Native Plants of Michigan
The native plants that belong in your yard — what to plant for pollinators, by zone, with bloom timing and a species table.
- Native species grouped by sun, soil, and wildlife value
- Bloom windows and pollinator host-plant pairings
- What belongs in your USDA zone
- A full species table you can take to the nursery
- Typical planting windows, month by month
$9.99one-time
Instant download · yours to keep, with no account and no renewal · full refund within 30 days
A look inside
What the Michigan pages actually look like
From the Michigan edition
Some of what is actually in it
64 native species are profiled for Michigan, chosen for hardiness zones 4a–6b. A dozen of them:
- Purple Coneflower
- Black-Eyed Susan
- Butterfly Weed
- Common Milkweed
- Swamp Milkweed
- Wild Bergamot
- Scarlet Beebalm
- New England Aster
- Showy Goldenrod
- Stiff Goldenrod
- Wild Columbine
- Cardinal Flower
How the Michigan year breaks down
Counted, not claimed
Something in the Michigan list is in bloom from March through October, and June is the peak — 28 of the 64 species are flowering then.
19 of them are caterpillar host plants and 22 support specialist bees — the ones that do the most work in Michigan yards.
In the box
Exactly what you receive
| Michigan pages | 10 pages — the species table, bloom windows and planting calendar |
|---|---|
| Format | PDF, laid out for both Letter and A4 |
| Delivery | An instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours |
| Access | Yours to keep — no expiry, no account, no subscription |
| Refunds | Full refund within 30 days, no questions |
How it works
From checkout to the field
Buy it
Checkout takes a card and an email address — no account to create.
Open it straight away
The download link appears immediately and the Michigan files are yours to keep.
Use it through the year
Print the Michigan pages you want and take them outside; they are laid out with room to write on as the season moves.
Free and paid, side by side
The Michigan pages here stay free. Here is what the edition adds.
| The free Michigan pages | Native Plants of Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | The month Michigan is in, free and always | All twelve Michigan months, planned before they arrive |
| Garden timing | The notes for your zone, once the site knows it | Every Michigan zone from 4a–6b, side by side on the page |
| Where you can read it | On a screen, wherever Michigan has signal | On paper, in the field, with no signal at all |
| Price | Free, and staying that way | $9.99 once — no renewal, no account |
Before you buy
Who this is for
Made for
- Gardeners in Michigan planting for pollinators rather than for a catalogue
- Anyone replacing lawn with something that belongs here
- New Michigan gardeners who want the timing decided for them
Not for
- Anyone wanting exotic ornamentals; every species here is native to Michigan
- Precise planting dates — Michigan timing is given as windows
Everything here describes typical timing across Michigan, drawn from long-run records — weather, elevation and how close you are to water all move the real dates around. So the Michigan pages say "usually early May" and never "May 4th", which is not hedging but the most the data can honestly carry.
Where it comes from
Compiled from
USDA PLANTS Database · GBIF occurrence records · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center · USA National Phenology Network · The Xerces Society · Cooperative Extension (land-grant directory). How each of these is used in the Michigan edition, and which figures are measured rather than modeled, is set out in the methodology.
Questions
Before you decide
Is this specific to Michigan, or a national guide with the name swapped in?
It is built from Michigan's own data. The 64 species in it were filtered to those with verified occurrence records in Michigan and to hardiness zones 4a–6b.
Michigan spans several hardiness zones — which one does this cover?
All of them. Michigan runs 4a–6b, and the guide carries each zone's timing rather than picking one and hoping it fits your garden.
How accurate is the timing for Michigan?
It describes typical timing across Michigan drawn from long-run records, and because weather, elevation and habitat move real Michigan dates around it says "usually early May" rather than "May 4th".
Is it worth paying when the Michigan pages here are free?
The free Michigan pages are the month you are in; this is the whole Michigan year, planned before it arrives and printable, so you are not holding a screen in the garden.
Will it work for my part of Michigan, or just the big cities?
It is written at state resolution — Michigan as a whole, with regional notes where Michigan genuinely differs end to end, and nothing behind it is recorded finely enough to honestly promise more than that.
What format is the Michigan edition, and can I print it?
A PDF laid out for both Letter and A4, one page per sheet — printing it is the point, since the Michigan pages are made to be carried outside.
What if the Michigan guide is not what I expected?
Email hello@birchcompass.com within 30 days for a full refund on the Michigan edition, and keep the files either way — asking for them back would be theatre.
Prefer to read online first? The free Michigan native plants reference covers the same ground on screen.
The rest of the Michigan shelf
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