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Butterflies use plants in different ways during their life cycles. Host plants provide shelter for butterfly eggs and food for growing caterpillars. Many butterfly species have only a few or even just one plant that they will use to lay their eggs and support their offspring. Most herbs make excellent host plants. Nectar plants produce various kinds of flowers that provide liquid food for adult butterflies.
If you want to attract butterflies that are just passing through, nectar plants will be enough to bring them in for a visit. Host plants will give the butterflies a place to put down roots and raise a family. The list of butterfly-attractive plants that follows has a couple of weeds that also host butterflies. They're followed by an asterisk (*) and have no hardiness information. Although you probably won't go out of your way to plant them, we've included them because they might be in your garden already. If you let a few of them grow, they may be host to butterflies you want to help out.
| Plant Name |
Botanical Name |
Type |
Cold / Heat
Zones |
| Arroyo lupine |
Lupinus succulentus |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Azalea |
Rhododendron spp. |
Shrub |
3 - 10 / 10 - 1 |
| Bee balm |
Monarda didyma |
Perennial |
4 - 9 / 9 - 2 |
| Blackberry lily |
Belamcanda chinensis |
Short-lived Perennial |
5 - 9 |
| Black-eyed Susan |
Rudbeckia hirta |
Short-lived Perennial |
3 - 7 / 7 - 2 |
| Blazing
star |
Liatris spicata |
Perennial |
4 - 9 / 9 - 2 |
| Button bush |
Cephalanthus occidentalis |
Shrub |
5 - 10 / |
| Coral bells |
Heuchera spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 8 / 8 - 2 |
| Cosmos |
Cosmos bipinnatus |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Fiddleneck |
Phacelia tanacetifolia |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Flowering tobacco |
Nicotiana sylvestris |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Foxglove |
Digitalis spp. |
Biennial/Perennial |
5 - 9 / 10 - 1 |
| Goldenrod |
Solidago spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 9 / 9 - 1 |
| Lantana |
Lantana camera |
Perennial |
10 - 11 / 12 - 1 |
| English lavender |
Lavandula angustifolia |
Perennial |
5 - 10 / 12 - 1 |
| Lilac |
Syringa vulgaris |
Perennial |
2 - 9 / 8 - 1 |
| Milkweed |
Asclepias spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 9 / 9 - 1 |
| Nasturtiums |
Tropaeolum majus. |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Pincushion flower |
Scabiosa columbaria |
Perennial |
3 - 9 / 9 - 1 |
| Primrose |
Primula spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 8 / 7 - 3 |
| Privet |
Ligustrum spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 10 / 9 - 1 |
| Spicebush |
Lindera benzoin |
Perennial |
5 - 9 / 8 - 1 |
| Spirea |
Spiraea spp. |
Perennial |
6 - 9 / 10 - 2 |
| Star flower |
Pentas lanceolata |
Perennial |
10 - 11 / 12 - 1 |
| Sweet William |
Dianthus spp. |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Texas paintbrush |
Castilleja indivisa |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Tickseed |
Coreopsis spp. |
Perennial |
4 - 9 / 12 - 1 |
| Turtlehead |
Chelone lyonii |
Perennial |
3 - 8 / 8 - 1 |
| Blue vervain |
Verbena hastata |
Perennial |
3 - 7 / 7 - 1 |
| Wallflower |
Erysimum capitatum |
Perennial |
5 - 8 / |
| Yarrow |
Achillea spp. |
Perennial |
3 - 9 / 9 - 2 |
| Zinnia |
Zinnia spp. |
Annual |
12 - 1 |
| Butterfly Name |
Plant Name |
Botanical Name |
Cold / Heat
Zones |
| Buckeye |
Sedum |
Sedum spp. |
3 - 9 / 9 - 1 |
| Dainty sulphur |
Marigold |
Tagetes spp. |
Annual / 12 - 1 |
| Eastern tailed blue |
Alfalfa* |
Medicago sativa |
|
| Meadow fritillary |
Violet |
Viola odorata |
8 - 9 / |
| Milbert's tortoiseshell |
Stinging nettle* |
Urtica dioica |
|
| Monarch |
Milkweed |
Asclepias spp. |
3 - 9 / 10 - 2 |
| Mourning cloak |
Willow |
Salix spp. |
4 - 9 / |
| Painted lady |
Hollyhock |
Alcea rosea |
3 - 9 / 9 - 1 |
| Tiger swallowtail |
Poplar |
Populus spp. |
4 - 9 / 9 - 3 |
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