The winner: Morning Glories , 96/100. Tied for second at 92: Coreopsis, Mexican Sunflower, Russian Sage, Viburnum . Lowest upkeep of the qualifiers: Mexican Sunflower at 92.
Every flower here is scored by the same 5 published rules, using one open table of 85 flowers. No taste, no sponsors: tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made it.
The picks
The flowers that won The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
96 96 WINNER WINNER YFG INDEX Bee magnetism: bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, specialized bees · Season-long nectar: 5 months · Set-and-forget upkeep: low
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
toxic to cats
Deer: sometimes eaten (Rutgers C) Not for cat households
96 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 30 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, specialized bees
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 11
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 4 documented
92 92 LOW-EFFORT PICK LOW-EFFORT PICK YFG INDEX Bee magnetism: bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds · Season-long nectar: 4 months · Set-and-forget upkeep: low
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
no vase data in the postharvest literature
92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 4 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 11
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 6 documented
Also great Close behind on points. Neither beats the winner overall, but each is the better answer in a garden the winner would not suit.
92 92 ALSO GREAT ALSO GREAT YFG INDEX Bee magnetism: bees, butterflies, songbirds · Season-long nectar: 6 months · Set-and-forget upkeep: low
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
no vase data in the postharvest literature
Deer: rarely damaged (Rutgers A) Cat safe (listed non-toxic)
92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 6 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 8 documented
92 92 ALSO GREAT ALSO GREAT YFG INDEX Bee magnetism: bees, butterflies, hummingbirds · Season-long nectar: 5 months · Set-and-forget upkeep: low
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
no vase data in the postharvest literature
Deer: rarely damaged (Rutgers A)
92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 4 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 7 documented
The protocol
How the score is built 5 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Bee magnetism 30 points documented for specialist or native bees 30; generalist bee visits 22 Read from: pollinator groups.
Season-long nectar 25 points a bee garden needs overlapping bloom: 4+ months 25 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 points pollinator beds are planted once and left semi-wild Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Cold-zone reach 15 points zones 4-7 is where most readers garden Read from: the zones it survives.
Stress tolerance breadth 15 points shrugs off drought and poor soil without weekly checks Read from: stress tolerances.
Not ranked here: no whitelisted source documents bee visitation. Scores are never sponsored
and never sold. The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten The 10 highest of 55 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
1 96 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 30 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, specialized bees
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 11
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 4 documented
2 92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 6 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 8 documented
2 92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 4 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 11
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 6 documented
2 92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 4 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 7 documented
2 92 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, moths, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 6 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 10
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 8 documented
6 88 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, moths, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 4 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 8
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 4 documented
6 88 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 4 documented
6 88 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, songbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 5 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 2 to 11
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 5 documented
6 88 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Season-long nectar 25 / 25 4 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 9
Stress tolerance breadth 11 / 15 4 documented
10 86 / 100 tap for the breakdown Bee magnetism 22 / 30 bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
Season-long nectar 19 / 25 3 months
Set-and-forget upkeep 15 / 15 low
Cold-zone reach 15 / 15 3 to 8
Stress tolerance breadth 15 / 15 8 documented
Considered, not chosen Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this job is not theirs.
no whitelisted source documents bee visitation Tulips, Daffodils (Narcissus), Chrysanthemum and 27 more
The winner's badge Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Morning Glories
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
96 96 BEST FOR BEES BEST FOR BEES YFG INDEX · WINNER How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
named. Nothing here is sponsored, and no score can be bought. When the table changes, every
score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
