Butterfly Nectar Sources

Slender arching stems that end in spikes of purple flowers emerge from the soft fine textured foliage of this dainty Liatris from late spring through early summer and may even flower into fall. The soft texture and and gently arching flower spikes make this beautiful Blazing Star a perfect candidate for the perennial garden where it sure to attract attention as well as butterflies and pollinators. Plant several together for the best effect. Item# 9865.

Shoal Creek Vitex produces 12" spikes of rich deep purplish-blue from late spring to fall.  This is a vigorous and disease free and drought tolerant spreading to upright deciduous shrub or small tree that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators. Shoal Creek was selected as a Louisiana Super Plant for the spring of 2011 due to its large & richly colored spikes as well as for the fact that Vitex is an excellent low maintenance plant with a long flowering season. Item# 10305.

Forget those brittle old fall mums that need pinching and special treatment! Deep indigo, dense, fully double flowers are produced over an extended period in late summer and fall atop neat compact naturally rounded plants with deep green foliage. Forget about the throw away garden mums for fall, find an aster instead! Showmakers® Blue Bayou Dwarf New York Aster or Michaelmas Daisy, a selection of Aster novi-belgii or now Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, is a dense dwarf, hardy, clump-forming, native herbaceous perennial that develops into a neat rounded mass of flowers and foliage to about 12" high and wide with no pinching required. These were developed with container culture in mind but are sure to make statement in the garden or landscape as well. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Midday shade may be desirable in hot summer climates. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of Syngenta Flowers, all rights reserved. Item# 13165

Vibrant yellow and red flowers are borne from Spring to frost on an upright to spreading perennial. Raise Monarch Butterflies in your own backyard! The Monarchs migrate through our area just as the Asclepias begin to awaken in spring, just in time for the females to lay their eggs on the new growth. Caterpillar host: Queen and Monarch. Item # 3078.

Solid yellow blooms are borne from spring to fall on this vigorous and fast growing upright perennial. Raise Monarch Butterflies in your own backyard! The Monarchs migrate through our area just as the Asclepias begin to awaken in spring, just in time for the females to lay their eggs on the new growth. Caterpillar host: Queen and Monarch. item # 643.

Silver Mound Lantana is a low growing, mounding lantana that produces an abundance of soft yellow flowers that mature to white and are borne from spring to fall attracting a variety of other smaller pollinators as well as butterflies. An old favorite with the vigor and flower power of the ever popular New Gold as it spends its energy on flower production instead of seed production. An excellent low maintenance groundcover or for the front of the garden or landscape. Item# 10896.

A mainstay of southern and western Texas and New Mexico butterfly gardens! Bright yellow daisies are produced from late spring into fall and are held against a foil of dark green, deeply lobed, fragrant, narrow foliage with the heaviest flowering occurring in fall. The flowers are highly attractive to a variety of butterflies, bees, and other garden beneficials. Skeleton-Leaf Goldeneye, Viguiera stenoloba and now Sidneya tenuifolia, is a native, naturally evergreen, small shrub with fine-textured, very dark green, deeply lobed, strongly resiny fragrant foliage that is resistant to being browsed by deer and rabbits. It is tough as nails and is highly drought resistant once well-established. Use it as a low maintenance formal or informal hedge, back drop, or groundcover. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in well-drained soils. A caterpillar host plant for the Bordered Patch Butterfly. Item# 13084

Large purplish-red to near fuchsia colored tubular flowers are borne in dense spikes beginning in spring and continuing until frost. Skyscraper™ Dark Purple Salvia is a mid-size well-branched and exceptionally free flowering Sage perfectly suited for use in medium-sized containers as well as in sunny garden and landscape settings. The Skyscraper series grows to about one half the size of the Wish series Salvias and flowers longer than typical Tropical Salvia, Salvia splendens, selections. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist well-drained fertile soil. Item# 12158

A 2019 Classic City Award winner in the UGA Trials Gardens! Large deep orange tubular flowers emerge from dense spikes composed of bronze and orange tinged calyxes beginning in spring and continuing until frost and are sure to draw in hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Skyscraper™ Orange Salvia is a mid-size well-branched and exceptionally free flowering Sage perfectly suited for use in medium-sized containers as well as in sunny garden and landscape settings. The Skyscraper series grows to about one half the size of the Wish series Salvias and flowers longer than typical Tropical Salvia, Salvia splendens, selections. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist well-drained fertile soil. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 12157

Large 2" long rosy-pink tubular flowers emerge from contrasting light bronze and rose tinged calyxes in dense spikes atop the deep green glossy foliage from spring until first frost. Skyscraper™ Pink Salvia is a mid-sized well-branched and exceptionally free flowering Sage perfectly suited for use in medium-sized containers as well as in sunny garden and landscape settings. The Skyscraper series grows to about one half the size of the Wish series Salvias and flowers longer than typical Tropical Salvia, Salvia splendens, selections. It is reported to have some winter hardiness into zone 7B. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist well-drained fertile soil. Item# 12459

Narrow, upright to arching, 24-30" high spikes of rich purple flowers are produced in mid to late summer and into fall attracting a host of pollinators. Smallhead Blazing Star, Liatris microcephela, is a cormous, clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with narrow, dark green, fine-textured foliage and produce a multitude of flower spikes per plant at maturity. This tough little deer and drought resistant native is typically found in sandy to clayey, well-drained soils in the southeastern US. Like all of our Liatris species, it is a key pollinator plant attracting bees, butterflies, flower flies, and likely occasional low-flying hummingbirds. Smallhead Blazing Star makes for a long-lasting cut flower and, unlike most Liatris, the flowers begin opening from the top downward. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in fertile, average moist to periodically dry soil. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13266

Consistently in the top 10 in Coneflower and perennial trials! Brilliant golden yellow ray petals surround the fragrant golden tipped cones creating the 3" wide long-lasting, non-fading flowers perched atop sturdy 18" stems. The Sombrero® Granada Gold Coneflower or Echinacea was selected as much for its bright, long-lasting, non-fading color as well as for its excellent summerlong flower power, clean foliage, reliability, and neat and tidy habit. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden and landscape as well as for container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Removal of spent flowers may help to prolong the flowering season but is not required. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of Darwin Perennials®, all rights reserved. Item# 13319

A 2018 UGA Trial Gardens Classic City Award and a People's Choice Award winner! The large, lightly fragrant flowers open a coral pink, deepen through rose, and finally maturing to burgundy held on sturdy 18" high stems above the deep green foliage in summer. SOMBRERO® Tres Amigos Coneflower or Echinacea is a hardy clump forming perennial growing to about 18-20"H x 22-24"W making it compact enough for containers as well as being a colorful addition to the garden and landscape. Like all of the Echinaceas, the fragrant nectar rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, especially butterflies and bees. Provide a fertile, average moist, well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of Darwin Perennials, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13156

Dense spikes of rosy pink tubular flowers are produced in late summer and fall atop sturdy stems attracting butterflies, larger bees, and hummingbirds. The Southern Fall Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana ssp. praemorsa, is a clump forming species of Physostegia, whereas most species spread via long rhizomes, this one is a much more mannerly native perennial better suited to garden culture. It will slowly multiply developing into a dense clump of foliage and flowering stems. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a wet to moist to average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12752

A low growing, clump forming to slowly spreading perennial the Southern Prairie Aster produces 1" wide, medium purple to lighter pinkish purple daisies with a yellow eye atop sturdy upright to arching stems beginning in late summer and lasting into fall. This is another Aster that is native to sandy dryer upland soils and so is somewhat drought resistant once well-established. Excellent for native pollinators.Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady.  Item# 10694.

Whorls of curving, tubular, yellow to cream flowers, commonly with purple dots, are held above the whorls of colorful bracts ranging from cream, to pink, to purple tones are produced in late spring and summer with the colorful bracts providing interest often into fall. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and occasional hummingbirds. Spotted Horsemint, Monarda punctata, is a clump forming, native perennial with lemony to oregano scented, narrow foliage. It is found throughout much of the central and eastern US and as far west as New Mexico and is commonly found on dryish, well-drained, and often poor, sandy soils. Spotted Horsemint makes an easy and reliable addition to naturalistic settings like roadsides, prairies, and meadows. Readily reseeds on exposed soils. Deer and rabbit resistant. Prefers a full sun site in well-drained soils.

The rounded clusters of flowers open a bright golden yellow and mature through bright pumpkin orange and finally into deep red tones all the while attracting a wide variety of pollinators with their nectar reward from spring until fall. Star Landing Lantana was selected for its low mounding habit, excellent flower power, vigor and reliable zone 7B cold hardiness. Use it as a groundcover in the garden and landscape for traffic stopping color throughout the growing season as well as for low-maintenance container specimens. When planted alone it is reported to produce almost no seed. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12886

The 2-3" wide yellow sunflower-like blossoms are held on 2-3'H branching sturdy stems with flowering beginning as early as late winter or early spring and often continuing into fall. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and flower flies. Starry Rosinweed, Silphium asteriscus, is a tough and easy, rosette forming, native perennial that is fairly adaptable to growing conditions from full sun to part shade. It is a common component of Longleaf Pine ecosystems as well as the Cajun Prairie. Makes an easy addition to roadside plantings, prairies and meadows but is well behaved enough and floriferous enough to enjoy a spot at the back of the flower garden or for low maintenance naturalistic landscapes. Moderately drought resistant once fully established and seems to prefer soils with average or better drainage. Item# 9585

The large pink, white, and rose colored flowers are set against a foil of starkly contrasting near black, maple-like foliage of this hardy Hibiscus. Starry Starry Night Hibiscus has some of the darkest foliage of any of the new cultivars of perennial Hibiscus and the light colored flowers definitely stand out dramatically! This Walter's Gardens introduction was selected not only for its amazing foliage and flowers but also for the fact that it flowers from the top to the bottom of the naturally rounded plants unlike some of the older cultivars. Provide a moist, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny position. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 11419

Rounded clusters of star-shaped sky blue flowers adorn the ends of sturdy stems in spring. Starstruck Bluestar or Amsonia develops into a neat rounded mound of deep green foliage to about 20" high once flowering is complete. This is an easy and reliable clump forming perennial that is tolerant of wet, moist, to average moist sites and that will only get better with age. Bluestars are pest, disease, and deer resistant perennials that are considered to be somewhat drought resistant once well-established. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12110

Huge round clusters composed of extra large bell-shaped deep violet-blue flowers held on sturdy stems atop the narrow strap-like medium green foliage in late spring to early summer and potentially into fall on well-established clumps. Stevie's Wonder Lily of the Nile or Agapanthus is a vigorous, clump-forming perennial with a tropical look but this cultivar has proven to have excellent hardiness into zone 7. The flowering spikes are typically 2-3' high in areas that experience hardy winter freezes (zone 7-8) but they are reported to reach up to 6' high in zone 9 with reports that the flower clusters can reach near volleyball size! The flowers of Agapanthus attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Provide Stevie's Wonder Lily of the Nile a full to partly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Makes an easy and low-maintenance container plant where not hardy. May be fully winter deciduous. Item# 12467

6" wide rounded clusters of 1" wide deep blue-purple to dark purple trumpet shaped flowers are produced atop sturdy 3' high stalks in summer that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Though recent competition has increased when it comes to reliably cold hardy Agapanthus cultivars, Storm Cloud is still considered to be one of the most reliable, naturally winter dormant cultivars but it will benefit from a breathable mulch in any area that experiences freezing temperatures for extended periods. Somewhat drought resistant once well-established but generally prefers an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site. Deer and rabbit resistant and moderately salt tolerant. Makes an easy and low maintenance container plant where not hardy. Item# 1144