Butterfly Attracting Plants, Butterfly Garden Flowers, Flowers that 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 for butterfly larvae (caterpillars). See our articles: Top 25 Butterfly Garden Plants and How to Build a Butterfly Garden.

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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Achillea 'Sassy Summer Lemon' PPAF

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) ?

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Achillea 'Sassy Summer Sangria' PPAF

Item #: 13576

Zones: 5a to 8b, possibly much colder

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 30" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Hybrid

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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Achillea 'Sassy Summer Taffy' PPAF

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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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Agave multifilifera 'Basaseachic Falls'

Item #: 10010

Zones: 7b to 10b

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 18" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Mexico

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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Allium altaicum 'Bone Head'

Item #: 13792

Zones: 5b to 8b, at least

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 18" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Hybrid, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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Allium kiiense

Item #: 3352

Zones: 5a to 9b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 6" tall

Culture: Sun to Part Sun

Origin: Japan

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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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: 2 qt. (1.9 L) ?

Sold Out

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Angelica dahurica

Item #: 7102

Zones: 4a to 7b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 72" tall

Culture: Sun to Part Sun

Origin: China, Japan, Korea, Siberia Russia, Taiwan

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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Asclepias asperula

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) ?

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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) ?

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Asclepias purpurascens

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) ?

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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) ?

Sold Out

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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) ?

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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) ?

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Aster ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki'

Item #: 9337

Zones: 4a to 8b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 24" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Japan

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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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) ?

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Aster linariifolius 'Little Stiffy'

Item #: 5763

Zones: 4a to 8b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 12" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: United States

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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Aster oblongifolius 'Fanny'

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) ?

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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) ?

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Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' PP 26,430

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) ?

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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) ?

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Astilbe 'Mighty Red Quin'

Item #: 10066

Zones: 3a to 7b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 48" tall

Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade

Origin: Hybrid

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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Baptisia arachnifera - NOT OUTSIDE NC

Item #: 510

Zones: 6a to 10b, possibly colder

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 24" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: United States

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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Baptisia 'Blonde Bombshell' PP 26,828

Item #: 8740

Zones: 4a to 9b

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 40" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: United States Hybrid

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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Baptisia 'Blue Towers' PP 27,088

Item #: 8338

Zones: 4a to 9b, at least

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 54" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: United States Hybrid

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L) ?

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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) ?

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)

(What plants attract butterflies?)

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