There are two types of butterfly attracting plants. The first type have flowers that provide nectar or fruit for adult butterflies, and the second type are host plants for butterflies that provide food for butterfly larvae (caterpillars). See our articles: Top 25 Butterfly Garden Plants and How to Build a Butterfly Garden.
Read More about Butterfly Attracting Plants
Abutilon 'Bartley Schwarz'
Item #: 8007
Zones: 7b to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Abutilon 'Canary Bird'
Item #: 3848
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Abutilon 'Fool's Gold'
Item #: 8001
Zones: 8a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Abutilon megapotamicum
Item #: 4317
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Abutilon 'Orange Hot Lava'
Item #: 7302
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Abutilon 'Voodoo'
Item #: 6951
Zones: 8a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Achillea 'Sassy Summer Lemon' PP 31,693
Item #: 13577
Zones: 5a to 8b, possibly much colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 28" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Achillea 'Sassy Summer Taffy' PP 31,755
Item #: 13575
Zones: 5a to 8b, possibly much colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 32" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Achillea sibirica 'Japanese Lace'
Item #: 11566
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: China, Japan, Korea, Siberia Russia, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Achillea 'Strawberry Seduction' PP 18,401
Item #: 9200
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aconitum carmichaelii 'Autumn Indigo'
Item #: 6999
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Item #: 3209
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Agastache 'Peachie Keen' PP 25,886
Item #: 10635
Zones: 6a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Agastache 'Rosie Posie' PP 25,857
Item #: 10636
Zones: 6a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Agave parrasana 'Globe'
Item #: 10236
Zones: 8a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Alcea rugosa
Item #: 4469
Zones: 3a to 8a
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 72" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Russia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Allium 'Millenium'
Item #: 5466
Zones: 5a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Allium 'Pink Planet'
Item #: 12727
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aloysia virgata
Item #: 7587
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 96" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Amsonia 'Blue Ice'
Item #: 4225
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Amsonia ciliata var. filifolia 'Georgia Pancake'
Next crop available: 10/29/2021
Item #: 5375
Zones: 5a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 5" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Amsonia hubrichtii
Item #: 759
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Andropogon gerardii 'Blackhawks' PP 27,949
Item #: 13009
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Antirrhinum hispanicum
Item #: 8364
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aristolochia fimbriata
Item #: 3031
Zones: 7a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aristolochia watsonii
Item #: 4616
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Artemisia ludoviciana 'Fredericksburg'
Item #: 15923
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aruncus 'Misty Lace' PP 15,798
Item #: 7423
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias angustifolia 'Sonoita'
Item #: 16869
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias asperula
Next crop available: 11/12/2021
Item #: 13329
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella'
Item #: 388
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 50" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias purpurascens
Next crop available: 10/29/2021
Item #: 12659
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias tuberosa
Item #: 335
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow'
Item #: 6700
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Asphodeline lutea 'Italian Gold'
Item #: 10450
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Summer, Fall
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aster carolinianus
Item #: 823
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 120" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aster ericoides 'Pink Star'
Item #: 4216
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'
Item #: 953
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Aster oblongifolius 'Fanny'
Next crop available: 03/11/2022
Item #: 341
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Astilbe chinensis 'Amber Moon' PP 26,028
Item #: 5442
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' PP 26,430
Next crop available: 11/12/2021
Item #: 13514
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Astilbe 'Delft Lace' PP 19,839
Item #: 14594
Zones: 3a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 26" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Aspiring'
Item #: 14277
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia australis
Item #: 1182
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Blue Bunchkin'
Item #: 11848
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 42" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Blue Candelabra'
Item #: 3951
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 56" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Blueberry Sundae' PP 23,891
Item #: 9455
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight'
Item #: 4218
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 53" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Cherries Jubilee' PP 23,907
Item #: 9452
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Cinnamon Candles'
Item #: 3948
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 50" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Cloud 9'
Item #: 14274
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Grape Taffy' PP 26,587
Item #: 11293
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue' PP 24,280
Item #: 9453
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Lightning Rods'
Item #: 14276
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Lunar Eclipse' PP 25,875
Item #: 6077
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Pink Ice'
Item #: 11835
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 42" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
Item #: 2190
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 50" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Royal Candles'
Item #: 3262
Zones: 4a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 46" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia simplicifolia
Item #: 4412
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
Baptisia 'Sparkling Sapphires' PP 27,904
Item #: 11292
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?
More Information About Butterfly Attracting Plants
About butterfly garden plants
Many people love to garden because they enjoy nature and the beauty of plants. In addition, some flowering plants attract brightly colored wildlife to the garden whose kinetic energy and flashing colors greatly add to the visual appeal of the garden. Butterflies are the most prized gardening accessory and we have searched through our enormous database of perennials to create this collection of the best butterfly attracting flowers for gardens.
What flowers attract butterflies? There are two types of butterfly attracting plants. The first type have flowers that provide nectar or fruit for adult butterflies, and the second type are host plants for butterflies that provide food (leaves, pollen, etc.) for butterfly larvae (caterpillars). Each butterfly species has a small set of plants they prefer, so good butterfly gardens will contain a wide variety of butterfly attracting flowers to bring in the most diverse mix of lepidopterons.
As a general rule, the best butterfly attracting flowers produce clusters of colorful, tubular flowers. You should plant butterfly attracting plants together in large groups to provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for butterflies. Mix up the flowering dates so that your butterfly flowers provide food all year long. In addition to plants, a good butterfly garden will provide shallow pools of drinking water, some flat stones for basking, and some shady, protected spots for butterflies to cool-down in and escape high winds. Remember not to spray insecticides on your plants for butterfly garden in order to preserve the adults and caterpillars. In fact, good butterfly gardens should be well-chewed up.
The following is a list of the best flowers that attract butterflies available at Plant Delights Nursery. The list is divided into nectar plants and larval butterfly host plants so when you design your butterfly garden, choose a variety of plants that attract butterflies from the nectar column and from the larvae column. When you are ready to buy butterfly attracting flowers for your butterfly garden, you can use the list below.
What flowers attract butterflies?
List of nectar and fruit plants for adult butterflies
- Achillea (Yarrow)
- Agastache (Hummingbird Mint)
- Ajuga (Bugleweed)
- Allium (Onion)
- Aloysia (Tree Verbena)
- Amorpha (Lead plant)
- Amsonia (Bluestar)
- Anisacanthus
- Aquilegia (Columbine)
- Aralia (Spikenard)
- Aruncus (Goatsbeard)
- Asclepias (Butterfly Flower, Butterfly Weed)
- Aster / Kalimeris
- Astilbe (False Spiraea)
- Begonia
- Belamcanda (Blackberry Lily) / xPardancanda
- Berlandiera (Chocolate flower)
- Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
- Calamintha (Catmint) and Nepeta
- Campanula (Bellflower)
- Cardamine / Dentaria (Toothwort)
- Caryopteris (Blue Mist Shrub)
- Centranthus (Red Valerian)
- Ceratostigma (Leadwort)
- Chelone (Turtlehead)
- Chrysanthemum (Mum)
- Clematis
- Coreopsis (Tickseed)
- Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
- Cynara (Artichoke)
- Dahlia
- Delosperma (Ice Plant)
- Dianthus (Sweet William)
- Digitalis (Foxglove)
- Echinacea (Purple Coneflower)
- Erigeron (Fleabane)
- Eupatorium (Joe-Pye Weed)
- Farfugium (Leopard Plant) / Ligularia
- Gaillardia (Blanketflower)
- Gaura
- Geranium
- Gladiolus (Gladiola)
- Hemerocallis (Daylily)
- Heuchera (Coral Bells) / xHeucherella (Foamy Bells) / Tiarella (Foam flower) / Mitella
- Houstonia
- Hydrangea
- Iberis (Candytuft)
- Illicium (Anise Shrub)
- Iris
- Itea (Sweetspire)
- Kniphofia (Torch Lily)
- Lantana
- Lavandula (Lavender)
- Lespedeza (Bush Clover)
- Liatris (Wandflower)
- Lilium (Lily)
- Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)
- Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
- Lychnis (Catchfly)
- Monarda (Bee Balm)
- Myosotis (Forget-me-not)
- Narcissus (Daffodil)
- Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco)
- Oenothera (Sundrops) / Calylophus
- Origanum (Oregano)
- Oxalis (Woodsorrel)
- Paeonia (Peony)
- Penstemon (Beardtongue)
- Perovskia (Russian Sage)
- Persicaria (Fleece Flower)
- Phlomis (Jerusalem Sage)
- Phlox
- Physostegia (Obedient Plant)
- Polygonatum (Solomon's seal)
- Polemonium (Jason's Ladder)
- Primula (Primrose)
- Pycnothymus (False Rosemary)
- Rosmarinus (Rosemary)
- Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
- Salvia (Sage)
- Saponaria (Soap wort)
- Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower)
- Sedum (Stonecrop)
- Silene (Catchfly)
- Silphium (Compass Plant)
- Solidago (Goldenrod)
- Stokesia (Stoke's Aster)
- Verbena (Vervain)
- Veronica
- Vernonia (Ironweed)
- Yucca (Spanish Dagger)
List of butterfly host plants for larval food and egg laying
- Alcea (Hollyhock) and other mallows such as Abutilon, Callirhoe, Gossypium, Hibiscus, Kosteletzkya, Malvaviscus, Napaea and Pavonia
- Agastache (Hummingbird Mint)
- Amorpha (Lead plant) and other Fabaceae such as Amicia, Astragalus, Bauhinia, Caesalpinia, Erythrina, Indigofera, Lespedeza, Sophora and Thermopsis
- Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)
- Arabis(Cress)
- Aralia (Spikenard)
- Aristolochia (Dutchman's Pipe)
- Artemisia (Wormwood)
- Asclepias (Butterfly Weed)
- Aster / Kalimeris
- Baptisia (False Indigo)
- Boehmeria (False Nettle)
- Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
- Carex (Sedge)
- Chelone (Turtlehead)
- Cimicifuga (Cohosh)
- Conifers such as Chamaecyparis (False Cypress) and Juniperus (Juniper)
- Coreopsis (Tickseed)
- Cynara (Artichoke)
- Digitalis (Foxglove)
- Echinacea (Purple Coneflower)
- Echium (Bugloss)
- Euphorbia
- Ornamental Grass such as Chasmanthium (Sea-Oats), Cortaderia (Pampas-Grass), Eragrostis (Love-Grass), Miscanthus (Maiden-Grass), Muhlenbergia (Muhly-Grass), Panicum (Panic-Grass), Phormium (New Zealand Flax), Saccharum (Sugar Cane), and Schizachyrium (Bluestem)
- Helianthus (Sunflower)
- Ilex (Holly)
- Illicium (Anise Shrub)
- Impatiens (Balsam)
- Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
- Lysimachia (Loosestrife)
- Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
- Ruellia (False-Petunia)
- Sabal (Palmetto Palm Tree)
- Sedum (Stonecrop)
- Solidago (Goldenrod)
- Tricyrtis (Toadflax)
- Ulmus (Elm)
- Verbena (Vervain)
- Viola (Violet)
- Zamia (Coontie Cycad)
Read our butterfly plant articles
Top 25 Butterfly Garden Plants - a list of our favorite butterfly plants
Baptisia - Revenge of the Redneck Lupines - US native butterfly garden flowers
Buddleia - The Butterfly Bush - about the top plants to attract butterflies
And our many blog postings about flowers to attract butterflies