Create a thriving butterfly habitat with these essential plants for attracting and nourishing these beautiful creatures.
Include butterfly-friendly plants like Butterfly Bush, Phlox, Anise Hyssop, Butterfly Weed, Aster, Purple Coneflower, Salvia, and Lantana. These plants provide food and shelter for butterflies throughout the summer, making your garden a colorful and vibrant sanctuary for these delicate insects. Plant a variety of nectar-rich flowers to attract different butterfly species and create a sustainable ecosystem in your garden.
Create a Beautiful Butterfly Garden with These Plants
- 01 of 24. Butterfly Bush. Butterfly bush is a shrub that’s typically covered in butterflies all summer long. …
- 02 of 24. Phlox. …
- 03 of 24. Anise Hyssop. …
- 04 of 24. Butterfly Weed. …
- 05 of 24. Aster. …
- 07 of 24. Purple Coneflower. …
- 08 of 24. Salvia. …
- 09 of 24. Lantana.
Does the blue butterfly bush attract butterflies?
Butterfly Bush benefits pollinators but only at one stage of their life cycle. It attracts butterflies because it provides copious nectar. However, butterflies need host plants on which to lay eggs and on which their caterpillars feed.
What is the blue butterfly bush called?
Rotheca myricoides ‘Ugandense’, or Blue butterfly bush, is a low maintenance, suckering, evergreen shrub in the Lamiaceae family that is native to tropical eastern Africa (Kenya and Uganda). As its common name implies, the plant displays violet-blue flowers that resemble a butterfly in flight.
What is a companion plant for butterfly bush?
You can also plant butterfly bushes in a mixed-shrub border with other shrubs, such as native Elderberry, colorful Hydrangeas, or other unique shrubs to add color and interest in summer and fall. Since butterfly bushes are deer resistant, planting them along the forest edge or in a shrub border shouldn’t be a problem.
What is the name of the bush that attracts butterflies?
Many gardeners are attracted to the butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) because of its name and signature flowers. These deciduous shrubs, known to some as summer lilacs, can grow up to 10 feet tall, making them appear quite grand in a garden.
Does Lantana attract butterflies?
The lantana plant is not only a nectar source for adult butterflies, but it’s also the host plant for the painted lady butterfly caterpillar. Lantana bushes attract many butterflies, such as monarchs, to butterfly gardens with their colorful flowers.
Are butterfly plants safe for dogs?
Although butterfly bushes (Buddleja davidii) are not edible, they are no more toxic than any garden plant. They should be safe to plant where children, dogs, cats, and other animals live. In fact, butterfly bushes are deer resistant. They attract and feed nectar to hummingbirds and butterflies.
How can I attract butterflies to my butterfly house?
Tip: Butterflies are attracted to bright colors: pink, purple, red, and yellow. Try painting your house in a Caribbean color scheme, or cover it with big bright flowers. Seal your paint job with a clear coat to make it last longer.
Is lavender a butterfly host plant?
The best way to bring butterflies to your yard is to have plants that have nectar the butterflies need for nutrients. Lavender produces sweet nectar butterflies love to consume, meaning that by growing lavender in your yard, you’ll soon start to see butterflies.
What do you put in a butterfly garden?
Good annual candidates for a butterfly garden include creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens), marigold (Tagetes spp.), mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea), Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) and pentas (Pentas lanceolata).
Do butterflies like lavender bushes?
Lavender produces sweet nectar butterflies love to consume, meaning that by growing lavender in your yard, you’ll soon start to see butterflies. The butterflies primarily attracted to lavender are the Horace’s Duskywing and Western Tiger Swallowtail.
Do monarch butterflies like sedum?
Native sedums and salvias are also excellent choices for monarch butterfly flowers.
Should I put a plant in my butterfly habitat?
Caterpillars need specific host plants to feed off of–and then once they mature into a butterfly, they need nectar plants to feed off of. So in your gardens you need to have both host plants for the caterpillars; and feeding plants for the mature butterflies.
Do monarch butterflies like mint?
Several common culinary herbs work well in a butterfly garden by providing both color and nectar. Butterflies love everything from dill and parsley to mint and lavender.
Is mint good for butterflies?
Focus on growing herbs for your butterfly garden with brightly-colored blooms. Several common culinary herbs work well in a butterfly garden by providing both color and nectar. Butterflies love everything from dill and parsley to mint and lavender.
Which plant is vital to the survival of monarch butterflies?
Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Without milkweed, the larva would not be able to develop into a butterfly. Monarchs use a variety of milkweeds. Monarch larvae ,or caterpillars, feed exclusively on milkweed leaves.
What plants are good for butterfly larvae?
Larval Host Plants for Butterflies
- California Pipeline. Aristolochia californica. The larval food for the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail, this vine can grow on a trellis or twine up the stems of large shrubs. …
- Valley Oak. Quercus lobata. …
- Narrowleaf Milkweed. Asclepias fascicularis. …
- Passion Vine. Passiflora incarnata.
What should I put in my butterfly habitat?
Long strips of bark are placed inside the box. Supposedly the rough interior walls and bark provide perches for hibernating butterflies. Sometimes rotten bananas and other fruits are placed inside the box to lure butterflies inside. The boxes are normally erected in or near flower gardens a few feet above the ground.
In conclusion, selecting a variety of nectar-rich plants like milkweed, coneflowers, and butterfly bush is essential for creating a thriving butterfly habitat. By choosing a diverse range of plants that bloom at different times of the year, you can attract a wide array of butterfly species and provide them with essential food sources. Additionally, incorporating host plants for caterpillars, such as milkweed for monarchs, will support the complete life cycle of butterflies in your habitat. Remember to also provide shelter, water sources, and avoid pesticide use to create a welcoming environment for these beautiful insects to thrive and flourish in your garden.