Apr 20 2010
Butterfly Plants
Butterfly plants are as varied as the butterflies that use them for food and as host plants. Butterflies are fairly flexible about the flowers that they use for nectar, but each butterfly has a certain variety of plant that they use as host plants to lay their eggs on, and that is usually the only plant that will do.
Butterfly plants for the most part are full sun plants, which means that they need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day.As far as the type of soil, nearly all of the butterfly plants will do well in average garden soil with organic matter in it. To decide which plants to put in your garden, consider the butterflies that you like watching, and plant the nectar flowers and host plants that they like in large groups and you should have plenty of butterflies in your garden.
I always plant a wide variety of butterfly plants, because I like all kinds of butterflies in my garden. My favorite butterfly plant is the Zinnia, it is easy to grow and will attract all kinds of butterflies to your garden.
There are other butterfly plants that I use a lot; and they are called appropriately enough, “Butterfly Bushes” it is a medium sized shrub that really attracts butterflies in summer.I have found that the white variety attracts the most butterflies in my garden. Usually the Tiger Swallowtail and the Siver Spotted skipper. But my blue butterfly bush attracts them too.
Asters are popular butterfly plants to have in your garden, these will also attract several different kinds of butterflies. 19 different species of butterflies either use Asters as nectar plants or they use them as host plants. Asters are great, but you have to be careful of the variety you plant, some asters can re-seed easily and will take over your garden.
If you want to attract the Monarch Butterfly to your garden you will need to plant Milkweeds. The Orange “Butterfly Weed”; along with other plants in the milkweed family, serve as the Monarch butterfly’s only host plants.That is the reason they are one of my favorite butterfly plants!
There is not enough room in my garden, or on this page to cover all of the butterfly plants that butterflies use for food and as host plants. Please refer to the butterfly plants category for a more complete listing of the individual butterfly plants.
Related butterfly garden posts:
- Butterfly Garden Plants Common butterfly plants include perennials and annuals, flowering shrubs, and...
- Plants That Attract Butterflies There are many plants that attract butterflies. How do you...
- Butterfly Weed One of the best butterfly plants that I know of ...
- Zinnias, My Favorite Butterfly Flower My favorite butterfly plant is the annual flower called the...
- Butterfly Bushes One of the most dependable butterfly plants that I know...
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