Attracts

Plants that attract butterflies

Butterfly planting fails when it is only a nectar buffet. Adults need accessible flowers in sun and shelter; caterpillars need host plants and time to finish their life cycle. A single celebrity shrub does not make a corridor.

Favour open flower forms, plant in drifts, and keep broad insecticides out of the patch. Continuous nectar from late spring into autumn matters — and so does leaving some untidy edges where eggs and caterpillars can survive.

What matters most for Butterflies

1. Separate two jobs: nectar for adults, and host plants for caterpillars — a garden with only nectar is half-built.
2. Provide overlapping nectar from late spring into autumn, not one spectacular week.
3. Plant drifts so butterflies can find and return to a patch.
4. Include sunny shelter; cold windy corners waste good plants.
5. Skip broad insecticides on flowering forage and nearby hosts.

Want the method, not only the list?

This hub browses every plant tagged as attracting butterflies. For nectar vs host design, succession, and curated role shortlists, read the guide Plants for Butterflies — then return here to scan the full catalog.

Starter kit for Butterflies

1. Nectar shrub magnet — Butterfly Bush 'Blue Chip': compact nectar for sunny gardens with limited space.
2. Open composite discs — Narrow-Leaved Purple Coneflower: easy landing pads for adults.
3. Long perennial nectar — Hardy Geranium Rozanne: extended flowering in mixed borders.

Scan the collection below, then open profiles for site fit. Pair nectar plants with companion and pest-smart notes where the library offers them — beauty and softer pest pressure can share the same bed.

Plants for Plants that attract butterflies (5419)

• Iceland Poppy Full Sun1–2 ft (30–60 cm)
• Lesser Calamint Full Sun1–2 ft (30–60 cm)
• Whirling Butterflies Gaura Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Gaura Full Sun1–2 ft (30–60 cm)
• Black Locust Full Sun30–50 ft (910–1520 cm)
• Antelope Bitterbrush Full Sun2–6 ft (60–180 cm)
• Desert Ironwood Full Sun20–50 ft (610–1520 cm)
• Texas Kidneywood Full Sun6–15 ft (180–460 cm)
• Desert Broom Full Sun4–12 ft (120–370 cm)
• White Mangrove Full Sun30–40 ft (910–1220 cm)
• California poppy Full Sun12 in (30 cm)
• Mountain Laurel Partial Sun5–15 ft (150–460 cm)
• Rugosa Rose Full Sun4–6 ft (120–180 cm)
• Yellow Coneflower Full Sun3–5 ft (90–150 cm)
• Rose 'Hansa' Full Sun4–5 ft (120–150 cm)
• Dog Rose Full Sun3–15 ft (90–460 cm)
• Red Bottlebrush Full Sun20–30 ft (610–910 cm)
• Cenizo Full Sun5–8 ft (150–240 cm)
• Sassafras Full Sun30–60 ft (910–1830 cm)
• California Brittlebush Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Toyon Full Sun6–8 ft (180–240 cm)
• California Rose Full Sun6–10 ft (180–310 cm)
• Eastern Hemlock Full Sun40–70 ft (1220–2130 cm)
• Swamp Rose Full Sun3–6 ft (90–180 cm)
• Cherokee Rose Full Sun6–20 ft (180–610 cm)
• Common Hackberry Full Sun40–60 ft (1220–1830 cm)
• Brittlebush Full Sun2–4 ft (60–120 cm)
• Climbing Prairie Rose Full Sun6–12 ft (180–370 cm)
• Mule's Fat Full Sun6–12 ft (180–370 cm)
• Chamiso Full Sun3–6 ft (90–180 cm)
• Japanese Blood Grass Full Sun2–4 ft (60–120 cm)
• Multiflora Rose Full Sun6–15 ft (180–460 cm)
• Sheep Laurel Partial Sun1–3 ft (30–90 cm)
• California Laurel Full Sun20–80 ft (610–2440 cm)
• Red Alder Full Sun40–50 ft (1220–1520 cm)
• California Melic Grass Full Sun1–4 ft (30–120 cm)
• Illinois Bundleflower Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Smoketree Full Sun5–25 ft (150–760 cm)
• Sweet Briar Full Sun6–10 ft (180–310 cm)
• Frogfruit Full Sun1–3 in (3–8 cm)
• Straggler Daisy Full Sun12 in (30 cm)
• Roundleaf Ragwort Full Sun2 ft (60 cm)
• Cowitch Vine Partial Sun12–35 ft (370–1070 cm)
• Blue Lyme Grass Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Crimson Bottlebrush 'Mauve Mist' Full Sun6–12 ft (180–370 cm)
• Crimson Bottlebrush 'Perth Pink' Full Sun5 ft (150 cm)
• Damianita Full Sun1–2 ft (30–60 cm)
• Mountain Mint Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Indigo Bush Full Sun4–12 ft (120–370 cm)
• California Buckthorn Full Sun6–15 ft (180–460 cm)
• Engelmann's Daisy Full Sun1–3 ft (30–90 cm)
• Colorado Four O'Clock Full Sun1–2 ft (30–60 cm)
• Sweet Fern Full Sun2–5 ft (60–150 cm)
• Virginia Sweetspire Full Sun3–10 ft (90–310 cm)
• Wax Myrtle Full Sun10–20 ft (310–610 cm)
• Kentucky Bluegrass Full Sun1–3 ft (30–90 cm)
• Prickly Rose Full Sun3–7 ft (90–210 cm)
• Nootka Rose Full Sun6–10 ft (180–310 cm)
• Northern Bush Honeysuckle Full Sun2–3 ft (60–90 cm)
• Coastal Sand Verbena Full Sun4–6 in (10–15 cm)