle:
- Annual: Aborted buttercup (Ranunclus abortivus), pineapple-weed (Matricaria discoidea)
- Perennial: New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Biennial: Fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)
By ecological function:
- Pollinator attracting: Almost all wildflowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. More information here.
- Deer-resistant: Milkweed (Asclepias spp.), Prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
- Nitrogen-fixing: Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis)
By flower structure:
- Tubular flowers: Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Large-flowered beard tongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- Single flowers: Narrow leaves purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia), Wild onion (Allium spp.), blanket-flower (Gaillardia aristata)
Ready to set up a vibrant garden?
An impressive variety of wildflowers grow in Minnesota, so much so that you have an array of colors from which to choose. Although most wildflowers we mentioned in the article are low maintenance and easy to grow, you might still need help. That’s where Lawn Love’s pros can help you with their years of experience and top-of-the-industry expertise.
Main Image Credit: USFWS Midwest Region | Flickr | Public Domain
