Flowers that Attract Butterflies? Here we go over in detail, 11 types of flowers that will attract butterflies.
Do you have that spare space in your garden and you have no idea what to do with it?
Well, nothing will be more fascinating that converting it in to a flower garden.
The incorporation of the vibrant blooms in the garden will make a whole lot of difference in the general outlook of your home.
Besides the aesthetic beauty the flowers will offer to your home, they could also be a good way of attracting butterflies.
You will get to enjoy watching the beautiful butterflies fluffing their wings all across the garden.
This is one of the major pleasures that you get from spending time outdoors.
Most people will refer to the butterflies as the flowers that fly. And with the right selection of flowers in your garden, you will easily encourage the butterflies to visit ever time.
Generally, if you want more butterflies to visit your garden, choose flowers that provide nutritious nectar.
Not only that, the nectar should also be sipped easily through the proboscis which is an organ that resembles a telescopic drinking straw.
Finally, the flowers should have large petals that can provide firm footing for the butterflies.
That being the case, below is a wide selection of flowers that you can choose to add to your flower garden in order to attract butterflies.
Types of Butterflies
There are so many species of butterflies that it might take an entire book to list them all.
In that case, we will only pay attention to the few common types of butterflies that you most likely have seen in your garden.
Since the identification of butterflies is more of a learning process, its better if you first identify the large brightly colored ones before proceeding to the small and drab ones.
Scientifically, butterflies will be categorized according to their families and species.
However, we can also categorize them according to their habitat.
This is because different habitats offer very unique sources of nutrition as well as camouflage to the butterfly.
That being the case, we have different kinds of butterflies that thrive in each kind of eco-system.
⦁ The Grassland Butterflies
This is a common category of butterflies that you will most likely spot in the flower gardens or even in the meadows.
The grassland butterflies tend to be brightly colored and will be drawn to the flowers in that particular location.
The Monarch Butterfly
Common examples of the grassland butterflies include:
⦁ The Monarchs
⦁ Viceroy
⦁ Regal Fritillary
⦁ Crescent spots
⦁ The Woodland Butterflies
When compared to the grassland butterflies, the woodland butterflies appear less colorful.
In this ecosystem, there happen to be more count of butterflies than any other.
This is because there is a large variety of food sources in this habitat. Some of the common types of butterflies that you will find in this location include:
⦁ The Pine Butterfly
⦁ Map Butterfly
⦁ Comma Butterfly
⦁ Acadian hairstreak butterfly
⦁ The mountain Butterflies
The cold nights and the short summers that are in the mountain region are not ideal conditions for butterflies.
This kind of environment is so hostile for them.
However, there is still a large category of butterflies that feel at home in these mountainous regions.
This category of butterflies happens to be darker in color, hence they are able to absorb the heat in the weak arctic sun.
Also, these butterflies have long and hairy scales that cover their bodies hence they are easily able to retain heat.
The common types of these mountain butterflies include:
⦁ Northern blue
⦁ Moorland Clouded yellow
⦁ Piedmont Ringlet
⦁ Arctic Fritillary
⦁ Creamy marblewing
⦁ The Coastal Butterflies
This might sound unusual but we have several species of butterflies that like it on the coastal regions.
Hence, they prefer the salt marshes, canals and coastal regions as their ideal habitats. Some of these butterflies include:
⦁ Red Admiral
⦁ Green Hairstreak
⦁ Falcate Orange tip
⦁ Sleepy Orange Butterfly
⦁ The Exotic Butterflies
Well, we all must agree that the most beautiful butterflies with marvelous patterns are from the tropical regions.
These butterflies tend to brightly colored and they are commonly found in the tropical regions especially locations near the equator.
They appear in extravagant colors for instance: green, pink, and purple.
Since the tropical regions have the most favorable conditions for existence of butterflies, you will find that in this location the butterflies are larger than others.
Some of the common types of these butterflies include:
⦁ Blue Morpho
⦁ Isabella
⦁ Glasswing Butterfly
⦁ Southern Dogface
⦁ 88 Butterfly
⦁ The Endangered Species
These are butterflies that are solely dependent on the habitat and the plants in order to survive.
However, with the recent change that man has made to the environment, they have made these creatures be at risk.
The sad thing is that once a butterfly becomes extinct, there is no way that you can get it back.
That beauty in the environment gets lost forever.
Some of the endangered species of butterflies include:
⦁ The Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing
⦁ Zebra Swallowtail
The Zebra Swallowtail
Flowers That Will Attract Butterflies
In order to invite butterflies in your butterfly garden, you will first need these two things: nectar and the other bright color.
That being the case, you will need some brightly colored blooms that produce nectar in order to attract these colorful insects in your garden.
Below is a list of the common flowering plants that will without a doubt get you some butterflies in the garden.
⦁ The Abelia
Scientific name: Abelia grandiflora
This is the major vital flower that you need in your garden in order to attract butterflies.
All in all, this happens to be the hybrid cultivar that is generated by crossing the A. uni flora and A. chinesis.
Basically, this is a shrub that is also a flowering plant that will not only attract butterflies but also the hummingbirds in your garden.
The plant has deciduous leaves that will turn reddish brown during the fall season. All in all, in spring, the flowers are sprouted in clusters.
They tend to be fragrant and tubular shaped. They appear in either pink or white colors which are normally small in size.
Hummingbird Flowers
⦁ The Bee Balm
Scientific name: Monarda fistulosa
The bee balm is a perennial herb that flowers and originates from the North America.
It will attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies to your garden. To complement the outlook of your flower garden, you get to choose from one of the varieties of bee balm that we have.
The bee balm is available in the shades of scarlet red, purple, and pink.
The flowers in the bee balm are borne on the ends of the plant’s long stalks.
To have an extended flowering period, make sure that you water the plant regularly and deadhead all the blooms that have been spent already.
⦁ Asclepias
Scientific name: Asclepias tuberosa
The Butterfly flower
The asclepias in an excellent selection if you are looking for low maintenance flowers that attract butterflies.
Owing to its attraction to butterflies, most people refer to it as the butterfly flower or the butterfly weed.
There are different categories of butterflies that visit this flower.
Some of these butterflies include the:
⦁ Monarch butterfly
⦁ The cabbage white,
⦁ The Eastern and
⦁ The pearl crescent.
⦁ The Butterfly Bush
Scientific name: Buddleia
The butterfly bush is a plant that makes an excellent addition for the butterfly gardening.
It is so easy to grow the butterfly bush that most of the hobbyist consider it one of the invasive species.
The flower has bright colored and fragrance filled flowers are sprouted in clusters that can be as much as 2 feet lengthwise.
The flower is a great source of nectar as it will secrete in very large amounts.
For that reason, the butterfly bush is a great attraction for hummingbirds, bees and butterflies.
All of the above mentioned are ideal for pollination process.
Butterfly Flower
⦁ The Showy Sedum
Scientific name: Hylotelephium spectabile
The Showy Sedum is a low maintenance perennial flowering plant that falls under the succulent plants categories.
The pink flower buds are more likely to develop some flower clusters especially in the early winter season.
Hence, they will majorly attract the monarch butterfly, the pearl crescent, and the American lady among others.
Since it has some very thick foliage, the flower will easily withstand the prolonged dry seasons, this is because the thick foliage makes a great water reservoir for the entire plant.
Once the plant is fully mature, you will be guaranteed that this plant is a low-maintenance category.
⦁ The Purple Coneflower
Scientific name: Echinacea purpurea
The Purple Coneflower
Well, if you still don’t have the purple coneflower in your flower garden, then you really are missing out.
This is the most lavish flower that you can have in your garden that will get you some large attractive butterflies in your garden.
This is because the flowers have some blooms that are purple in color and petals that are pointing downwards.
Hence, the flower is conspicuous and looks great in just about any kind of landscape.
More to that, with the addition of some beautiful butterflies resting on the flower, this entire look adds to the overall aesthetic beauty of your flower garden.
The flower is low maintenance and easy to grow hence it shouldn’t worry you much.
⦁ Marigold
Scientific name: Tagetes erecta
The Marigold
The marigold is a flower that is yellow, red, or orange colored.
They are known to attract a specific kind of butterflies in the garden.
The marigolds are associated with the Tagetes genus and the most incredible thing about them is the fact that they can easily grow in very diverse growing conditions.
Marigolds have a slightly pungent odor which is ideal for attracting the ocola skipper, the American lady and the red admiral among other types of butterflies.
You can choose to plant the regular or the dwarf marigolds on your garden. However, this will majorly depend on the general layout of your flower garden.
Plants that attract Butterflies
⦁ Lantana
The lantana makes a great accent shrub or a low hedge that can at times be trained as a standard flower.
It has a profuse color and it shows off its clusters that appear as tiny eye catching blooms.
Often the blooms will be available in a variety of hues. They could be in red, yellow or orange.
The flower will also survive and do incredibly well even in hot conditions.
More to that, it is a great butterfly flower that will keep the butterflies coming to your garden with its attractive flowers.
⦁ The Sea Holly
Scientific name: Eryngium tripartitum
The sea holly is a very versatile plant that is very tolerant to drought and dry conditions. It has masses of metallic blue flowers that are definitely a delight for the butterflies.
Also, it has blue green stems that complements the metallic blue flowers. The stems tend to be about 4 feet high where the flowers stand tall.
⦁ The Swamp Milkweed
This is one of the best flowers that you will ever have in your butterfly garden.
This is because the flower makes a great source of nectar for most butterflies as well as a good source of food for the monarch caterpillars.
Later, it also makes a great source of nectar for the monarch butterflies.
The plant does well in the moist regions although it can be grown in other regions too when its well established.
Final Verdict
As we have seen from the article above, when making a butterfly garden, its ideal to incorporate both the spring and autumn blooming flowers.
That way, you will be able to ensure that there is a constant supply of nectar in your garden no matter the season.
This will prevent instances where the butterflies might migrate from your garden in the effort to search for nectar and food.
Note that the butterflies need specific host plants when they need to lay eggs. That being the case, ensure that you pick the ideal plants to add to your butterfly garden in order to get the best results.