27 Colorful Butterfly Plants to Attract These Pretty Pollinators
Create a best-on-the-block, colorful garden with these gorgeous butterfly plants. These plants are irresistible to butterflies, so create a haven for these beautiful visitors that add so much to your environment. Butterflies are pollinators that carry much-needed pollen from one plant to another to help plants reproduce. If butterflies frequent your yard, you have a healthy spot that will also attract bees. Birds are also drawn to ecosystems where butterflies flock since they are a food source. Perhaps most importantly, butterflies are a welcome sight enjoyed by almost everyone who sees them, and their delicate wings and pretty colors make them unique and extraordinary creatures.
These colorful flowers are can't-miss additions to your yard. They are beautiful and encourage plenty of pollinators, making your garden a top spot for winged visitors to stop by and spend time.
Anise Hyssop
There are many reasons to grow anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). It is super heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant; deer and rabbits leave it alone, and it blooms for weeks in late summer. Plus, these butterfly plants also make excellent cut flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 4–10
Grow it with: Black-eyed Susan for a dazzling blue-and-yellow combo of easy-care plants.
Butterfly Weed
Grow a butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) or two, and you’re sure to have monarchs. The adults drink nectar from the plant’s summertime orange flowers, and the caterpillars eat the plant’s leaves.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 4–9
Grow it with: Liatris, another long-blooming perennial that Monarch butterflies love to visit.
Add variety to your garden with other milkweeds, such as annual bloodflower or tall swamp milkweed.
Phlox
Phlox (Phlox paniculata) bears beautiful clusters of red, pink, lavender, salmon, or white blooms throughout the summer. Their lovely scent delights us as much as their nectar delights hungry butterflies.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 4–8
Grow it with: Purple coneflower—the two plants thrive in the same growing conditions and visually complement each other.
Phlox can be troubled by a disease called powdery mildew. Look for disease-resistant varieties.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush (Buddleia spp.) is typically covered in butterflies all summer long. An easy-care shrub, it features fragrant blue, purple, and white flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 5–9, depending on type
Grow it with: Mexican sunflower. This annual’s bold orange flowers look great against any butterfly bush.
In parts of the United States, butterfly bush is considered invasive. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it or opt for one of the newer varieties that are virtually seedless.
Aster
A top plant for the fall garden, aster (Symphyotrichum spp.), is a heavy bloomer with colorful flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, red, and white. Aster does double duty: This fall butterfly plant's blossoms supply nectar, and pearl crescent caterpillars feed on the plant's leaves.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–8, depending on type
Grow it with: Bloody geranium, a summer-blooming perennial that develops bright red fall foliage. It looks great with colorful aster flowers.
Look for newer named varieties of asters; they’re often more disease-resistant and compact.
Purple Coneflower
If you have a sunny spot, there are many reasons to grow purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.). A wide range of butterflies love sipping its nectar, and the plant is heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant. It’s a perfect cut flower that blooms almost all summer long.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–9
Grow it with: Anise hyssop for a combo that produces pretty bouquets and tons of butterflies for weeks in summer.
Salvia
There’s a salvia (Salvia spp.) for every garden; some tall, others short. Some have blue or purple blooms, and others have red, orange, or pink flowers. While you might have trouble picking a salvia, the butterflies won’t—they’ll reliably flock to it every summer. Salvia ‘May Night’ is shown here.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 4–9
Grow it with: Coreopsis for a long-blooming, no-fail blue-and-yellow combination.
Lantana
Colorful lantana (Lantana spp.) blooms all summer in glowing shades of lavender, pink, red, orange, yellow, cream, and white. The versatile plant looks perfect in containers, beds, and borders. The butterflies will agree—lantana is a perfect addition to your garden.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 10, but in cooler areas, lantana is grown as an annual.
Grow it with: Zinnia. The two look beautiful together and will lure an endless stream of butterflies to your garden.
In parts of the United States, lantana is considered invasive. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
Pentas
An all-around garden champion, pentas (Pentas lanceolata) bears clusters of star-shaped blooms in bright shades of pink, red, and white. It loves hot conditions and holds up to drought. Plus, it works well in bird and butterfly gardens because it will attract hummingbirds and butterflies in need of a snack.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 10-11, but usually grown as an annual
Grow it with: Angelonia for an easy-growing combo that looks smashing all season.
Passionflower
Hardy passionflower (Passiflora incarnate) is a unique vine. Featuring some of the most intricate blossoms of the plant world, passionflower vines add a tropical ambience to your garden. It’s also one of the best butterfly plants; a variety of them drink its nectar.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Climbs to 10 feet
Zones: 6-9
Grow it with: Black-eyed Susan vine for a charming blue-and-yellow combo of quick-growing vines.
Passionflower escaped cultivation and has become a problematic weed in many areas. If not properly managed, it may become invasive.
Mexican Sunflower
Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) is a big, bold, perfect butterfly plant. Enjoy this easy-care annual’s nonstop display of big orange flowers all summer.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: Annual
Grow it with: South American verbena; the plants look amazing together, and they like the same growing conditions.
In parts of the United States, Mexican sunflower is considered invasive. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
South American Verbena
South American verbena (Verbena bonariensis) is an excellent cut flower for bouquets. The more you cut, the more it blooms, so there will always be a supply of lavender-purple blooms on this butterfly plant.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 7-10, but in colder Zones it’s usually grown as an annual.
Grow it with: Yarrow, which has flat clusters of blooms in a rainbow of shades. Like South American verbena, it’s heat- and drought-resistant, so it’s a cinch to grow.
Verbena bonariensis is invasive in parts of the United States. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
Zinnia
Just about everyone loves zinnia (Zinnia spp.), which is why it’s a favorite butterfly plant of gardeners, cottage gardeners, and beginners. Not only is this one of the easiest-to-manage plants that attract butterflies, but it blooms in an almost endless range of colors and looks great all summer.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: Annual
Grow it with: Fennel, which has a ferny texture that looks perfect against the bold zinnia blooms.
Joe Pye Weed
Create towers of flowers with big Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium spp.), which can grow more than 6 feet tall. If you don’t have that much room, don’t worry—types such as ‘Little Joe’ stay smaller. Either way, you and the butterflies will love the big clusters of dusty pink flowers that appear from midsummer to fall.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and rich, well-drained soil
Size: To 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–10
Grow it with: South American verbena for an easy-care combination no butterfly can resist.
Black-Eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is just as perfect for bouquets as it is for butterflies. This tough perennial blooms with big, yellow, daisy-shaped flowers in late summer.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 4–9
Grow it with: Purple coneflower for a classic prairie-style combination.
Fennel
Bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’) is an excellent bird and butterfly plant for adding texture to gardens. It’s a surefire way to attract sparrows or swallowtail butterflies, whose caterpillars munch on the fennel’s ferny foliage.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
Grow it with: Queen Anne’s lace, which offers a similar texture but with green foliage and white flowers. Swallowtail caterpillars also feed on this plant.
Fennel can self-seed aggressively in the garden. To keep it under control, cut off most of the flowers as they fade, but leave a few to produce seed and keep the plant coming back.
Coreopsis
An award-winning perennial butterfly plant, coreopsis (Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’) will reward you—and the butterflies—with little yellow flowers over rich green, ferny foliage for much of the summer. The nectar in coreopsis also attracts bumblebees.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 18 inches tall and wide
Zones: 3–8
Grow it with: Sedum, which picks up blooming once the coreopsis fades for the summer.
Shear the plant back with hedge clippers after a flush of blooms starts to fade; it’ll spring back and bloom again.
Common Milkweed
Butterflies, such as the zebra swallowtail and monarchs, eat only milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Grow the plant from seeds or seedlings.
Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 4–9
Grow it with: Catmint for a classic prairie style with a touch of silver.
Parsley
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) hosts eastern black swallowtail caterpillars and grows easily in full sun. The only maintenance this fuss-free herb requires is planting and harvesting.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–9
Grow it with: Dill for a butterfly-friendly herb garden.
Petroselinum crispum is considered invasive in parts of the United States. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
Globe Amaranth
Grow this annual from seeds for nonstop summer flowers that attract the American snout butterfly and others. Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) is an easy-to-grow butterfly plant.
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: To 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide, depending on type
Zones: 2-11
Grow it with: Strawflower to create a butterfly garden that doubles as a cutting garden.
Dill
Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a fragrant culinary herb that grows easily from seeds and hosts black swallowtail larvae. In summer, its delicate yellow flowers add softness to the garden.
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: To 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 2—11
Grow it with: Coreopsis for a sunny yellow garden design.
Sedum
A truly diverse group of plants, sedums (Hylotelephium spp.) come in many shapes, colors, and sizes. This drought-resistant perennial blooms from late summer into fall, attracting pollinators of all kinds.
Growing Conditions: Full sun
Size: To 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 2–11
Grow it with: Black-eyed Susan for a dazzling combination of easy-care plants.
Some Hylotelephium species are invasive in areas of the United States. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
Bee Balm
Bee balm (Monarda spp.) is a sure bet for a garden butterfly plant. Its blossoms, reminiscent of fireworks and in a variety of colors, make this native plant a standout in any garden setting.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and average soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–9
Grow it with: Veronica for spring through fall bloom, depending on type
Mountain Mint
Densely flowered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.) is a vigorous grower known for attracting a wide range of pollinators, including butterflies. Unlike true mints, this plant is not invasive, although it slowly spreads unless it is contained.
Growing Conditions: Full to part sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 4–8
Grow it with: Blazing star to attract monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
Lavender
Lavender (Lavandula spp.), with its calming scent and dainty flowers, might be the most enjoyable herb. It attracts butterflies and other pollinators while repelling mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and sandy or rocky soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
Grow it with: Catmint to provide a wonderful early-spring source of nectar.
Veronica
Veronica (Veronica officinalis) brightens any full-sun garden and adds an interesting texture. Its blooms provide nectar for pollinators all season long. Frequent visitors are the gray hairstreak and common sulfur butterflies.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and rich, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3–11
Grow it with: Lady’s mantle to attract butterflies in spring.
Veronica is invasive in some areas of the United States. Check with your local agricultural extension office before planting it.
Yarrow
The pungent aroma and bitter taste that make the yellow blooms of yarrow (Achillea spp.) unattractive to deer have the opposite reaction with pollinators. They are highly attractive to butterflies and bees from early spring to late fall.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 3–10
Grow it with: Bee balm for a gorgeous gold and blue contrast all season.
Yarrow is a weedy species that can become invasive unless contained.