17 plants to draw butterflies to your garden

The presence of Lepidoptera, or butterflies, is important for a healthy, glad garden. This isn’t only due to their aesthetic and colourful character, but additionally due to their pollinating function. These flying insects, along with bees and hummingbirds, carry pollen forwards and backwards while feeding on nectar. For that reason, it’s essential to have plants to draw butterflies to your garden.

Creating an environment conducive to their visit involves providing them with a water source, moist areas, and well-lit spaces. Nonetheless, it’s essential to have some specimens of lavender, lantana, or milkweed. As well as, the Asteraceae family has several options that attract them. Read on and discover which plants to ask butterflies to remain and feed in your garden!

1. Lantanas

Lantana is a species that pulls butterflies due to its nectariferous nature – that’s, it offers the nectar on which these holometabolous insects feed. As well as, it’s a plant that’s easy to maintain and boasts extensive flowering that may fill your garden with colours.

There are variants in yellow, pink, and orange tones, but probably the most beneficial to bring Lepidoptera, including the monarch butterfly, are the camara and the trifolia.

One other advantage is that these species act as mosquito repellent.

Care

• Sunlight: it requires 4 to 6 hours of sunshine or semi-shade day by day.
• Watering: sporadically, but with good drainage and moisture within the substrate.
• Pruning: you’ll be able to do it initially of spring to favor a greater flowering.
• Temperature: tolerates drought and high temperatures well, but not extreme cold.

2. Verbenas

Verbenas are also stuffed with nectar and present a pretty bloom, various between white, red or pink. You may select from any of its species to embellish your garden or terrace, while providing a feeding space for butterflies.

Similarly, verbenas also attract other pollinators, resembling hummingbirds and bees. It’s versatile by way of climatic conditions and only needs a number of hours of sunshine.

Care

• Substrate: it’s essential that it has good drainage and stays humid.
• Watering: it’s higher to do it if you observe that the substrate is dry, because it doesn’t need frequent watering.
• Temperature: like lantana, it prefers warm climates, tolerates drought well, and never temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius.
• Light and placement: it needs many hours of sun, although this varies in keeping with the climate. In very warm environments, indirect sunlight is best, while in cold places it’s convenient to reveal it directly.

3. Asclepias

Asclepias belong to the Apocynaceae family and grow on roadsides and fields. Its presence in a garden with Lepidoptera is important, because it’s certainly one of the host plants for butterflies; especially the mellodora and curassavica variants, also referred to as milkweed.

Which means butterflies, especially the monarch, known for his or her size and migratory capability, lay their eggs there for the caterpillars to feed on.

Care

• Fertilizer: mineral fertilizer is beneficial in spring.
• Substrate: it must be permeable, with humus, peat, and good humidity.
• Watering: with a frequency of 4 to 5 days per week. It’s essential to avoid waterlogging.
• Sunlight: in cold climates, it might be exposed on to the sun. Nonetheless, in hot environments, shade is beneficial.

4. Mariposera (Austroeupatorium inulifolium)

Native to Argentina, it’s able to attracting butterflies of assorted species. It’s also a number of the genus Actinote. It has small and aesthetic white flowers that attract quite a few pollinators with their perfume. It grows as a shrub and is common in lots of South American countries, resembling the next:

• Peru
• Brazil
• Uruguay
• Paraguay
• Colombia

Care

• Soil: to locate it in those which can be permeable.
• Irrigation: it prefers sporadic irrigations, of moderate intensity.
• Sunlight: it needs between five and 6 hours of sunlight day by day.

5. Salvias are probably the greatest plants for attracting butterflies

The forms of salvias, belonging to the Lamiaceae genus, are known for his or her fragrant and healing properties. Nonetheless, they can be attractive to butterflies, especially large specimens resembling Papilio and Battus.

Flowering colours range from white and red to blue and violet, and are prone to appear in any season. Also, salvias are plants that attract hummingbirds to the garden.

Care

• Substrate: well-drained and fresh is beneficial.
• Watering: it’s best to water sporadically and check that the substrate stays moist.
• Sunlight: it prefers warm climates, above 15 degrees, and a number of other hours of sunlight.

6. Lavender

A flexible species that brings elegance, beautiful colours, and wealthy scents, hence, it’s often applied in flavoring products. These same characteristics are what enchant the Lepidoptera that come to hunt its nectar.

It’s also a natural repellent for insects, resembling moths and mosquitoes. Lavender oil also has quite a lot of uses. For instance, to heal wounds or reduce hair loss.

Care

• Substrate: it should be alkaline and have good drainage. In truth, it uses sandy and dry soils.
• Watering: a couple of times every week is enough. In winter, reduce the frequency.
• Temperature: it’s best with high temperatures, because it resists heat and drought well.
• Sunlight: it’s essential to present it direct exposure, each for outdoor and indoor specimens.

7. Poet’s Key

Dianthus barbatus is a quite common plant in gardens due to its ornamental character. Along with its colourful flowers, with shades of pink, white, and burgundy, it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. This also occurs due to its charming fragrance.

Care

• Substrate: it should have good drainage and be alkaline.
• Fertilizer: include organic matter or compost to favor its growth.
• Watering: it needs frequent watering, but all the time with the precaution of not generating puddles.

8. Echinacea purpurea

That is a wonderful plant of the Asteraceae family, with a big flowering that persists throughout the summer and a part of the autumn. It’s a decorative species, which provides off a pretty scent and displays purple flowers.

Care

• Humidity: it provides a moist substrate that may resist the times of drought.
• Sunlight: it must be exposed to 5 to 6 hours of sunlight day by day, even though it also supports semi-shade.
• Watering: it’s essential to water it moderately. It’s enough to water it a couple of times every week, except recent planting, when it needs day by day watering.

9. Centaurea nigra L.

That is one other specimen belonging to the Asteraceae family, whose violet and white flowers bring brightness and color to the garden. They attract quite a few species of butterflies, resembling meadow brown butterflies.

Care

• Substrate: Perlite facilitates drainage and keeps it cool. For these reasons, it’s beneficial to incorporate it within the substrate.
• Sunlight: it requires loads of sunlight. To have abundant and brilliant flowers, a minimum of five hours a day.
• Watering: in hot weather, water it two to 3 times every week. In winter, reduce the frequency to at least one watering per week.

10. Marigolds are plants to draw butterflies

The marigold isn’t only an fragrant, ornamental plant with health advantages. Its orange and yellow flowers attract pollinators due to the abundant nectar. It’s fast-growing, easy to grow at home, and blooms consistently throughout the spring and summer.

Care

• Sunlight: prefers direct sunlight for several hours a day.
• Temperature: it resists cold temperatures higher than warm ones.
• Watering: water it sporadically and with great caution in order to not cause water stagnation.
• Substrate: it might be versatile, nevertheless it should have good drainage. Add fertilizer only in the course of the warm months.

11. Buddleja davidii (butterfly bush)

The nickname of this plant leaves no room for doubt: it is a shrub whose purple, pink, and yellow flowers attract butterflies of assorted species. They provide nectar in quantity, so it’s enough to position them in a sunny space for them to bloom and the Lepidoptera to come back to the garden.

Care

• Light: it requires many hours of direct sunlight, since flowering will depend on it.
• Substrate: it should be permeable and with humus. Be certain that it has good drainage and fertilize only in early spring, before flowering.
• Watering: weekly watering is sufficient. Throughout the first 12 months after planting, it might be twice every week, in addition to in the nice and cozy months.

12. Passiflora caerulea

Often known as mburucuyá or passionflower, this plant has aesthetic blue flowers, that are combined with white and purple tones. That is one other specimen of a number character, whose flowering begins in summer and lasts until late fall.

Care

• Substrate: it requires well-drained soils with good drainage and humidity.
• Temperature: it likes a temperate climate, with temperatures around 20 degrees.
• Light: it needs spaces with good sunlight, although in the course of the summer you’ll be able to place it in a semi-shaded area.
• Watering: it’s beneficial to extend its frequency in warm months, as much as 3 times every week. The remainder of the 12 months, once is enough. Wet the leaves sporadically with a sprig bottle.

13. Cosmos annuals

The tropical cosmos flower belongs to the Asteraceae family. Particularly, the variants bipinnatus and sulphureus are butterfly-attracting plants due to their abundant flowers, in shades of white, pink, and orange.

Each bloom initially of the summer and extend into the autumn.

Care

• Sunlight: it needs direct exposure, so it’s advisable to order a sunny corner.
• Watering: a couple of times every week is enough. In the nice and cozy months, it might be up to a few waterings.
• Substrate: common garden soil with good drainage is sufficient for its growth.

14. Elk flowers

The genus alcea has greater than 80 species, although the rosea variant is normally chosen among the many plants to draw butterflies. Also referred to as royal mallow, it has flowers of assorted shades of pink, but can range from purple to yellow.

Care

• Watering: moderate in the course of the cold season and more abundant in the course of the summer.
• Sunlight: it needs several hours of direct exposure or semi-shade. If abundant flowering is desired, it must be exposed to at the least six hours of sunshine day by day.
• Substrate: it prefers humid soils, so this condition must be maintained within the substrate. Avoid waterlogging and excess moisture in winter.

15. Dahlias

That is the national flower of Mexico. A variant of the Asteraceae family with abundant flowering, whose nectar attracts butterflies and bees. Its pink, purplish, and white flowers appear in the nice and cozy months and last until autumn.

Care

• Light: it needs good sunlight and direct exposure, especially within the cold months.
• Substrate: like other species, it favors well-drained soil with abundant organic material.
• Watering: That is certainly one of the plants that tolerates heat and drought, but requires abundant watering. Water it twice every week in winter and 3 times every week in summer. Avoid wetting the leaves.

16. Rudbeckia

Also referred to as beetle flower or coneflower, its beautiful blooms in shades of yellow and orange add aesthetics to the garden. Also they are very attractive to pollinators typically. The form of the flowers is analogous to daisies and so they appear during spring to last until fall.

Care

• Substrate: it needs soil with regular conditions and good drainage.
• Temperature: Even though it prefers warmth, it’s proof against cold climates.
• Light: it requires a very good amount of sunshine, although it might be indirect or semi-shade.
• Watering: water it often, but all the time to the soil and without wetting leaves or flowers. Avoid waterlogging.

17. Asters

The last genus of plants to draw butterflies that we are going to see also has flowers much like daisies. Nonetheless, these autumn specimens have a really delicate violet hue. Asters have white, blue, and even pink variants that delight Lepidoptera of assorted species.

Care

• Watering: moderate, more often in summer and fewer often in winter.
• Substrate: keep it humid, nevertheless it’s essential to avoid puddles and take a look at to have good drainage.
• Light: flowering will depend on the quantity of sunlight. It needs several hours of exposure, direct if possible.

Other tricks to bring butterflies

In case you are also concerned about some recommendations on methods to have a garden stuffed with butterflies at home, we recommend making this space friendly for pollinators, by combining plants with the next conditions:

• Sunny corner: leave an empty space with soil and stones for the butterflies to rest.
• Water: like every species, butterflies seek refreshment and can achieve this in your garden in case you provide small drinking troughs for his or her comfort.
• Low wind: leave water troughs and water features in spaces where there’s little wind. Otherwise, they may not have the opportunity to stop and refresh themselves.
• Variety: mix different specimens among the many 17 options described. Try to incorporate some shrubs, some potted plants, and a few vines.

Why are plants essential for attracting butterflies?

Butterflies, and pollinators typically, are essential for maintaining balance within the ecosystem. Lots of them are affected by conditions resembling deforestation and pollution, along with pesticides.

Subsequently, making a space suitable for his or her visit not only makes your garden more beautiful, but additionally collaborates with their survival. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to fill your patio or terrace with a diversity of colours and butterflies!