Plant Sale 2025 – The Case for Natives

Planning a garden with the changing climate in mind will be important to ensure plants can thrive for years to come. Consider planting more native plants as well as plants that are more drought tolerant or can thrive in dry soils.

We will be offering many native and drought tolerant plants at the Hennepin County Master Gardener Plant Sale this year including a native Minnesota cactus… Yes, you read that right!

The Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa) is a cactus native to Minnesota that thrives in dry rocky or sandy soil and which produces a chemical which prevents its paddles from freezing in winter and is hardy to Zone 4. Its bright yellow blooms attract a host of pollinators, including a wide variety of Native Bees.

Other plants we’ll have available that do well in dry soil include Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens) and Clustered Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe triangulata) among many others.

Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus
Image curtesy of Jodi Voelker

Prairie Smoke
Image courtesy of Claire Shaw

Butterfly weed
Image courtesy of Claire Shaw