EPA Level III Ecoregion
Northwestern Great Plains
763 native plants for the Northwestern Great Plains ecoregion (Billings area).
The Northwestern Great Plains roll across eastern Montana and Wyoming into the western Dakotas, taking in Billings, Rapid City, Casper, and Gillette. This is semi-arid shortgrass and sagebrush country, with hard winters, wide temperature swings, and long dry spells broken by sudden storms. Natives like blue giant-hyssop, golden prairie-clover, and plains beebalm are deep-rooted enough to ride out a dry summer with no irrigation at all.
Conditions: Clay and sandy soils over shale, 12–18 inches of precipitation, cold windy winters, hot dry summers punctuated by sudden storms.
Cities and areas: Billings, Rapid City, Casper, Gillette, Miles City, Dickinson.
763 Native Plants for the Northwestern Great Plains
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Wild Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Common Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Blue Giant-hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Smooth Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Indiangrass
Sorghastrum nutans
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris aspera
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Scarlet Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis
Virginia Mountain-Mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Prairie Junegrass
Koeleria macrantha
Leadplant
Amorpha canescens
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Fall Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Mexican Hat
Ratibida columnifera
American Solomon's-seal
Polygonatum biflorum
Winecup
Callirhoe involucrata
Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa
Bear-grape
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Wild Woodland Strawberries
Fragaria vesca
Virginia Wildrye
Elymus virginicus
Golden Currant
Ribes aureum
Prairie Wildrye
Elymus canadensis
American Basswood
Tilia americana
Common Blue Violet
Viola sororia
Narrow-leaf Coneflower
Echinacea angustifolia
Heart-leaf Golden Alexanders
Zizia aptera
American Germander
Teucrium canadense
White Prairie Clover
Dalea candida
Solomon's-plume
Maianthemum racemosum
Prairie ironweed
Vernonia fasciculata
Tufted Hairgrass
Deschampsia cespitosa
Stiff Goldenrod
Solidago rigida
Showing 48 of 763. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Northwestern Great Plains
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Smooth aster
Fall is the payoff. Lavender blue flowers open late and feed pollinators before winter across the mixed grass prairie. Leave most of the plant standing.
- Little bluestem
Fall is when little bluestem shines, turning a deep rust-orange with coppery seed heads that catch the low prairie light. Leave it standing rather than cutting it back.
- Switchgrass
Fall brings the gold foliage and the ripe seed heads that feed birds. Most gardeners leave the clump standing to carry color and wildlife value into the cold season.
- Wild bergamot
In fall the plant sets seed and goes dormant. Around Billings you can leave seed heads for birds or tidy the bed for a clean fall look.
- Swamp milkweed
In fall the seed pods split and release silky-tufted seeds, and the plant starts going dormant. You get to choose how tidy to leave it, and both choices help wildlife or the next season.
Build a plan for the Northwestern Great Plains
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Billings area.