Butterflies are always looking for nectar, so if you can provide the tastiest meal, you can keep them around!
Grow Your Own Butterfly Garden
Butterflies and flowers were made for each other. As a French poet once pointed out, 鈥淏utterflies are flying flowers, and flowers are tethered butterflies.鈥 Here is our list of the best plants that attract butterflies to the garden, with their respective common and Latin names, along with some advice on how to grow them.
In attracting butterflies, it鈥檚 important to understand what they want most out of life: nectar. The ancients, who believed that nectar fell directly from heaven, named it after the wines of the gods.
Keeping Your Garden Butterfly-Friendly
To attract butterflies to your garden, it鈥檚 best to include a range of food sources. You鈥檒l need flowers with 1) nectar (for adults) as well as 2) 鈥渉ost鈥 plants for caterpillars.
Now if you want to keep butterflies in your yard (and support these declining pollinators), you must have those host plants where they can lay their eggs (some butterfly species are fussier than others as to what plants are best); once the larvae hatch, the host plants will serve as food for the developing caterpillars.
A butterfly鈥檚 wish list also includes sunny, open spaces, shelter from the wind, and fresh water.
- Just placing some flat stones around your yard and garden gives a place for butterflies to 鈥渟unbathe鈥 so that they can rest and warm their wings for flying.
- A bird bath or even a shallow basin can provide water. In nature, butterflies often gather around mud puddles to get the minerals they need. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind valuable salts and minerals that butterflies need. Some garden stores even sell pudding stones.
Plants That Attract Butterflies
Native plant varieties are best; some butterflies can only eat from native flowers. When building a butterfly garden, or really any pollinator garden, native varieties are far more effective.
For caterpillars, consider plants like milkweed, dill, and asters. Monarch caterpillars ONLY eat milkweed. In fact, the monarch butterfly is also known as the 鈥渕ilkweed butterfly.鈥
For butterflies, Joe-Pye weed, ironweed, coneflowers, goldenrod, and brightly-hued asters are nectar-filled favorites.
Plants to Attract Butterflies
Different plants can attract different species of butterflies! See our full list of flower and fruit varieties to consider adding to your garden. You may consider some of these plants 鈥渨eeds,鈥 but the butterflies love them.
| Common Name | Latin Name |
|---|---|
| Allium | Allium |
| Aromatic Aster | Symphyotrichum oblongifolium |
| Bee balm | Monarda |
| Black Cherry | Prunus serotina |
| Blue Wild Indigo | Baptisia australis |
| Blueberry bushes | Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccomoium angustifolium |
| Buttonbush | Cephalanthus occidentalis |
| Butterfly bush* | Buddleia |
| Catmint | Nepeta |
| Clove Pink | Dianthus |
| Cornflower | Centaurea |
| Daylily | Hemerocallis |
| Dill | Anethum |
| False indigo | Baptisia |
| Fleabane | Erigeron |
| Floss flower | Ageratum |
| Globe thistle | Echinops |
| Goldenrod | Solidago |
| Grey Dogwood | Cornus racemosa |
| Helen鈥檚 flower | Helenium |
| Hollyhock | Alcea |
| Hoptree | Ptelea trifoliata |
| Joe-Pye weeds | Eupatoriadelphus fistulosus, Eupatoriadelphus maculates, Eupatorium purpureum |
| Lavender | Lavendula |
| Lilac | Syringa |
| Lupine | Lupinus |
| Lychnis | Lychnis |
| Mallow | Malva |
| Milkweed | Asclepias tuberosa |
| Mint | Mentha |
| New York Ironweed | Vernonia noveboracensis |
| Ninebark | Physocarpus opulifolius |
| Northern Spicebush | Lindera benzoin |
| Pansy | Viola |
| Phlox | Phlox |
| Pipevine | Aristolochia macrophylla |
| Privet | Ligustrum |
| Purple coneflower | Echinacea |
| Rock cress | Arabis |
| Sage | Salvia |
| Sea holly | Eryngium |
| Senna, American | Senna hebacarpa |
| Senna, Maryland | Senna marilandica |
| Shasta daisy | Chrysanthemum sp. |
| Snapdragon | Antirrhinum |
| Stonecrop | Sedum |
| Sweet alyssum | Lobularia |
| Sweet rocket | Hesperis |
| Tickseed | Coreopsis |
| Tuliptree | Liriodendron tulipifera |
| Trumpet Vine | Campsis radicans |
| Zinnia | Zinnia |
*Butterfly bush is categorized as an invasive plant in many states and is not used as a host plant for caterpillars.
Please let us know if we鈥檙e missing any of your favorite butterfly plants! Just comment below.
Related Pollinator Articles
- Learn more about Butterfly Gardening from our 蜜桃恋人 organic gardener.
- For more plant recommendations, see Plants that Attract Hummingbirds and Easy Ways to Attract Bees to Your Garden.
- Plus, check out Native Bees: The Best Pollinators for Your Garden!
Catherine Boeckmann
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Each year, I plant Red Penta in my garden and it attracts both Butterflies and Hummingbirds. I also plant Parsley in several places in my gardens as the Butterlies like to lay their eggs there. The larvae eats the Parsley.
Hi a really wonderful plant that isn't on either list is Jewelweed. I absolutely love it and have let it pretty much take over my property which is 4.5 acres, mostly wooded. I see so many butterflies and humming birds all summer! It also attracts tons of bees and other insects. It's a very beautiful plant!
Tithonia is a great plant for attracting bees and butterflies.
I live in jesup GA. I have literally three green thumbs. Is there any plants I should avoid as I am trying to attract pollinators to my veggies.
Generally, pollinators aren’t very picky, so there’s not much you can do to accidentally deter them. However, some say that strongly-scented plants, such as citronella, eucalyptus, or mint, can discourage bees. Avoid planting these and other smelly herbs (basil is fine) near your veggies and the pollinators will be happiest.
I have read numerous articles encouraging San Francisco Bay-Area gardeners to NOT plant milkweed. Milkweed isn鈥檛 native to our area, and monarchs typically go elsewhere to breed. It could actually hurt the butterflies if they lay eggs out of their normal range.
Are there links to regional recommendations for planting for butterflies? There are probably issues like this throughout the country.
Donna, are you sure they're talking about ALL milkweed? There is a variety-- Tropical Milkweed, also known as Mexican Milkweed ( Asclepias Curassavica) --that is not native to the U.S. at all but has been introduced to the warmer areas. Here's a link to milkweed species by area --scroll down because CA is at the bottom of the page.
https: //monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/MilkweedFactSheetFINAL.pdf
hi. i absolutely love butterflies was just wondering can I plant them in a pot on my deck
Hi Donna,
I believe the Coneflower plants can be kept in pots. If you want to attract the Monarch butterfly caterpillar, (by having butterflies lay eggs on the plant) SWAMP Milkweed (Asclepias Incarnata) is one of the better varieties for pots. Internet may be best place to look because not too many local nurseries carry it--at least in my area. Just make sure the plant hasn't been sprayed with anything otherwise the chemicals will kill the caterpillars.
Last year, I had Vanilla scented Heliotrope in my garden,
I never had so many Butterflies, I don't know if it was just a
coincidence but those plants were attracting more butterflies than all the other flowers
