Welcome to our Native Seed Bank!
At Prairie Rivers of Iowa, we want to promote beneficial plants. You can come into our office at 3116 South Duff Ave, Suite 201 Ames IA 50010 to see our full collection and pick out seeds. A $5 donation per seed packet is suggested.
You can donate or exchange native seed from your garden!
When donating seed, please have this information:
- Common name
- Scientific name
- Location harvested
Thank you!
Below is the majority of seed we have. Call ahead to check exact availability.
Spring Blooming Native Forbs
Western Yarrow
Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1-4 ft
- Bloom: May-Jul
- Harvested: 2021
- Host Plant: Blueberry looper, Spotted Buff Gem Moth, Calendula Plume Moth, etc
- Can be aggressive
Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
- Sun: Full to Shade
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Apr-Jun
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Pink-patched Looper Moths, Columbine Duskywings
- Favorite of Hummingbirds!
Jack in the Pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
- Sun: Partial to Shade
- Soil: Moist
- Height: 1-4 ft
- Bloom: Apr-Jul
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: New Hope Tiger Moths
- Beetles, wasps, and flies love this plant
Canada Milkvetch
Astragalus canadensis
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet, Moist
- Height: ½ ft
- Bloom: May-Jul
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Alexandra Sulphurs, Julia’s Dicymolomia Moths, and Wild Indigo Duskwings
Wild White Indigo
Baptisia alba
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 4 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Jul
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Wild Indigo Duskwing Butterfly, Indigo Stem Borer Moth
Illinois Bundleflower
Desmanthus illinoensis
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: May-Jul
- Harvested: 2024
- Bushy plant provides shade to smaller animals
- Full of nutrients and high in protein, eaten by many wildlife
Common Evening Primrose
Oenothera biennis
- Sun: Full to Partia
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 3-5 ft
- Bloom: May -Jun
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Fireweed Clearwing Moths, Nessus Sphinx, Pearly Wood-nymph
Wood Betony
Pedicularis canadensis
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist to Dry
- Height: 1 ft
- Bloom: Apr-May
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Baltimore Checkerspots
- Hemiparasitic species, so grows best with a variety of plants nearby
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Wet, Dry
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Jul
- Harvested: 2024
- Has large flowers that bumble bees love to crawl into for nectar and pollen
Solomon’s Seal
Polygonatum biflorum
- Sun: Full to Shade
- Soil: Medium to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: May-Jun
- Harvested: 2025
- As a spring ephemeral, it supports our native bees as they emerge from their overwintering habitats.
Ohio Spiderwort
Tradescantia ohiensis
- Sun: Full – Partial
- Soil: Wet – Dry
- Height: 1.5-2 ft
- Bloom: Apr- Jun
- Harvested: 2024
- Provides essential food resources in early spring
Golden Alexander
Zizia aurea
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Apr-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Sunflower Borers, Swallowtails, Black Swallowtails
Summer Blooming Native Forbs
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 2-4 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2025
- A pollinator favorite!
Lead Plant
Amorpha canescens
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Hoary Edge Skipper, Io Moth, Genista Broom Moth
Thimbleweed
Anemone cylindrica
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Medium to Dry
- Height: 1-2 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2025
- Nicknamed Cottonweed due to its fluffy seed head
- Pollinated by flies, beetles, and wasps
Prairie Sage
Artemisia ludoviciana
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Medium to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Aug
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: American Lady, Painted Lady
- Collected and bundled for smudging
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 3-5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Monarchs, Cecropia Moths, White Hairstreak Butterflies
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Monarchs, Queen
Tall Coreopsis
Coreopsis tripteris
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet- Dry
- Height: 3-9 ft
- Bloom: Jul- Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Monarchs love nectaring on this tall plant
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Southern Dogface Butterfly
Showy Ticktrefoil
Desmodium canadense
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 3-6 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Hoary Edge Skipper, Eastern Tailed Blue, and Northern Cloudywing
Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinacea pallida
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 2-3 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Long-Horned Bees, Leafcutter Bees, and the Brown-Belted Bumble Bee all love this native wildflower
Roundheaded Bushclover
Lespedeza capitata
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 2-3 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Io Moths, Silver-spotted Skippers, Northern Cloudywing
Greyheaded Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
Black Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1.5-3.5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Gorgone Checkerspots, Silvery Checkerspots, Wavy-lined Emerald Moth
Rosinweed
Silphium integrifolium
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Wet-Dry
- Height: 2-6 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Rosinweed Moth
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist
- Height: 3- 8 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Bird Poop Moths, the rare Silphium Borer Moth
Hoary Vervain
Verbena stricta
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-4 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Verbena Moths, Fine-Lined Sallow Moths
- Specialist Bees: Calliopsis nebraskensis, C. hirsutifrons
Fall Blooming Native Forbs
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
- Sun: Partial to Shade
- Soil: Moist to Dry
- Height: 1-4 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Oct
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Clymene Moth, Hitched Arches
Tall Bellflower
Campanula americana
- Sun: Partial to Shade
- Soil: Moist to Medium
- Height: 3-6 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Biennial
- Native bumble bees, leaf-cutter bees, butterflies, and skippers love its nectar
Partridge Pea
Chamaecrista fasciculata
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jul- Sep
- Harvested:
- Host Plant: Rusty Banded Adelphia Moths, Io Moth, Little Sulphur Butterflies
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet to Medium
- Height: 4 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Boneset Borer Moth, Three-lined Flower Moth, Blackberry Looper Moth
Sweet Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium purpureum
- Sun: Partial to Shade
- Soil: Moist to Dry
- Height: 4-6 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Plume Moth, Slender Flower Moth, Joe Pye Weed Borer Moth, Bold-feathered Grass Moth
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Medium
- Height: 4 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Rattlesnake Master Borers, which have been extirpated from Iowa
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Clearwinged Moths, Ridgid Sunflower Borer Moths
Yellow Jewelweed
Impatiens pallida
- Sun: Full to Shade
- Soil: Wet to Medium
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Oct
- Harvested: 2025
- Also known as Touch-me-nots because their seed pods explode when touched!
Smooth Blue Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 3-5 ft
- Bloom: Aug-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Pearl Cresents, Arcigera Flower Moths, and Northern Flower Moths
Stiff Goldenrod
Solidago rigida
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Aug-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- In fall this plant is buzzing with activity!
All Season Blooming Native Forbs
Carl Curtz Pollinator Mix
Year Harvested: 2024
Includes Showy Ticktrefoil, White Wild Indigo, Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, Roundheaded Bushclover, Purple Prairie Clover, Little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed, Stiff Goldenrod, Cream Gentian, Sky Blue Aster, Golden Alexander, Sawtooth Sunflower, Rattlesnake Master, Canada Milkvetch, Purple Coneflower, False Sunflower, Rough Blazing Star, Switchgrass, Rough Dropseed, Greyheaded Coneflower, Mountain Mint.
Bryson Pollinator Mix
Year Harvested: 2024
Includes Illinois Bundleflower, Purple Prairie Clover, Partridge Pea, Maximillion Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, White Prairie Clover, Canada Milkvetch, Prairie Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, Bee Balm, Evening Primrose, Showy Ticktrefoil, Greyheaded Coneflower, Hoary Vervain.
Rose Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist
- Height: 3-5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Monarchs, Queens, Striped Caterpillar Moth
- Also called Swamp Milkweed
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist toDry
- Height: 1-2 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Sep
- Harvested: 2025
- Host Plant: Monarchs
Bee Balm
Monarda fistulosa
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 2-4 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Raspberry Pyrausta, Blueberry Leafroller, Hermit Sphinx
Prairie Cinquefoil
Drymocallis arguta
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1-3.5 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Prefers woodland edges and meadows
Upright Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: May-Oct
- Harvested: 2021
- Host Plant: Sunflower Moths
- Consistent resource throughout the entire growing season
White Prairie Clover
Dalea candida
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-2 ft
- Bloom: May-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Perfect to plant near borders in gardens, as they don’t get too tall
Native Grasses
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 6-8 ft
- Bloom: May-Jun
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Argos Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Cobweb Skipper
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Aug-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Argos Skippers, the rare Ottoe Skipper, the endangered Dakota Skipper
Indian Grass
Sorghastrum nutans
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 3-8 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: the rare Pepper & Salt Skipper
Side Oats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Patagonia Eyed Silkmoths, Hualapai Buckmoths, Dotted Skipper Butterflies
Virginia Wildrye
Elymus virginicus
- Sun: Full to Shade
- Soil: Wet, Moist
- Height: 2.5 ft
- Bloom: Mar-Apr
- Harvested: 2024
- Provides important hiding spots for insects and wildlife
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
- Sun: Full to Partial
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 3-6 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Delaware Skipper, Dotted Skipper, Leonard’s Skipper
Non Native Plants
Clasping Coneflower
Dracopis amplexicaulis
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Dry
- Height: 2 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Aug
- Harvested: 2021
- Native to the USA, but not IA. It provides nesting materials for our native bees and birds
Missouri Primrose
Oenothera missouriensis
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist, Dry
- Height: 1/2 – 1 ft
- Bloom: May-Aug
- Harvested: 2021
- native to USA, but not IA.
- Pollinated by moths
- Can be planted in rock areas and tolerates dry, hot conditions
Unavailable Seed
Meadow Blazing Star
Liatris Ligulistylis
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested:
- Attracts Monarch Butterflies and large amounts of native bees
Prairie Blazing Star
Liatris pycnostachya
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Wet to Dry
- Height: 2-5 ft
- Bloom: Jul-Sep
- Harvested:
- Host Plant: Blazing Star Borer
Virginia Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum
- Sun: Full
- Soil: Moist
- Height: 1-3 ft
- Bloom: Jun-Aug
- Harvested: 2024
- Host Plant: Curve-toothed Geometer Moths, Tobacco Budworm Moths