Looking for plants for a butterfly garden. Suggestions?

MASTER GARDENER TO THE RESCUE

There are two parts to a butterfly garden. Plants for butterfly larvae and plants for adult butterflys....

here are a few examples...

annuals and perennials for butterfly larvae...

common yarrow

veronica

penstemon

mallow

lupinus

broccoli, cabbage and mustard

wild buckwheat

for adult butterflys..............

yarrow

dianthus

aster

lobelia

sweet pea

phlox

verbena

candy tuft

cosmos

shrubs for larvae......

cape plumbago

hibiscus

ceanothus

rose

cassia

for adult butterflys............

honeysuckle

lavender

syringa

rosemary

rhus

lantana

scotch heather

manzanita

trees for adult butterflys.........

acer

willow

citrus

apple

horsechestnut

These are just a few examples. plants vary with area so i suggest you contact your local univ extension and speak with a local master gardener for the best plants for your own neighborhood.

Lantana is excellent, plus the fact they can grow rather large, have thousands of blooms, and are easy on the eye. Butterfly bush, Hummingbird vine, sunflower plants, Brugmansia, Datura Angel Trumpet, Peony or anything with bright red and yellow blooms. All of these plants would be lovely for a butterfly garden.

Annuals: Alyssum, Cleome, Cosmos, Fuschia, Geranium, Impatiens, Morning Glory, Nasturtiums, Nicotiana, Petunia, Salvia, Snapdragons.

Zone 4 hardy Perennials: Alcea, Aquilegia, Asclepius, Campanulas, Delphinium, Digitalis, Heuchera, Lilium, Lobelia, Monarda, Penstemon, Salvia.

Also: fennel, milkweed.

One good way to determine this for your area is to look at what attracts butterflies naturally in your area and work from there. You have lots of good suggestions here already, although I do disagree with the one fellow that says butterfly bush (Buddleia) isn't that great at attracting butterflies. I've got a dozen Buddleia right now and the perennial bed is alive with butterflies. Lantana (which is a tender perennial. It won't winter much north of zone 6), Salvias (sage and perennial blooming salvias), verbenas of perennial and annual varieties, and lots of prairie wildflowers (Gaillardia, daisies, Coreopsis, Liatris spicata, Achillea {yarrow} for example) all work beautifully here in zone 5. Milkweed, fennel, dill and parsley are all attractive to reproducing butterflies, so I let the milkweed grow where it show up and cultivate the herbs for caterpillars.

Actually, butterfly bush is not that good at attracting butterflies.

It depends on where you live. But generally, native sages and honeysuckles are great at attracting butterflies. Some more specific choices include butterfly weed, milkweed and flame acanthus (for the southern climate). Butterflies are attracted to the nectar of those plants. Some trees are good host plants for butterfly larvae, such as hackberry, wafer ash, and mexican plum (also for southern climates)

Butterfly bush, Bee Balm

Get a butterfly bush

Butterflies like bright colors like red and orange. They also like a tubular shaped flower.

Yarrow, butterfly bush almost ant flower that has multiple flowers that form a big flower. Try this site.

www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/attractbutterflies.cfm .

Butterfly bush and duranta repens.