Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is zone 2 tolerant, and especially valuable in a hummingbird garden because they bloom starting in April across the eastern U.S. just when hummingbirds are beginning to return from their wintering grounds. Grows best in partial to full shade in well-drained soil.
Grapes (Vitis spp.)
Size: 8′ tall with 6-8′ spread
Flowering: inconcpicuous
Fruiting: late-August to early-September
Birds: fall migrants such as catbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, robin, orioles, and waxwings.
Many different species of wild grape are native and grow throughout eastern and central North America. They are tolerant of most soils. Some species are found in moist rich soils while others thrive on sandy and dry sites. These native grapes are excellent choices for attracting birds to your yard in during fall migration as they ripen in August and September. Some birds known to eat wild grapes are bluebird, catbird, crow, flycatchers, robins, woodpeckers, sapsuckers, starlings, thrashers, chickadees, waxwings, finches, jays, orioles, and sparrows. They are difficult to identify by species in the wild, and I do not know of reliable locations where you can purchase nursery grown plant. Most likely, local nurseries will be the most likely to carry them. It can be difficult to start these varieties from seed, so stem cuttings or transplants are recommended as methods of propagation.
Cautions: in some cases, some wild grapes can smother and kill shrubs and small trees. You should train them to run up a trellis or other structure. Note also that Japanese Beetles can cause major damage to the foliage of grape plants.
Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia) This native, woody, perennial vine can reach up to 50′ long! It usually climbs trees, shrubs, or fence rows, but will also run just above ground across open areas. Riverbank grape blooms during the late spring for about 2-3 weeks. The flowers are then replaced by fruits that develop throughout the summer. These are initially small and green, but become purple or blue with maturity. Riverbank Grape prefers full sun to light shade, and moist to slightly dry conditions, however, like other grape it is not restricted to such conditions.
Frost Grape (Vitis vulpina) Frost grape is important in that it provides late fall and early winter food for many species of birds and mammals. Fruits cling to the vines later than most other fruits, so they are a welcome supplement for the wildlife diet. The fruits – which are loosely clustered – appear to turn black and shiny when ripening in September to October.
Wild Fox Grape (Vitis labrusca) Fox grape may not be suitable to Minnesota; being replaced by the riverbank grape (and to a lesser extent the frost grape) in natural settings. Be wary of the “Concord” cultivar as it is reputed by some sources to be only tolerant to hardiness zone 5.
Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) 10-30′ tall/spread. Pin cherry is a small common tree inhabiting a great variety of lands in the northern part of the United States and Canada. It is sometimes called fire cherry for its value as a reforesting agent after forest fires. It forms pure stands that provide shade for seedlings of slower growing species, then dies off, making way for the new trees. Twigs are red, with buds clustered at or near the twig tips. White, rose-like, flowers appear in late spring, followed by a red, round, hanging fruit.
Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila) 50′ tall/spread. As its name suggests, this species only does well in well drained soils. A familiar low shrub of coastal dunes, this creeping plant can be found along most sandy lake shores, making it a beneficial plant for sand stabilizer. The plump, roundish cherries, which are substantially larger than those produced by black cherry, choke cherry or pin cherry, are mature when they turn a deep blackish purple. The fruits are edible and a favorite wildlife food, sweet but somewhat astringent tasting, and usually much more suitable for making jellies and jams than eating directly from the bush.
Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) 50′ tall/spread. A large, fast growing, graceful tree with neat, glossy foliage. The trees are covered with clusters of small white flowers in May. The small black cherries, which ripen in late summer, have a rich, wine-like flavor. They can also be used to make a dark, rich jelly which is considered by some to be the finest of jellies. As the fruits are also very attractive to birds, wild black cherry is useful for distracting birds from other crops. Also an important timber tree, wild black cherry is the main species used for cherry furniture and veneer.
Southwest Minnesota Birding Resources 