Georgia Gardener Newsletter

Georgia Gardener Newsletter Design Tip: February 21, 2008

Butterfly Gardens


Butterfly sipping Salvia nectar	Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar on Fennel

Every garden whether it's 100 acres or 100 square feet should have some plants and features intended to attract butterflies. Butterfly gardening is something that every person from 1-98+ can enjoy. There is something peaceful and satisfying watching adult butterflies move from flower to flower or lay their eggs. Even the voracious butterfly larvae caterpillars are fascinating to watch as they eat the leaves of host plants. Butterflies are so beautiful that I refer to them as flying flowers.

Components of a Butterfly Garden

There are several things that every butterfly must have in order to be completely successful:

Nectar-producing flowers that attract adult butterflies
Host plants specific for local butterfly species
Area for sunning (such as a flat rock)
Small mud puddles

In addition to these, rotting fruit is often attractive to butterflies. Unfortunately, it's also attractive to yellow jackets. Therefore, you will have to make the decision whether or not to include this item in your butterfly garden. From personal observation, I have also noted that butterflies like to hide or even crawl to spin their cocoons in my native ornamental grasses. Therefore, I like to include these also.

Host Plants

While nectar plants are well-known and documented in a wide variety of publications and will be covered below, I want to start with the host plants that each butterfly species MUST have in order to survive. Female butterflies only lay their eggs on specific plants. Which plants depends upon which species of butterfly. These host plants may be just a few related species from a single genus or from closely related genera. The table below lists some of our native butterflies are their associated host plant(s).

Butterfly	Host Plant Common Name	Host Plant Latin Name
Monarch	Milkweed/Butterfly Weed	Asclepias spp.
Gulf Fritillary	Passion Vine	Passiflora spp.
Variegated Fritillary	Violets & Passion Vine	Viola spp., Passiflora spp.
Spicebush Swallowtail	Sassafras Tree	Sassafras albidum
E. Black Swallowtail	Angelica & related species	Angelica spp. (Apiaceae Family)
Zebra Swallowtail	Pawpaw Tree	Asimina triloba
Pipevine Swallowtail	Pipevine	Aristolochia spp.
Tiger Swallowtail	Tulip Poplar, Cottonwood	Liriodendron tulipifera Populus spp.
Pearl Crescent	Asters	Symphiotrichum spp., etc.
Painted Lady	Thistles	Cirsium spp.
Red Admiral	Nettles	Urtica/Boehmeria spp.
Sulphurs	Clover	Trifolium spp.
Checkered Skipper	Asters	Symphiotrichum spp., etc.
Viceroy	Willows, Cherries, Plums	Salix spp., Prunus spp.
Mourning Cloak	Elm, Willow, Cottonwood	Ulmus, Salix & Populus spp.
Banded Admiral	Birch Tree	Betula nigra

As you can see from this table, not all our flowers. Some host plants are large trees and others are, well, weeds. Some plants are both hosts and nectar sources.

Native Nectar Sources

I prefer to use native plants when attracting adult butterflies to my garden. I feel that since both the butterflies and plants evolved together, they play a critical role in each other's life cycles.


Joe-pye Weed	Purple Coneflower

Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium spp.) blooms in July and August. It can be quite tall, but shorter cultivars exist. It prefers a moist soil. I often have dozens of butterflies on it simultaneously. Purple coneflower begins blooming in June and can continue into fall. Both of these plants prefer full sun.


Woodland Phlox	Orange Milkweed

Butterflies often emerge early in spring and are immediately in search of nectar. Woodland phlox (Phlox stolonifera) blooms in early April and is often covered with butterflies. Orange milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) begins blooming in June. It is a nectar source for many adult butterflies but is also a host plant for the Monarch. Woodland phlox grows best in rich soil in the shade, while milkweed loves the hot sun and dry soil.


Early Sunrise Coreopsis	Homestead Purple Verbena

Coreopsis spp.(aka tickseed) are late spring to summer blooming perennials with several species and varieties. All attract butterflies. Verbena canadensis 'Homestead Purple' is a long-blooming groundcover which grows rapidly. Both of these plants enjoy full sun and well-drained soil.


Bottlebrush Buckeye	Passion Vine

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is a large late summer blooming shrub that thrives in partial to medium shade. These flower stalks are often covered with numerous butterflies. Passion Vine (Passiflora incarnata) is a sprawling vine that not only attracts adult butterflies to its intricate flowers, but is also a host for the Gulf Fritillary (note the chewed leaves).

There are many butterfly-attracting (and attractive) native plants. These include: native azaleas, goldenrod, rudbeckia, obedient plant, turtlehead, buttonbush and so forth. If you would like to print a (pdf) list of native plants for your butterfly garden (including the table above), click here.

Some Well-Behaved Non-Natives

As with the salvia pictured at the top, there are several non-native plants that also attract butterflies. I often recommend these plants because they have not been found to be invasive.


Mums	Abelia


Asters	Sedum

Unfortunately, there are some popular plants used in butterfly gardens which are now considered a threat to our native ecosystems. These include: Butterfly Bush (Buddleja spp.), Brazilian Vervain (Verbena bonariensis & V. brasiliensis), Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota), Oxeye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum). Please carefully research any non-native plants you wish to introduce to your garden.