We’ll show you the best flower varieties to get your garden fluttering. It’s well known that you can attract pollinators by planting butterfly-favorite shades like pinks, purples, reds, yellows, and oranges. We all know that the butterfly bushes are one of the best shrubs we can plant to attract butterflies to the garden, but there are many plants that produce clusters and spikes of blooms that are filled with nectar and cloaked in bright colors. You’ll enjoy watching insects land on the bold blossoms of agapanthus, abelia, lantana, and fast-growing spiraea, which provide butterflies with shelter as well as beautiful blooms. Make sure these plants take well to their new home with this guide. Take a closer look at these butterfly-attracting, nectar-rich blooms to turn your garden into a magical butterfly oasis.
Abelia
This compact, rounded shrub is a winner for borders. If you plant abelias, you will be treated to pink or white blooms along with foliage in a variety of colors, from pink, white, and green to yellow, gold, and red. Some varieties have variegate foliage.
USDA Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Aster
While there are lots of spring and summer-flowering, pollinator-attracting plants available to gardeners, plant a few fall bloomers, like asters, to keep butterflies visiting your garden later in the year. Asters blooms in purple, white, blue, and pink shades.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Agapanthus
Agapanthuses come in a variety of blue and purple hues. With deep blue coloring and dwarf sizes, some are perfect for patio containers and useful as cut flowers. Also, some agapanthus selections can tolerate near coastal conditions, frost, and neglect. If you live close to the sea you may see even more plentiful blooms.
USDA Zones: 8, 9, 10
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Bee Balm
A favorite of pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds, bee balm (Monarda sp.) requires regular water and moist, well-draining soil. Gardeners typically prune bee balm in late spring, but it’s possible to prune during summer to alter the blooming period.
USDA Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Black-Eyed Susan
Butterflies love black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia sp.), which provide them with nectar to gather and platforms that they can easily land on. These flowers can reach 2 to 4 feet tall, but they have been known to grow even higher in the right conditions.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Blazing Star
With a name that nods to its striking appearance, blazing star (Liatris sp.) produces stalks of pink, white, or purple flowers that attract pollinators. It grows best in open spaces and with plenty of full sun. The plants are hardy in the South and the flowers of many blazing star species linger for a long time during the blooming season.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush (Buddleia sp.), a bright bloomer loved by pollinators, flowers in summer. It tends to grow in an arching form and, depending on the variety, produces either flower spikes or bloom clusters in a wide variety of colors.
USDA Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Catmint
Loved for its fragrance, catmint (Nepeta sp.) is a hardy perennial that grows in bushes of purple flower spikes. Its soft, gray-green leaves are edible and give off a minty fragrance. It can thrive in a variety of soils, as long as they are well-drained.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun or partial shade
Coneflower
As reliable blooms that appear in the heat of summer, coneflowers are treasured by gardeners in hot climates and butterflies who sip on the nectar of the blossoms. Coneflowers (Echinacea sp.) come in a variety of colors, including purple, yellow, red, white, pink, and orange. Zone hardiness depends on the species.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Lantana
Lantanas are some of the best-known garden plants that attract butterflies. They bloom in mounds across a vibrant spectrum of colors. Known to be drought and salt tolerant, these hardy plants can stand up to hot temperatures and difficult climates.
USDA Zones: 9, 10, 11
Exposure: Full sun
Lavender
Many species of lavender (Lavandula sp.) are popular with butterflies. They are lovely additions to herb gardens, and they produce frilly purple spires and deeply aromatic foliage. Blooms and foliage from some species can be used for culinary purposes in the kitchen.
USDA Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Leucanthemum
Leucanthemums are summer-blooming perennials with large cream-to-lemon decorative blooms with fancy fringed deep golden central petals. Many varieties will provide plentiful blooms with strong disease resistance. Shasta daisies are identified as Leucanthemum x superbum. They typcically prefer well-drained soil in sunny borders.
USDA Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Milkweed
Hardy milkweed (Asclepias sp.), produces bright blooms. One of the most popular is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), a native species that has orange and yellow flowers in late summer. Milkweed’s sap is toxic, so if you plant it, ensure pets and children are protected.
USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Exposure: Full sun
Pentas
These sun-loving plants bloom in bounds of flower clusters in hues of scarlet, pink, white, lavender, or purple and are a butterfly’s paradise. Lush dark green and white variegated foliage provide hearty additions to the garden. They grow from 12 to 24 inches high with a clumping habit.
USDA Zones: 9, 10, 11
Exposure: Full sun
Phlox
These flowering plants are perennials that bloom in a spectrum of forms and a rainbow of colors, including coral, pink, orange, purple, red, yellow, white, and blue. The long-blooming flowers appear in summer and draw butterflies with their nectar.
USDA Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Exposure: Full sun
Spiraea
With spiraea, you can expect profuse spring flowers with lacy forms in shades of red, purple, pink, or white. There are also sporadic blooms throughout the summer months. Spiraeas are sometimes known as meadowsweets. They are heat tolerant and will attract both birds and butterflies.
USDA Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Tecoma
These evergreen, mid-sized shrubs have a subtropical to tropical appearance and bell-shaped flowers in yellow, orange, red, or tangerine. They can be counted on to bloom continuously until frost. You can use them as a border plantings, in a container, as accents, or planted en mass for a colorful punch in the garden.
USDA Zones: 8, 9, 10, 11
Exposure: Full sun
Verbena
These stunners bloom from spring until fall. Some produce pale purple flowers that form crowns around deep green foliage, but others bloom in pink, red, blue, and white hues. The best part? They’re disease and pest resistant and drought tolerant. Verbenas come in both annual and perennial options.
USDA Zones: 8, 9, 10, 11
Exposure: Full sun
Veronica
This compact bush is covered in eye-catching spikes of blooms all season long. It will flower up to the first frost and is drought-tolerant. Varieties of veronicas (also known as speedwells) bloom in pink, purple, white, or blue hues. Foliage varies too and can be gold, green, or silver.
USDA Zones: 6, 7, 8, 9
Exposure: Full sun
Weigela
These beauties will provide a rainbow of color from spring to fall. They feature attractive, variegated foliage with dense clusters of soft pink, red, yellow, or white funnel-shaped flowers that bloom in profusion in late spring or early summer.
USDA Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade