Butterfly Nectar Sources

In early spring to early summer, pairs of starry, four-petaled, tubular fuzzy white flowers are produced atop the deep green foliage and are followed by 1/4-3/8" diameter, glossy, bright red berries. The flowers are a standout against the deep green foliage and are likely to attract pollinating moths, like Sphinx and Hummingbird Moths, as well as smaller pollinators like bees and potentially butterflies. The fruit is consumed by a variety of wildlife like Quail, Dove, Wild Turkey, songbirds, and small mammals. The Partridgeberry or Twinberry, Mitchella repens, is a low growing, slow-ish growing and thus non-aggressive, shade tolerant, native, evergreen, woody groundcover native to all states east of the Mississippi River and those abutting it, as far west as East Texas, as far south as South-Central Florida, and as far north as Eastern Minnesota, Maine, and into Canada. We normally see it on average moist to moist, often sandy soils and in shaded to partly shade areas where it has minimal competition. The Partridgeberry is considered tolerant of periodically dry-ish shade once well established. Provide a shaded, average moist, acidic, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13540

Possibly the brightest colored trailing Lantana on the market and both our staff and our pollinators have totally fallen in love with it! The rounded flower clusters open a deep orange-yellow, deepen through orange tones, and mature to deep fuchsia attracting a variety of bees, butterflies, and other garden beneficials throughout the growing season. Passion Fruit Lantana is a trailing selection perfectly suited to hanging basket and container culture whether as specimens or in mixed company and will also make a statement in the garden and landscape as a groundcover or enmasse. These heat and sunloving plants are sure to provide continuous color from spring to frost. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Rated a 4.88/5.0 in the 2023 Penn State Flower Trials and was a standout performer in the 2025 Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Field Trials. Item# 13310

Received a 5 out of 5 rating in trials at Raker-Roberta Trial Gardens in 2025! The dense spikes of orange, tubular buds open to a soft peach from late spring through summer and into early fall. The nectar rich flowers of Agastache are a favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Peach Pearl Agastache, a sister to the highly popular Pink Pearl, was selected for its exceptional flower power, compact habit, and garden performance, so compact in fact it could be used as a groundcover. Hummingbird Mint's excellent flower power ensures that it will keep your hummingbirds happy throughout the growing season. Provide a full to mostly sunny location with excellent drainage and good air circulation for the best results. Enjoy this Hummingbird Mint as a low maintenance container plant or use it en masse in the garden and landscape. Moderately drought resistant once well-established. Deer and rabbit resistant. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13582

Large 3" wide, deep blue, cornflower-like daisies are produced on sturdy stalks starting in late spring and lasting through much of summer on well established clumps. Peachies Pick is a dense clump forming and exceptionally long flowering selection of the Stokesia Daisy. Its dense compact habit make this the perfect Stokes Aster for gardens and landscapes. Did we mention that it doesn't flop like older cultivars? This southern selection originated from the gardens of and was named for Peachie Saxon of Mississippi. It originated to us from one of the people who helped to make it known to gardeners and landscapers everywhere, noted horticulturist and author Gail Barton of Meridian, Mississippi. Item# 10810.

The huge white flowers of Peppermint Flare are randomly speckled and lightly striped with purplish pink. This hardy perennial Hibiscus is sure to be a conversation piece! This nearly sterile hybrid produces a continuous display of huge flowers, has excellent vigor, and pest resistant foliage. This root hardy die-back perennial has a compact 4-6' x 4-6' habit and is tolerant of soil moisture levels ranging from average to wet. The Flare Series Hibiscus were developed near San Antonio so in the the words of Heidi Sheesley they are 'Texas tough' as well as big and beautiful! Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 11171

3-4" high Shrimp Plant-like, square-shaped spikes of brilliant red bracts from between which emerge red-orange, curving tubular flowers with recurving petals and are produced mainly in winter into early spring. The Peruvina Wild Petunia or Lobster Claw, Ruellia chartacea, is a shrubby, naturally evergreen, tropical plant with medium-sized, glossy, deep green foliage and grows to 3-6'H x 3-4'W but can be maintained smaller with pruning. This is the only known Ruellia species with such showy bracts and they can provide color for months. Provide bright indirect sunlight, filtered shade, to cool sunlight like early or very late in the day. The Peruvian Wild Petunia will prefer an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12926

Spikes of long drooping fragrant white flowers are produced in late spring and early summer that are excellent for pollinators like bees. Peter's Peach Creek Virginia Sweetspire was selected by Peter Loos for its longer flowering season and its nearly evergreen foliage that can turn fiery shades of yellow, orange, and red in especially cold winters. This selection originates from the southwestern most portion of this easy to grow native shrub's range. Virginia Sweetspire is a naturally suckering, normally deciduous shrub well suited for use in gardens, landscapes, as well as natural areas. Item# 11382

Large clusters of glowing purple tubular blooms are borne atop 3-4'H stems in spring and summer. This unusual hybrid was discovered by noted plantsman Peter Loos and is a wonderful garden plant where the butterflies flock to its nectar rich flowers.  Peter's Purple Monarda has an upright and bushy growth habit yet it refuses to flop. Extremely disease resistant. Item# 9887.

3" wide creamy white flowers with a burgundy eye are produced from summer to fall on an upright growing perennial with small, trilobed, rich green foliage. The Pineland Hibiscus or Comfortroot is an uncommon native perennial Hibiscus found at the edge of pine forests, along rivers, and streams. It is not always long lived (3-6 years typically) but is certainly a worthy component of wildflower gardens, meadows, other natural settings, and near the back of the garden or landscape. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 9804

Penta-like clusters of tightly packed tubular purplish-pink tubular blooms are borne throughout late winter and spring and periodically throughout the year on the well-established plants. The Fragrant Pink Panama Rose releases its sweet fragrance at night so grow this one where it can be appreciated. A good choice for containers or in the ground where hardy. A naturally rounded and well-behaved shrub. Item# 740.

Huge bright cherry pink, 10" wide, widely flaring flowers are born from summer to fall on this beautiful perennial Hibiscus. Pink Flare is a showstopper with its continuous display of massive flowers, excellent vigor, and and pest resistant foliage. This root hardy die-back perennial has a compact 4-6' x 4-6' habit and is tolerant of soil moisture levels ranging from average to wet. The Flare Series Hibiscus were developed near San Antonio so in the the words of Heidi Sheesley they are 'Texas tough' as well as big and beautiful! Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 11452

The pine-cone shaped flower clusters are composed of a multitude of rich pink, 2" long, slightly arching, tubular flowers that are produced throughout the warmer months of the year to potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions. The flowers attract mainly hummingbirds but potentially other pollinators like larger butterflies. The Pink Jacobinia, a selection of Justicia carnea, is a naturally evergreen, upright to spreading, heat-loving, shrubby tropical cloaked in large, medium green tropical looking foliage and growing to about 2-3' high and 1-2' wide by the end of the growing season, but may get larger where protected from freezes and hard frosts. Jacobinias make easy and rewarding container plants as specimens or in mixed company or can be added to garden or landscape for summer color. They are adaptable to sun to light shade but may benefit from midday shade in areas with hot summer climates. Provide a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: White Peacock and Malachite. Item# 9854

Received a rating of 4.87 out of 5 in the UGA Trial Gardens and was a staff and visitor favorite in Terra Nova Nurseries trials! The dense spikes of deep rosy pink, tubular buds open to a soft pink creating a wonderful two-toned effect from late spring through summer and into early fall. The nectar rich flowers of Agastache are a favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Pink Pearl Agastache was selected for its exceptional flower power, compact habit, and garden performance, so compact in fact it could be used as a groundcover. Hummingbird Mint's excellent flower power ensures that it will keep your hummingbirds happy throughout the growing season. Provide a full to mostly sunny location with excellent drainage and good air circulation for the best results. Enjoy this Hummingbird Mint as a low maintenance container plant or use it en masse in the garden and landscape. Moderately drought resistant once well-established. Deer and rabbit resistant. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13083

The extra large (for a Phlox) rich pink 1-1/4" wide flowers are centered by a contrasting dark purplish-red eye which is in turn surrounded by a narrow white halo all atop a dense groundcovering mound of rich green foliage. The butterfly attracting flower show of Pink Profusion Phlox begins in late winter to early spring and may continue for up to 8 weeks and at peak flowering the foliage may be nearly completely hidden. This is a dense clump forming slowly spreading hybrid Phlox that is well suited to the front of the border in the garden and landscape. Naturally summer dormant, consider part shade in hot summer climates. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in a well-drained, humus rich, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Chicagoland Grows®, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12283

Large often pyramidal sprays of small rose colored flowers are produced from spring to fall on mature plants and are held against a foil of medium green heart-shaped foliage. The flowers are in constant use by honeybees and occasionally by butterflies. The Rosa Montana or Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus, is a tendriled, tuberous tropical vine that is evergreen in frost free regions but acts like a die-back perennial in areas that experience freezing temperatures returning from the tubers in spring. As a perennial vine, it typically remains in the 8-15' range but can exceed 40' high in tropical regions. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum growth and flowering. Easy to grow with moderate drought resistant once well-established, though this may reduce growth and flowering. In areas where hard freezes occur, plant out early in the growing season and no later than by midsummer to help insure winter survival. Item# 825

Large, ball-shaped flower clusters are composed of numerous light blue-violet trumpet-shaped flowers with nicely contrasting darker stripes and are held on sturdy 18-24" high stems beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall on mature plants. Poppin' Star Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile, previously offered under the trade name Buccaneer™, is a small to midsized, vigorous hybrid with excellent repeat flowering ability, deep green strap-like foliage, and good disease resistance. These easy to grow tropicals can be enjoyed as both low-maintenance easy care container plants as well as in the garden and landscape where hardy. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Provide a full to partly sunny site in a fertile, well-drained, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Concept Plants BV®, all rights reserved. Item# 13402

Tops at 2019 UGA Trials among Agastache winning the Classic City Award! Buttery yellow 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 10-12" high spikes atop the medium green fragrant foliage from spring and continuing well into fall. Poquita™ Butter Yellow Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a hummingbird magnet and the dense compact habit of this Agastache, even more compact than Kudos™ Yellow, lends it to use as a specimen, including in hanging baskets, as well as in mixed containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats in for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Item# 12120

Orange 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 10-12" high spikes atop the medium green fragrant foliage from spring and continuing well into fall. Poquita™ Orange Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is excellent for hummingbirds and the dense compact habit of this Agastache, even more compact than Kudos™ Mango, lends it to use as a specimen or in mixed containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats in for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12121

The 2-4' high, sturdy, dense spikes of rich purple, rarely white, flowers of this beautiful native wildflower attract loads of butterflies, a host of native bees, and numerous other garden beneficials in summer. Liatris is considered to be in the top three in importance for native summer pollinator plants by some ecologists. Prairie Blazing Star, Liatris pycnostachya, is a cormous, native perennial with narrow foliage that ranges from deep green to grayish and individual corms produce more and more flowering stems as they age. This is an easily grown perennial that is adaptable to average moist to wet to periodically dry-ish soils, including clay and sandy loams. Considered one of the top two species for gardens by Liberty Hyde Bailey and makes an easy and low maintenance addition to the garden or landscape. The flower spikes also make excellent long-lasting cut flowers whether used fresh or dried and appear to be unbothered by deer, rabbits, or other browsers. Prairie Blazing Star is native to much of the Midwest and the South-Central US and is a component of the tall grass prairies as well as the Cajun prairies. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 9559