Butterfly plants
By: Garden Gate staff
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Butterfly magnets
Create a buffet for butterflies! Clusters of small blooms are popular feeding sites — a butterfly’s proboscis easily fits inside these flowers. Large butterflies, such as monarchs and swallowtails, prefer large blooms as landing areas.
As you choose flowers for your garden, make sure to plant several bloom shapes so there’ll be something for everyone. And vivid shades of red, yellow, orange, pink and purple are colors these insects look for when they’re hungry. Group bright blooms in one spot so they don’t have to travel far to search for food.
Click ahead to find out more about three butterfly favorites!
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Stokes’ aster Stokesia laevis
Stokes’ aster has pretty flowers that are perfect for bringing butterflies, like the swallowtail (Papilio spp.) here, into your cottage garden. This perennial has stems that often flop after a rain or wind storm, so you may not want it in a formal garden. Wherever you grow it, plant it close to another perennial with stiff foliage to keep Stokes’ aster standing up.
Type Perennial
Blooms Purple and pink flowers in summer
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Well-drained
Size 12 to 24 in. tall, 12 to 18 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 10
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Gloriosa daisy Rudbeckia hirta
Gloriosa daisy’s bright 4- to 6-in. blossoms give a large butterfly plenty of room to land. Most are yellow with a brown center like ‘Tiger Eye Gold’ at left. But there are many other gloriosa daisy cultivars with varying shades of yellow, gold, orange and red, some with mahogany darkening the petals’ center. Deadhead them often to keep them blooming.
Type Perennial
Blooms Yellow, orange or dark red blooms from spring to fall
Light Full sun
Soil Well-drained
Size 12 to 36 in. tall and wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 12
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1
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Lantana Lantana camara
Once new lantana plants are established, they’re quite drought-tolerant. But until then, make sure to keep the young plants moist so their roots can anchor them deep into the soil. And pinch the stems back a few times before the flowers bloom. That’ll make the plants denser with more flowers. Invite butterflies to your deck with lantana planted in containers.
Type Tender perennial
Blooms Yellow, orange, purple, white and bicolored flowers in summer through fall
Light Full sun
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 12 to 48 in. tall, 12 to 36 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 11 to 12
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1
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