If you’re looking for the best plants for butterflies, read this article! This article covers such butterflies’ favorites as Centaurea, Joe Pye Weed, Queen Anne’s lace, and Coreopsis. You’ll be amazed at how much these plants attract! And they’re easy to grow! Just make sure to plant them in full or partial sun and in well-drained soil. If you live in the desert Southwest, though, you’ll want to avoid growing them in this region.
Centaurea
There are many species of centaurea. Some of them are perennial, and many of them are annual. The group of plants includes daylily, dahlia, and mountain bluet. Centaurea montana, for example, is invasive in British Columbia, so make sure to plant it in a moist spot. However, if you have a sunny border, Centaurea montana is an excellent choice.
Despite the name, this species is easy to grow. You can start seeds for centaurea indoors or outdoors. When starting the seeds outdoors, choose a sunny location with adequate light. Seedlings should be sown about 1/2 inch deep in moist soil, and kept moist until they emerge. Once they have sprouted, thin them and place them six to 12 inches apart. The best time to plant perennial centaurea is between September and February.
Another good choice for attracting butterflies is the cuckoo flower. Also known as lady’s smock, this plant has tiny pale lilac flowers that are both a nectar and foodplant for butterflies. It blooms early in the spring, and is a deer-resistant perennial. Its orange-tip butterflies are a particularly colorful variety. Its double-flowered counterpart, however, has fewer benefits for pollinating insects. Its flowers attract orange-tip and green-veined butterflies.
Joe Pye Weed
If you want to attract butterflies, you can try growing Joe Pye Weed. This native plant thrives in low spots and can be planted in pots or directly in the ground. Joe Pye Weed prefers average soil with a consistently moist environment and full to partial sun. During the winter months, plant it in the shade and keep it in the refrigerator to ensure good germination. In addition, Joe Pye Weed is relatively easy to grow. Once established, it requires little maintenance and can handle drought and heat.
The flowering time of Joe Pye Weed varies each year. The plant produces clusters of pollen and nectar in fall. The plant grows about 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide and requires sufficient space. In areas with higher humidity, it thrives more than in dry conditions, but it also suffers from drought. During drought, Joe Pye Weed may experience leaf scorching and lower blooming. Once established, it can be divided in spring or fall.
Queen Anne’s lace
A native of Europe, Queen Anne’s lace grows well in areas with moderate to full sun, low humidity, and temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It blooms mid-spring through early fall and is most suitable for planting in zones three to nine. This plant prefers moist, loamy soil, but can tolerate sandy and clay soil. Despite its name, it is an invasive plant in some regions.
This plant produces tiny clusters of flowers that look like snow. The flowers are arranged in umbels with between 20 and ninety flowers, each with a white style. Some of the edge flowers are enlarged. The flower cluster is covered in tiny white hairs. In addition, the flower cluster looks like a nest, which is why it’s often called a bird’s nest.
While Queen Anne’s lace is best known for its sweet, juicy flowers, it is also used as a food source. Its leaves can be eaten and steeped for tea. Moreover, Queen Anne’s lace leaves are delicious and can be added to soups or stews. Its seed-like fruit is edible when young, but it is toxic to butterflies and humans.
Coreopsis
A popular butterfly plant, Coreopsis is a perennial that grows well in full sun and well-drained soil. It thrives in warm summers and tolerates drought and heat. Butterfly gardeners can choose from several cultivars and cultivar names. Viette’s Little Suzy is an excellent choice with a short, stout stem. The most popular cultivar is the ‘Goldsturm,’ but you can also find varieties with shorter blooming periods or improved leaves and stems.
A new variety of Coreopsis, ‘Route 66’, has blooms that bleed red in the middle. The seedling is named after the road that the plant follows and is hardy to zone 5. It has a fragrant scent that attracts butterflies and is deer-resistant. The plants bloom from spring through summer and are deer-resistant. They’re also deer-resistant and drought-tolerant.
Lance Leaf Coreopsis is another favorite. Its daisy-like blooms attract butterflies. Planting Lance Leaf Coreopsis early in the summer will prolong the blooming season and attract a wide range of pollinators. It may also serve as a larval host for Silvery Checkerspot Butterflies. If you want a butterfly garden that focuses on butterfly nectar, consider planting several species of Coreopsis.
Evening primrose
Despite the name, evening primroses do not necessarily attract butterflies. Rather, they attract other pollinators. Hawkmoths and bees, which also eat the plant’s flowers, are responsible for pollination. Scientists are using the data to determine the role of these insects in pollination. Evening primroses are native to western North America. These flowers are suitable for butterflies, but they do require dry conditions to grow well.
The evening primrose has a distinctive citrus scent. It grows to seven feet tall and produces abundant yellow flowers. It is a fast-growing plant that blooms in late summer and early fall. Butterflies and other pollinators will flock to your garden when it is dark. Evening primrose is easy to grow and can be a great plant for butterfly gardens. It is one of the best plants for butterflies.
Although common evening primroses are attractive, they are not the best plants for butterflies. This perennial weed is invasive and temperamental. The best time to plant it is late fall. Once planted, the evening primrose will grow quickly and bloom each summer. The four-petaled flowers are yellow or pink and bloom above a basal rosette of leafy stems. The flowers are pollinated by bees, which make them a good choice for butterfly gardens.
Scabiosa
You can choose from a wide variety of varieties of Scabiosa plants for your garden. They’re both beautiful and useful, and their flowers are sweet-scented and nectar-rich. The plant’s rounded head is topped with long, needle-like stamens that look like pins on a pincushion. The flowers are attractive in their own right, and they make excellent containers.
The scabious plant is a cottage garden classic with a wacky name. But despite its unfortunate origins, this plant is an important food source for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, one of the most endangered butterflies in the world. It’s also a favorite among home gardeners. And the blooms are so pretty, you’ll want to plant as many as possible! The flowers will scream “hello” to butterflies.
Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’ produces large quantities of pincushion-like flowers on tall stems. Its flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators, and the plant’s foliage is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant once established. It’s a perennial that blooms from late spring until frost. You can prolong the bloom period by cutting off old flowers. During the summer, mulch lightly to keep the soil cool and conserve moisture.
Swamp Verbena
The purplish-blue flowers of Swamp Verbena are attractive to butterflies and bees. The plant’s elongated spikes also provide host plants for butterfly larvae. The plant prefers moist soil and thrives in borders and meadows. It can grow as tall as 6 feet and can grow to 4 feet wide. The plant requires eight to ten hours of sunlight a day.
The plant also attracts several species of native insects and birds. Birds and insects like the blue vervain’s seeds, and short-tongued and long-tongued bees feed on its pollen. In addition, the plants are also visited by many bee flies, including eucerine miner and verbena bee. Yarrow caterpillars also consume the plant’s leaves, making it an important food source for butterflies.
The blue vervain plant grows in moist, full-sun sites. The plant has a fragrant fragrance, and blooms in late summer and into autumn. It has been used medicinally for many years. Although it is toxic to humans, it has been used for centuries to heal wounds. A common occurrence is that it interferes with blood pressure medications or hormone therapy. Large doses may cause vomiting.
Milkweed
If you want to attract more butterflies to your garden, you should grow milkweed. This plant is a great choice because it can tolerate poor soil. It is best to take a cutting in early summer when the stems are green and have three to five leaf nodes. Remove the lower leaves and leave the top two pairs intact. Place the milkweed cutting in an 80/20 mixture of peat moss and perlite. Keep the soil evenly moist to keep it healthy and grow.
Plant the seeds in the fall or winter. The seeds will naturally be exposed to eight to ten weeks of cold temperatures before they germinate. In late fall, plant the seeds in an area of your garden protected from the wind. This will create a more hospitable environment for butterflies. You can also stratify the seeds to increase their germination rate. This is easiest to do by wrapping the seeds in damp paper towels and placing them in a plastic bag. Place the baggie in the refrigerator for at least 30 days to boost the germination rate.