Plant selection

Try our Plant Search Tool to select native plants to grow based on region, soil moisture, amount of sunlight and its attractiveness to pollinators and natural enemies. Visit our Regional Plant Lists section to help determine plant suitability for regions in Michigan. You can also scroll down to access our free plant fact sheets.

Plant fact sheets

The plant fact sheets listed below include reference to small, medium and large numbers of insects attracted to a particular native plant as measured in our research at Michigan State University. These can be loosely measured as:

  • Small numbers - less than 2 insects per square meter of plant material
  • Medium numbers - 2 to 10 insects per square meter of plant material
  • Large numbers - greater than 10 insects per square meter of plant material

The plant fact sheets are listed here first by the plant's common name and then in a second listing by scientific name.

Common name listing

Highly attractive
Moderately attractive
Low/no attractiveness

Scientific name listing

Highly attractive
Moderately attractive
Low/no attractiveness

(Nomenclature follows Herman et al. 2001.)

Information prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University with assistance by William Schneider of Wildtype. Please note: The information presented at this web site should be considered a guideline to be adapted for your situation. MSU makes no warranty about the use of the information presented here. Read disclaimer.