Butterflies love flowers because the blooms provide food for the butterflies and their offspring and the butterflies pollinate plants so they can continue to produce flowers and food.
Some plants attract butterflies like a magnet and those are the plants you want to have growing in your landscape. Not only will get to enjoy the beauty the plants provide but also the beauty the butterflies provide.
Grow some of these best plants that attract butterflies and enjoy the colorful results.
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Butterfly Bush
This plant is rich in nectar and is very attractive to butterflies. If there is only room for one large plant in your landscape, make it a butterfly bush.
The butterfly bush is a beautiful, fast-growing, deciduous shrub that produces an abundance long, spikes of flowers. The flowers come in many colors and will last from spring through fall.
Also, Read: Medicinal Plants That You Should Grow In Your Garden
Asters
Asters bloom in late summer, providing food and lodging for butterflies, plus end-of-season color to your butterfly garden.
Plants asters in a sunny location and well-draining soil. These butterfly-attracting plants will reach a mature height of 8 inches to 8 feet depending on the variety planted.
Coneflowers
Easy-care, colorful coneflowers provide a flat, open bloom that butterflies prefer to land on.
These plants are adaptable to almost any soil type but will grow best when planted in well-draining soil that is located in full sun.
Coneflowers come in a wide range of bloom colors and will reach 3 feet tall when mature. The center cone of this flower resembles a tiny beehive and the bloom is also a favorite place for bees to land for a meal of pollen.
Phlox
These are low-growing flowering plants that attract butterflies by providing food for butterflies during the very early spring. Phlox is one of the first plants to bloom in spring and butterflies flock to the plant for their first fresh meal of spring.
Colorful phlox is an evergreen plant that provides a winter home for butterflies in the chrysalis stage. If you grow phlox you will have the pleasure of watching adult butterflies emerge from the plants in the early spring.
Plant phlox on a landscaped slope that faces east so the plants and butterflies will receive the morning sun.
Parsley
Some herb plants attract butterflies and herbs will provide food for both you and the butterflies. Parsley comes in several different varieties and plants will produce nectar-rich blooms when not harvested. Plant parsley in a sunny location in well-draining soil or plant in a container and place it on your porch or balcony for a closer look at the butterflies.
Consider planting a small herb garden that contains parsley, dill, and fennel and allow some of the plants to produce blooms that will attract butterflies.
Pansies
Pansies are easy-care plants that grow best in cool weather and shady locations. The petite plant produces multi-colored flowers year-round in mild climates so these plants will attract butterflies continuously. Pansy blooms are edible and often used as a plate garnish.
Sow seeds into the soil or a container outdoors after all danger of frost has passed in the early spring. Provide plants with moist soil and shade from the afternoon sun.
Also, Read This Article: How To Grow Blueberries In Containers
Milkweed
Milkweed is not a weed, as the name may indicate, but a beautiful flowering plant that butterflies find irresistible. The plant’s name comes from the sticky white sap that oozes from the leaves when they are damaged.
Butterflies are attracted to milkweed for both food and lodging. Monarch caterpillars rely on milkweed plants and that’s why female monarchs choose to lay their eggs on milkweed plants.
For a summer-long supply of colorful blooms and butterflies, plant some milkweed in your landscape.
Willows
If you want a tree to attract butterflies, willow is the best choice. Willows are fast-growing, tolerate almost any soil type, and come in various sizes, so there is one just right for any size landscape.
Willows attract butterflies by providing a place for them to lodge and plenty of food to eat. These trees are valuable host plants for several species of butterflies.
Zinnias
These classic flowering plants produce layers of colorful petals that grow open and flat, making an easy landing spot for traveling butterflies. The pollen-rich blooms appear in late summer and are long-lasting when left in the garden or when used as a cut flower.
Zinnias are heat-resistant, drought-tolerant and grow best during the heat of summer. These easy-care annuals will provide a wide range of bloom colors and attract butterflies to your landscape.
Flying Flowers
Butterflies are referred to as ‘flying flowers’ because of the colorful, living beauty they add to a garden. Attract them to your landscape with these plants.
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