Butterfly Caterpillar Host Plants

This heirloom has long been a popular favorite among Southern gardeners! Clusters of 4-6" fully double, bright pink, peony-like flowers are born in late summer and into fall. The Double Pink Confederate Rose is a large deciduous shrub in mild climates or a vigorous perennial in the colder portions of its range. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Tough, easy, and reliable! Item #386.

Masses of white petals fill each flower creating a peony-like effect throughout summer on this old favorite. Rose of Sharon is an easy and rewarding upright to vase-shaped deciduous shrub. Tolerant of most soils and drought tolerant once well established. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 9586.

This is a large to very large purple fig with good flavor. An heirloom fig that was brought to the US from Italy via Dr. Sam Monticello's grandmother. The soon to be Mrs. Decarlo was a 16 years old bride and on her way to meet her new husband. She wrapped the cuttings in newspaper to get them here as she traveled to the new world aboard ship. Dr. Monticello, a Lake Charles Master Gardener and retired physician, says that they have been grown in this area from the time his grandmother arrived here as well as in Kansas where part of their family migrated to. Caterpillar host: Ruddy Daggerwing.

Clusters of scarlet tubular flowers with orange throats are produced from late spring to fall on this easy to grow and vigorous Honeysuckle. Dropmore Scarlet is an old and popular selection of Brown's Honeysuckle that is also a hit with hummingbirds and other pollinators. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. The flowers may be followed by clusters of showy bright showy red berries that are enjoyed by birds and other wildlife. Provide a full to mostly sunny position and a well-drained, average moist soil for the best results. Item# 11161

Large 6-8" burgundy and cream, widely flaring Dutchman's Pipe shaped flowers are borne from summer to fall on this vigorous and easy to grow perennial vine. A fast growing root hardy perennial into zone 8, the Dutchman's Pipevine makes a quick summer screen and a definite conversation piece anytime it's in flower. This Pipevine is acceptable as a host plant for the Polydamas Swallowtail but not for the more common Pipevine Swallowtail. Click the image for more detailed information. Item# 394.

The dwarf form of it's much larger cousin and native to the sandy and sandy loam soils of much of the southeast US. The Dwarf Pawpaw produces 3-5" green-yellow elongated fruit that eventually turn brown to nearly black when ripe. It is reported to have a banana custard-like flavor, some say that fully ripe fruit of the Dwarf Pawpaw is equal to the Pawpaw, while others firmly disagree. Produces small maroon to greenish flowers flowers in spring. A small to medium-sized, spreading to upright, moderately slow growing, native deciduous shrub. A caterpillar host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Seedling grown. Plant two for pollination. Item# 10232.

Another excellent native shrub for the landscape! The dense neat mound of deep green glossy foliage and red tinged stems is topped by clusters of white flowers in spring which make way to red berries ripening through purple and finally black. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators and the fruit attract songbirds and smaller fructivores. Walter's Dwarf Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum 'Densa', is a compact, densly branching selection of this southeastern native. This shrub's dense habit lends it to use anywhere a small to medium-sized shrub is desired in the landscape. It is generally evergreen into zone 8A and tends to be deciduous to semi-evergreen in zones 6 and 7. Use this tough native shrub in place of Dwarf Yaupon, Indian Hawthorne, or anywhere a medium-sized, disease resistant, low maintenance shrub or hedge is desired. Provide a full sun to part shade site in an average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor. Images shown are an example of what to expect with this cultivar but are of the common Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum. Item# 12731

Brilliant orange fading to pink and finally red and burgundy into the eye. The 4-5" flowers just seem to keep coming all summer long on a compact but vigorous enough tropical hibiscus. Erin Rachael's smaller stature makes it a perfect container specimen or as part of the landscape in frost free locations. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 10485.

Rich purple, 1" wide daisies with a nicely contrasting sunny yellow eye are produced in mass in fall attracting bees and other smaller pollinators with a late season burst of color just in time for LSU Football! Geaux Tigers! Ezo Murasaki Japanese Woods Aster or Asian Aster, a selection of Aster ageratoides var. ageratoides, is a vigorous rhizomatous perennial adorned with deep green ovate foliage that makes an easy warm season groundcover topping out at about 24" high. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Item# 13049

A branch sport of Chicago Hardy with very short internodes producing a very compact, well-branched plant that is a good producer and is ideal for container culture. Expect Fignomenal to produce large crops of medium to small nearly black to brown or violet, pear shaped to turbinate figs with amber to strawberry flesh with a rich sweet flavor. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and fruit production. Protect young trees for the first few years especially in zones 8A and colder while they become established. Caterpillar host: Ruddy Daggerwing. Item# 13249

Large dark mauve starry flowers with a deep eggplant center are born freely on this vigorous and large growing, and much sought after, rare Hibiscus. Fiji Island Hibiscus is a vigorous and free flowering Tropical Hibiscus producing a nearly continuous display of the rare purple Hibiscus flowers throughout the year making this a wonderful addition to the tropical garden or as a container plant. A must have for any Hibiscus lover! Deep glossy green foliage on an upright to spreading, vigorous shrub that could easily be trained into small tree standards. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 9519.

Florea is an early ripening type said to be  a cold hardy fig,  a great choice for colder climates with short seasons. It is a brown to purple fig with an amber interior. Caterpillar host: Ruddy Daggerwing. Item# 12691

The Fragrant White Mistflower produces clusters of fragrant, white, nectar-rich flowers in fall just as the Monarch butterflies are migrating southward. The flowers attract a large variety of pollinators including bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and other garden beneficials. This shrubby perennial native of the Edwards Plateau is a tough hombre that is moderately drought resistant and can develop into a somewhat woody shrub. Item# 11358

1" wide dark maroon pipe-like flowers are edged and veined in soft yellow and are bordered in a loose yellow fringe produced from spring to fall. The 2-3" wide rounded to heart shaped foliage is accented by white veins and is used by the Pipevine Swallowtail as a host plant. Use Fringed Dutchman's Pipevine, Aristolochia fimbriata, as a hardy deciduous groundcover, allow it to spill from containers, or in hanging baskets to better display the unusual flowers. Item# 9681.

A low growing member of the Verbena family, Frogfruit makes a beautiful, easy groundcover that is covered by tiny heads of dainty, nectar filled white flowers from late spring to fall. They enjoy moist soils but are moderately drought resistant once well established. A food source for the Common Buckeye, Phaon Crescent, and White Peacock butterfly caterpillars as well as a nectar source for a host of pollinators. This species, Phyla nodiflora var. nodiflora, is native to every continent except Antarctica. It is important not to mow/prune until flowering is complete. Frogfruit is being more widely used as a lawn grass replacement option. Item# 10524

The red to pinkish-red and white tubular flowers emerge from between the spikes of chartreuse bracts from spring to fall to year-round under warm tropical conditiosn. The Fruit Cocktail Shrimp Plant, one the newest selections of Justicia brandegeeana, has a naturally more compact, better branching habit than the typical Red Shrimp Plant but in all other regards it is nearly identical. It is quite tolerant of light conditions ranging from full sun to light shade but may have the densest habit in sunnier conditions. The flowers attract hummingbirds, larger butterflies, and other pollinators. Use Shrimp Plants to add color in containers, as a specimen plant or in mixed container gardens, as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Cuban Crescent, Texan Crescent, White Peacock, and Malachite. Item# 12724

The fragrant very large 5" wide cupped flowers, when pollinated, produce the largest fruit of any of the Passion Fruits and mature to be 5-6" wide and 8-12" long (wow!). The Giant Granadilla, Passiflora quadrangularis, is a vigorous tropical vine with winged square stems and large oval leaves. It prefers a deep, well-drained, moist to average moist, fertile soil and a full to partly sunny position. High humidity and temperatures of 60^oF or more are required for fruit set and pollination. The Giant Granadilla is considered to be self-sterile and so it requires another species or a different clone (ours are clonally propagated), like Passiflora phoenicia 'Ruby Glow', for cross pollination. Caterpillar host: Gulf Fritillary, Julia Butterfly, Variegated Fritillary, and Zebra Longwing. Item# 11818

Clusters of white to lilac, up to 1" wide, star-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers are produced nearly continuously throughout the warmer months of the year. The large velvety, white to gray green, large rounded tropical foliage of the Giant Milkweed make excellent fodder for Monarch caterpillars and one leaf can provide a substantial amount of food. A large growing shrub in tropical climates where it can be trained into a tree form, grown as a shrub, or hedge. The Giant Milkweed can easily be maintained as a large container plant. Item# 11038

Huge scarlet pine-cone-like blooms to 8 inches long are borne in summer atop the large deep green tropical foliage. An unusually large-growing variety. Caterpillar host: White Peacock and Malachite. Item # 907.