Everything we grow is neonic-free, pollinator friendlyPollinator Friendly Plants

The list isn’t exhaustive, by any means! Instead, it highlights plants we regularly carry (or can order) here at Shooting Star Nursery. We’ve focused primarily on perennials, shrubs, and trees. While there are some vines that are visited by hummingbirds, they aren’t really a primary nectar source and aren’t included here. In addition, most grasses – especially those native to the western US or tallgrass/shortgrass prairies – are great host plants for skippers (a butterfly relative), and their seeds are good food sources for overwintering songbirds. Note: Plants marked as ‘native’ are native to the western US.

Everything we grow at Shooting Star Nursery is Neonic-Free! Neonicotinoids (neonics for short) are a class of pesticide extremely toxic to bees and other pollinators and are a major factor in pollinator declines. The chemical, called a ‘systemic,’ moves throughout the entire plant, making pollen and nectar in flowers toxic. Both systemic and persistent, neonics continue to affect bees long after a spray through soil absorption. Neonicotinoid pesticide active ingredients to avoid include: Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Imidacloprid, Thiacloprid, and Thiamethoxam.

You can be assured plants grown at Shooting Star Nursery are neonic-free and pollinator friendly!

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  Botanical Name

  Common Name

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PERENNIALS
Achillea millefolium (native) Yarrow bees, butterflies, wasps
Agastache sp. (native) Hummingbird Mint hummingbirds, bees
Allium sp.  Garlic/Onion family  bees, moths
Amsonia 'Blue Ice'   bees, moths, butterflies
Aquilegia formosa (native) Columbine bumblebees, hummingbirds, moths
Asclepias fascicularis/speciosa (native) Milkweed bees, butterflies, moths; host plant for Monarchs
Aster (some native)   bees, butterflies
Callirhoe involucrata (native) Poppy Mallow bees, butterflies
Coreopsis   bees, butterflies
Crocosmia   hummingbirds, butterflies
Dicentra formosa (native) Bleeding Heart butterflies (host plant)
Echinacea Coneflower bees, butterflies
Erigeron (native) Fleabanes bees, butterflies
Eriogonum sp. (native) Flowering Buckwheat bees, butterflies
Eriophyllum lanatum (native) Oregon Sunshine bees, butterflies
Eschscholzia californica (native) California Poppy bees, butterflies, moths
Eupatorium 'Baby Joe' Joe Pye Weed bees
Fragraria vesca (native) Alpine Strawberry bees, butterflies, moths
Gaillardia sp. (Western native) Blanket Flower  butterflies, bees
Geranium sp. Cranesbill bees
Helianthus 'Lemon Queen'  Sunflower bees, butterflies; birds love the seeds
Helleborus Hellebore/Lenten Rose bees
Hesperaloe parviflora (native)  Red Yucca hummingbirds
Heuchera micrantha (native) Coral Bells/Alum Root hummingbirds
Kniphofia uvaria Red Hot Poker hummingbirds, bees
Liatris spicata Gayfeather butterflies, bees
Liriope Lily Turf bees
Lobelia laxiflora (native) Mexican Lobelia hummingbirds, bees
Menta sp. Mints bees, wasps
Monarda sp. Bee Balm bees, hummingbirds
Monardella sp. (native) Coyote Mint bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, moths
Nepeta sp.  Catmint bees - lots and lots of bees!
Oenothera sp. (native) Evening Primrose night-flying moths
Penstemon sp. (some native)   hummingbirds, bees, butterfly host plant
Perovskia atriplicifolia Russian Sage bees
Phlomis fruticosa Jerusalem Sage bees
Potentilla sp. (some native) Cinquefoil butterflies, moths, bees
Rudbeckia sp. Black-Eyed Susan bees, butterflies
Salvia sp. (some native) Sages bees, hummingbirds
Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' Pincushion Flower butterflies, bees
Scutellaria 'Smoky Hills' (native) Skullcap bees, moths
Sedum spathulifolium (native)   butterflies
Sidalcea cusickii (native) Checkermallow butterflies, bees
Solidago (native) Goldenrod bees, butterflies, moths
Stachys lavandulifolia Pink Cotton Lamb's Ear bees, butterflies
Teucrium spp.  Germander  lots of different bees
Thalictrum Meadow Rue butterflies, moths
Thymus sp. Thyme bees
Verbena lilacina (native)  Verbena butterflies
Zauschneria (native) California Fuchsia hummingbirds, moths, bees
     
SHRUBS
Abelia grandiflora  Abelia  bees, butterflies
Amelanchier alnifolia (native) Saskatoon Serviceberry butterflies & moths; birds love the berries
Arbutus unedo 'Compacta' Dwarf Strawberry Tree bees, hummingbirds
Arctostaphylos spp. (native) Manzanita bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, moths; birds love the berries
Artemisia tridentata (native) Big Sagebrush butterflies, moths, bees; birds love the seeds
Baccharis (native) Coyote Bush bees, wasps, butterflies, moths
Buddleia Butterfly Bush bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Carpenteria californica (native) Bush Anemone bees, butterflies
Caryopteris Bluebeard bees
Cornus sericea (native) Red Osier Dogwood  butterflies, moths
Erica Heath bees
Holodiscus discolor (native) Creambush/Oceanspray butterflies, bees, hummingbirds
Lavandula sp. Lavender bees, hummingbirds
Lonicera involucrata (native) Twinberry hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, moths; birds love the berries
Mahonia spp. (native) Oregon Grape bees, butterflies, moths; birds love the berries
Myrica californica (native)  CA Wax Myrtle butterflies, moths
Osmanthus  Shrub Olive bees, butterflies
Philadelphus lewisii (native) Mock Orange bees, butterflies, moths
Physocarpus capitatus (native) Mock Orange bees, butterflies, moths
Pieris sp.  Andromeda bees
Rhamnus californica (native) Coffeeberry bees, butterflies, moths
Rhus aromatica/trilobata (native) Fragrant Sumac butterflies & moths; birds like the berries
Ribes sp. (native) Currants/Gooseberries hummingbirds, bees, butterflies
Rosa nutkana/woodsii (native) Wild Rose bees
Rosmarinus Rosemary bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Salix hookeriana (native) Hooker's Willow bees, butterflies, moths; great host plant
Sambucus caerulea (native) Blue Elderberry bees, moths; birds love the berries
Sarcococca Sweet Box bees
Spirea densiflora/douglasii (native) Spirea hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, moths
Symphoricarpus alba (native) Snowberry hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, moths
Vaccinium ovatum (native) Huckleberry hummingbirds, butterflies, moths; birds love the berries
Vitex agnus-castus Chaste Tree bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
     
TREES
Acer circinatum (native)  Vine Maple  butterflies, moths, bees
Acer macrophyllum (native)  Big-leafed Maple  butterflies, moths, bees
Alnus rhombifilia/rubra (native) Alders butterflies & moths; birds love the seeds
Cercis occidentalis (native) Western Redbud  hummingbirds, bees, moths, butterflies
Crataegus douglasii (native) Black Hawthorn bees, butterflies, moths; birds love the fruit
Chilopsis linearis (native) Desert Willow hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, moths
Prunus virginiana (native) Western Chokecherry bees, butterflies, moths; birds love the fruits
Quercus garryana/kelloggii (native) White Oak/Black Oak butterflies & moths
Styrax japonica Japanese Snowbell bees, hummingbirds
Tilia Linden beloved by honeybees
Yucca brevifolia (native) Joshua Tree butterflies, moths