8 Kinds of PINK Wildflowers in Manitoba (w/Pics)
Did you find a PINK wildflower in Manitoba?
If so, I’m sure you’re wondering what type of wildflower you found! Luckily, you can use this guide to help you identify it. 🙂
Please be aware that today I’m ONLY listing and focusing on the most COMMON pink wildflowers. There are so many species, varieties, and subspecies that it would be impossible to name them all. But if you want to dive deeper into all the pink wildflowers in Manitoba, check out this field guide!
Today, we will look at 8 different PINK wildflowers found in Manitoba.
#1. Swamp Milkweed
- Asclepias incarnata
Also known as: Pink Milkweed
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-11
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 24-72 in (61-183 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Swamp Milkweed is a native pink wildflower in Manitoba.
It grows in wet meadows and along lakeshores. Look for its clusters of deep pink flowers to identify it.
If you want a variety of pollinators to visit your garden, Swamp Milkweed is the ideal wildflower to plant. Its clusters of fragrant flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The leaves are an incredibly important food source for Monarch caterpillars.
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RELATED: 20 Types of BUTTERFLIES in Manitoba! (ID Guide)
#2. Spreading Dogbane
- Apocynum androsaemifolium
Also known as: Fly-trap Dogbane, Bitterroot
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 2-9
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 24-60 in (61-152 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Full Shade
As you might have guessed from its name, Spreading Dogbane is a prolific grower, which is why you’ll find it widespread across both North America and Europe. It’s called “dogbane” because it is highly poisonous to dogs (and humans too).
Spreading Dogbane has small, pink bell-shaped flowers and a scent similar to lilac. Look for this pink wildflower in Manitoba in the sandy soil of streambanks.
#3. Crown Vetch
- Securigera varia
Also known as: Purple Crownvetch, Crownvetch
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 12-72 in (30-183 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Even though the large, pink clover-like blooms of Crown Vetch are beautiful, this plant is invasive in North America. Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, Crown Vetch was introduced locally to be used as a groundcover in controlling soil erosion.
This pink wildflower grows in Manitoba on sunny, sandy banks where it can push out less hardy plants.
If you plant Crown Vetch on your property, choose an isolated location far away from flower gardens. Don’t forget to control its growth so it doesn’t spread to other areas and invade native species and ecosystems.
#4. Common Milkweed
- Asclepias syriaca
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 3–9a
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 36-96 in (91-244 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun
If you’re looking for a fragrant pink wildflower to attract pollinators in Manitoba, look no further than the Common Milkweed. About 450 species of insects feed on the Common Milkweed, including beetles, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, ants, and flies.
Interestingly, Common Milkweed can push out and smother other plants.
If you decide to use it in your garden, plant it in an isolated spot where it has little to compete with.
In the wild, Common Milkweed grows in nearly every habitat. Look for its pinkish-purple blooms in abandoned fields, forest clearings, and roadside ditches.
#5. Wild Mint
- Mentha arvensis
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-8
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 3.9-39 in (10-99 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Late Spring to Early Summer
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Light Shade
Wild Mint is a native wildflower with dense clusters of lavender, pink, or white bell-shaped flowers. Like other species of mint, the fragrance is most potent when the leaves are damaged.
Look for this pink wildflower in Manitoba in wetlands with partial sunlight. It grows best on stream and river banks.
#6. Fireweed
- Chamerion angustifolium
Also known as: Willow Herb
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 2-8
- Life Cycle: Annual or Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 18-120 in (46-305 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Late Spring and Summer
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
True to its name, Fireweed is a resilient plant that will be the first to grow in clearings recently devastated by forest fires. In fact, Fireweed was seen growing throughout Washington State one year after Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.
To find Fireweed, look for striking spikes of purplish-pink flowers covering a landscape. Hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies like to feed on this pink wildflower in Manitoba.
#7. Obedient Plant
- Physostegia virginiana
Also known as: Obedience, False Dragonhead, Virginia Lions-heart
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 2-10
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 24-48 in (61-122 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
The Obedient Plant is named for the flowers that will stay in position if you push or bend them to one side. Look for the blushing pink or lilac flowers clustered along stiff stems, which grow to about four feet high.
This pink wildflower in Manitoba grows in prairies, meadows, and unused fields. Plant it in your garden beds and borders to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. As its species name Virginiana hints, the Obedient plant is native to Virginia and other nearby states.
#8. Prairie Onion
- Allium stellatum
Also known as: Prairie Onion, Autumn Onion
Growing Information:
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-8
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Approximate Mature Size: 12-24 in (30-61 cm) tall
- Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
- Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Prairie Onion blooms look like floating balls of pink and white. Their flower clusters form on the end of long stalks that grow from tufts of leaves. Butterflies, in particular, are attracted to this pink wildflower in Manitoba.
Look for Prairie Onion where plants typically don’t grow, like sandy, rocky, and dry soils and limestone cliffs.
Like other allium varieties, you can eat the Prairie Onion! With a strong flavor, the bulbs and the flower stems can be eaten raw, boiled, pickled, or used as a seasoning for salads and soups. Native Americans and early settlers also used the bulbs to repel insects.
Which of these pink wildflowers have you seen before in Manitoba?
Leave a comment below!
