Green-Headed Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Green-headed Coneflower has a very high value to pollinators. It is visited by numerous native bees, and moths (iillinoiswildflowers.info) and it is the host plant to a whopping 30 different specialist bees (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)!! Green-headed Coneflower is recommended as a preferred pollinator plant by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) and it is a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot and 19 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org), including the threatened Gorgone checkerspot (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Green-headed Coneflower is rhizomatous and can be aggressive, so choose your planting spot wisely.
Photo credit: USDA NRCS Montana
Green-headed Coneflower has a very high value to pollinators. It is visited by numerous native bees, and moths (iillinoiswildflowers.info) and it is the host plant to a whopping 30 different specialist bees (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)!! Green-headed Coneflower is recommended as a preferred pollinator plant by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) and it is a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot and 19 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org), including the threatened Gorgone checkerspot (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Green-headed Coneflower is rhizomatous and can be aggressive, so choose your planting spot wisely.
Photo credit: USDA NRCS Montana
Green-headed Coneflower has a very high value to pollinators. It is visited by numerous native bees, and moths (iillinoiswildflowers.info) and it is the host plant to a whopping 30 different specialist bees (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)!! Green-headed Coneflower is recommended as a preferred pollinator plant by the Xerces Society (Xerces.org) and it is a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot and 19 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org), including the threatened Gorgone checkerspot (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Green-headed Coneflower is rhizomatous and can be aggressive, so choose your planting spot wisely.
Photo credit: USDA NRCS Montana
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full-Partial-Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium/wet-Medium/dry
Height: 3-7 feet
Plant Spacing: 2-4 feet
Bloom Time: July-October
Bloom Color: Yellow
Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant, Recommended but vigorous
Host Plant: Silvery Checkerspot and 19 other species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Andrena rudbeckiae, Perdita albipennis, Pseudopanurgus albitarsis, P. andrenoides, P. compositarum, P. labrosiformis, P. labrosus, P. rugosus, P. solidaginis, Melissodes denticulatus, M. agilis, M. bidentis, M. boltoniae, M. coloradensis, M. confuses, M. druriellus, M. illatus, M. microstictus, M. subillatus, M. trinodis, M. vernoniae, M. wheeleri, Svastra obliqua, S. petulca, Paranthidium jugatorium, Megachile pugnata, M. inimica, M. parallela, M. xylocopoides, Colletes americanus, and C. compactus (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Beneficial for Endangered or Threatened Species: Possibly Gorgone checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone) (mnfi.anr.msu.edu/)
Resource: Holm, Heather. Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide. Pollination Press LLC, 2017
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
