Butterflies add an extra touch to the flower garden. They arrive in waves from spring to fall. Not only beautiful, but also a symbol of success for the environmentally conscious gardener.
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Bloom time butterfly
So many butterflies, so little time.
For those of us who are often obsessed with growing spectacular, unique or rare plants, falling into an obsession with butterflies is an easy trap. With over 18,000 known species in the world, it’s no wonder!
From tiny blue butterflies to gigantic swallowtails, each with its own season. Yes, some are known for their epic multigenerational migrations, like the spectacular monarch. Others spend their entire life in their garden, flying for only a week.
Hearty Butterflies Butter
There are many flowers that we can grow and create beautiful garden spaces that nurture and encourage many species of butterflies. The incredible flowering periods from early spring to fall can provide food for different species.
Beyond pretty flowers, grow not-so-pretty host plants, provide shallow standing water and mud. Learn more about the butterflies that come to you and what they like.
Mix host plants, native plants, nectar plants and food plants with herbs for success. Providing sheltered areas for all stages of the butterfly life cycle is one of the best practices for encouraging butterflies to visit the garden.
It also helps to avoid herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides, as these can affect butterfly populations throughout their life cycle.
Dealing with caterpillars and their chewing mouth
Yes, caterpillars are necessary for a successful butterfly garden. A great way to succeed in butterfly gardening is to maintain sheltered areas that contain host plants for butterflies to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into caterpillars and eat whatever they can until they reach their cocoon stage. Finally, they emerge as beautiful butterflies.
Plant host plants at the back of the border or on the less visible side of the gazebo. An area that may be less tidy with fallen leaves and debris can be an oasis for emerging butterflies.
16 perennials, herbs, shrubs and trees for butterflies
Here we have a list of plants that serve as host plants and/or nectar plants to begin your journey of inviting these beautiful creatures into your garden.
perennials
The list of perennials below includes plants to create a natural habitat and great living conditions so your butterfly visitors can decide to visit more often or even stay longer.
1. milkweed (Milkweed)
Milkweed is a genus of herbaceous perennials that is the primary food source for migrating monarchs.
Depending on the species, it grows 2 to 4 feet tall. Serving as a host plant and nectar, it flowers in large, terminal clusters from June through August, thriving in zones 4 and above.
Find out why milkweed is essential for attracting monarch butterflies in our article here.
2. yarrow (Yarrow)
Yarrow is a hardy plant native to North America that grows 2 to 3 feet tall. It has a long flowering period from June to September.
The flowers range from white, yellow, pink and hot pink. They are visited by butterflies and beneficial insects. A hardy plant that can even tolerate cutting, it is hardy in zones 3 through 9.
3. star (Asteraceae)
Asters are often the answer when looking for late season color in the perennial border.
A large plant family, they grow 1 to 6 feet tall in zones 3 to 8. They are prolific, star-shaped bloomers in shades of white, blue, and purple with large, daisy-like blooms.
4. Eternal mother-of-pearl (Anaphalis margaritaceae)
Another butterfly-loved North American native, it grows up to 3 feet tall in zones 2 to 7. It is known for its long blooming season from summer through fall.
5. Harvest Stones (sedum)
A low maintenance, drought tolerant succulent perennial with surprisingly pretty flowers. Excellent in a naturalized rocky environment, it grows 6 to 24 inches tall in zones 3 to 9.
Flowering continues throughout the summer months.
spices
6. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fennel is a wonderful herb to grow that thrives in zones 4 through 9. The fragrant blooms can reach 3 to 5 feet tall and arrive in mid-summer and avoid freezing.
7. oregano (common oregano)
The usefulness of this plant cannot be underestimated. Best of all, you can almost leave it alone and it will grow 18 to 24 inches with prolific terminal clusters of flowers that last from summer until frost. Thrives in slightly dry conditions in zones 3 to 12.
8. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Beautiful spherical blooms on 18 inch flower stems on this 12 inch, bright green, herbaceous, clump forming herb. Flowers arrive in late spring and the plant does well in zones 3 to 9.
shrubs
9. Butterfly Tree (Buddleia davidii)
Needless to say, this shrub has quite the reputation of its large flowers which arrive in the spring and last all summer. Butterfly shrub prefers zones 5 to 9 and grows to a height of 5 to 8 feet. In warmer states, some butterfly bushes can reach heights of 10 to 12 feet.
10. Rose of Sharon (Syriac Hibiscus)
This hardy hibiscus thrives in humid climates in zones 5 through 9 and blooms in July and August with large, single blooms. This shrub benefits from the pruning of bushier plants and can reach a height of 8 to 12 feet.
11. Sweet Summer (Clethra alnifolia)
This prolific bloomer of tall flower stalks reaches heights of 3 to 6 feet in zones 4 to 9. It blooms in mid to late summer for 4 to 6 weeks.
12. Elderberry (Black Sambucus)
Famous for its unique, fragrant flowers and vigorous fruit, elderberry can reach 20 feet tall in zones 4 through 7. It blooms from late spring to early summer, depending on climate.
13. Lilac (syringe)
A classic tall perennial shrub that blooms in April and some varieties still bloom in June. There are dwarf lilacs, lilacs that grow suckers, and others that do not.
Many will reach 12 to 15 feet in height. They thrive in zones 3 to 7 and prefer alkaline soils.
Trees
14. Necklaces (Prunus virginiana)
A small tree or tall shrub reaching 20 to 30 feet. Choke cherry blossoms are large, long clusters 3 to 6 inches long. It is a hardy native plant that blooms from May to June. It is found in zones 2 to 6.
15. Willow (Salix sp.)
Willow is a large genus of woody plants that can be small shrubs, with some species reaching a massive 70-foot tree. They bloom in early spring, and willow species grow in zones 2 through 9.
16. Wild Apple (Sylvester malus)
Butterfly friends, crabapple trees provide interest, shelter and food for butterflies all season long. Many varieties grow 15 to 40 feet tall and thrive in zones 0 to 9. They bloom in early spring on last year’s wood.
The variety and options available when choosing one or two cheekbones are vast. Keep butterflies in mind so that the flowering time matches your choice of butterfly species you want to encourage in your garden.
final thoughts
Attracting butterflies to the garden is a pleasant task. A balanced approach may be the secret to your success.
- These include the use of host plants to host and shelter crawlers.
- Leave cluttered areas to protect butterflies at each stage of their life cycle.
- Aim for a progression of bloom times to provide nectar and food for a wide variety of emerging butterflies.
- Avoid herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
