11 Plants To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

Plants To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

You may have heard that butterflies are the perfect choice for gardening. They’re beautiful, colorful, and extremely beneficial to the environment. If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, you need to know what type of plants will work best.

There are many types of plants that will attract butterflies. You can plant them in your backyard, or you can put them in an outdoor butterfly habitat. 

You can even buy a butterfly garden kit to get started. The key to having a successful butterfly garden is to make sure that it has a variety of plants. If you only have one type of plant, you won’t be able to attract all the different butterflies.

11 Plants To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

Plants To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

Here we are going to discuss 11 plants that you can use to attract butterflies to your garden. The list is not all-inclusive. You can add more plants to your garden if you want to attract more butterflies. 

Some of these plants are easy to grow, while others are more difficult. If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, it’s important that you plant the right type of plants.

Let’s get started:

1. Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush Butterfly

This is one of the best-known plants that attract butterflies. The Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) resembles a shrub in the shape of a bush with large, spiky flowers. The flowers are either pink or white, depending on the type of butterfly bush. This shrub provides nectar for many butterfly species, including monarchs and swallowtails.

The butterfly bush is a type of shrub that’s easy to grow and can grow to about 10 feet tall. And it’s important to remember that butterflies like sunny areas. So if you put the butterfly bush in sunny areas, you have a better chance to attract butterflies to your garden. It’s a spreading shrub, so it can become invasive if you’re not careful.

2. Blazing Star Flowers (Liatris Spicata)

Blazing Star Flowers Butterfly

Blazing starflowers (Liatris spicata) is a flower that’s commonly found in eastern Canada, the northeastern United States, the Midwest, the South, and the Great Plains. Blazing stars are considered butterfly weeds because they attract so many butterflies and moths.

It is a perennial flowering plant. You can use it as a border for your garden. The flowers are pink and purple. The stems are tall and range between 16 to 20 inches. It grows well in USDA zones 3 to 9. The flowers attract butterflies like a monarch, painted lady, and gulf fritillary.

3. Coneflower (Echinacea)

Coneflower Butterfly

The coneflower is a popular purple and yellow flowering plant. It is easy to grow and very attractive. It’s a perennial and comes in a variety of colors. You can plant this plant in sunny or partially shaded areas. It attracts Monarch and swallowtail butterflies.

Some of the most common species of Echinacea plants are purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), purple prairie coneflower (Echinacea pallida), and black-eyed Susan (Echinacea tennesseensis).

You can plant these flowers in the spring and enjoy the colorful butterflies in your garden for weeks. The flowers attract butterflies and pollinators. It grows well in USDA zones 3 to 11. 

4. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Black-Eyed Susan Butterfly

Black-eyed Susan is also known as “rudbeckia hirta”. They are annual flowering plants that are native to eastern and central North America. They were named to honor a Swedish botanist named Peter Rudbeck. These plants are mostly found in dry areas.

They are drought tolerant and because of the presence of the black-eyed Susan flowers, they became a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies.

5. Lavender

Lavender Butterfly

Lavender is a nice addition to your garden, especially if you are looking to attract butterflies. It is a type of flowering plant that belongs to the mint family. There are many varieties of lavender. The most common ones are French, Spanish, and English.

Lavender grows as a low bush or as a climbing plant. The flowers of the lavender plant come in many colors such as purple, blue, pink, and white.

6. Lantana

Lantana Butterfly

Lantana is a fast-growing plant. Once established, it can easily grow from three to six feet tall. It is also a butterfly magnet. Butterflies love nectar from the flowers of this plant.

They are available in many colors. These colors include pink, yellow, purple, red, white, orange, and many more.

They offer a spectacular display of colorful flowers. The flowers come in clusters and they have a long blooming period.

It’s a plant that is indigenous to the Mediterranean region. You can plant it in the sun or partial shade. It’s a plant that is great for all regions.

7. Phlox

Phlox Butterfly

Phlox is a herbaceous perennial plant that is grown for the beautiful flowers that it produces. The flowers are usually pink, red, or purple. The flowers are tubular shaped and can be in clusters. Most of the phlox varieties have a delightful fragrance.

Most varieties are fragrant and attract butterflies. You can grow Phlox in the garden or in a container. These plants are hardy in zones 3-8.

Phlox is a very easy plant to grow. It can tolerate different soil conditions and will do well in partial shade to full sun. It’s quite an attractive plant to grow in your garden.

8. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias Incarnata)

Swamp Milkweed Butterfly

Swamp Milkweed is one of the most popular plants for attracting butterflies, especially Monarchs. It grows in clumps and is a perennial that likes to stay in moist areas. The plant grows in partial shade and can grow to be 1′ tall. The flowers of the plant are pinkish, hollow, and flat-topped. The plant is good for butterfly gardens, wetland restoration, and riverbank restoration.

Plant swamp milkweed in full sun. It prefers moist, drained soil. It is also drought resistant. It can be propagated by sowing the seeds in the spring.

9. Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile)

Agapanthus Butterfly

Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) is an ornamental plant that blooms flowers in the months of June and July. You should plant these flowers in your garden, as they will attract butterflies.

In addition to this, Agapanthus is an evergreen plant, with leaves that tend to stay fresh for about two to three years. This plant doesn’t need a lot of sunlight, so you can plant it in shady areas of your garden.

It is a very hardy plant. It can grow in almost all types of soil – rocky, clay, sandy, and acidic. Since this is a tropical plant, you will have to grow it indoors during winter. Apart from being a favorite among butterflies, it is also a favorite of bees, hummingbirds, and even humans.

10. Aster (Aceae or Aster Flower)

Aster Butterfly

The aster flower or asteraceae is the most common type of butterfly flower. If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, then you want to grow this type of flower. The most common type of aster flower is the Aster tradescantii.

This type of flower comes in a variety of colors, including purple and white. The flowers attract butterflies because of their color as well as their aromatic smell.

11. Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks Butterfly

Hollyhock is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is easily recognized by its rich and cheerful colors. The flower’s color varies from white, pink, red, and orange. It has a pleasant sweet aroma that attracts plenty of butterflies.

They can attract a wide variety of butterflies like Monarchs, Queen, Gulf Fritillary, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, American Painted Lady, and Pipevine Swallowtail.

The plant grows well in full sun. It can reach a height of 4 to 5 feet. Some of its common pests include aphids and mites.

Final Thoughts!

In conclusion, the best way to attract butterflies to your garden is by creating a diverse environment. It is important to have a variety of plants in your garden. Butterflies are attracted to different colors, sizes, and shapes of flowers.

The above-provided list of plants is for the sole purpose of providing you with some ideas on how you can attract butterflies to your garden. It is by no means a definitive list of all the plants that will attract butterflies to your garden. It is simply a guide to get you started. 

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and we hope you are inspired to add some of these plants to your garden.

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11 Plants To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden
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