Butterfly Nectar Sources

This is the selection with the deepest red color, comes from seed collected in southern Baja California. It  flowers all summer and fall. It dies to the ground in winter, but faithfully returns from the ground each spring. An easy to grow and drought tolerant heirloom plant. A bee-keepers pollen favorite, we are told! Item # 9027.

Large clusters of rich purple to red-purple flowers sit atop the sturdy 3-4' stems of this medium sized Ironweed in summer and potentially into fall. Baldwin's or Western Ironweed, Vernonia baldwinii, is an excellent source of midsummer pollen and nectar for long-tongued bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. This species is more drought resistant than many Ironweeds once well-established and it is important to note that this species can colonize an area via long rhizomes. Its ability to colonize an area may make it a better choice for naturalistic areas like meadows, prairies, and roadsides than in more formal garden settings. Provide good drainage and a full sun to mostly sunny site with average moisture. Deadhead once flowering is complete to prevent unwanted seedlings. Item# 12356

An unusual conversation starting Milkweed that is eagerly consumed by caterpillars of Monarchs, Queens, and possibly Soldier butterflies. Balloon Milkweed is a vigorous heat and sun loving tropical African shrub that is grown as a dieback perennial except in areas with mild winter climates. It produces clusters of 1/2" wide cream to white star shaped flowers with a purplish 'eye' and the flowers attract butterflies along with a variety of other pollinators. Balloon Milkweed is adaptable to a wind range of soil types as long as they are well-drained and is moderately drought resistant once well established. Item# 10974.

Blanketed from spring to fall in clusters of flowers that open a creamy yellow and fade into shades of pastel pink reminiscent of the old Ham and Eggs. Bandana® Pink Lantana makes a wonderful addition to the landscape or is compact enough to use in containers. The Bandana® series of Lantana are compact mounding plants growing to 18-24"H x 18-24"W with excellent flower power producing a heavy display of nectar rich flowers from spring until frost. The Bandana® Lantanas are a 2013 Louisiana Super Plant selection and have received high marks in trials across much of the US. Item# 11459

The rounded flower clusters open a sunny yellow eventually fading into golds at maturity all the while attracting bees, butterflies, and low flying hummingbirds. Bandolero® Pineapple Lantana, new in 2020, boasts bigger bolder flowers, larger growing more vigorous, mound-forming plants that grow to about 1/3 larger than the Bandana® Lantanas making them a better choice in cooler summer climates. Utilize the Bandolero Lantana's flower power in larger containers as low-maintenance specimen plants or in mixed company as well as for reliable spring to fall color in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Images courtesy of Syngenta Flowers, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12569

Blanketed from spring to fall in clusters of flowers that open yellow, quickly fade into white and soft pastel pinks and finally mature to medium pink all the while attracting bees, butterflies, and low flying hummingbirds. Bandolero® Pink Lantana, new in 2020, boasts bigger bolder flowers, larger growing more vigorous, mound-forming plants that grow to about 1/3 larger than the Bandana® Lantanas making them a better choice in cooler summer climates. Utilize the Bandolero Lantana's flower power in larger containers as low-maintenance specimen plants or in mixed company as well as for reliable spring to fall color in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Images courtesy of Syngenta Flowers, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12566

Fiery rounded flower clusters open a deep golden orange darkening into intense red at maturity all the while attracting bees, butterflies, and low flying hummingbirds. Bandolero® Red Lantana, new in 2020, boasts bigger bolder flowers, larger growing more vigorous, mound-forming plants that grow to about 1/3 larger than the Bandana® Lantanas making them a better choice in cooler summer climates. Utilize the Bandolero Lantana's flower power in larger containers as low-maintenance specimen plants or in mixed company as well as for reliable spring to fall color in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Images courtesy of Syngenta Flowers, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12567

The rounded flower clusters open a soft lemony yellow and quickly fading into clean bright white at maturity all the while attracting bees, butterflies, and low flying hummingbirds. Bandolero® White Lantana, new in 2020, boasts bigger bolder flowers, larger growing more vigorous, mound-forming plants that grow to about 1/3 larger than the Bandana® Lantanas making them a better choice in cooler summer climates. Utilize the Bandolero Lantana's flower power in larger containers as low-maintenance specimen plants or in mixed company as well as for reliable spring to fall color in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Images courtesy of Syngenta Flowers, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12568

A succession of red tubular blooms that end in a purple bat-like 'face' are topped by a pair of glowing red 'ears' creating the interesting 'bat face' look. Batface Cuphea, or Georgia Scarlet Batface Cuphea, is a tough and reliable low mounding perennial which blooms from late spring to frost. Provide a well-drained soil with full to mostly sun for the best results. An excellent choice for hummingbirds, mixed containers, hanging baskets, and in mass plantings. Item# 1220

Round clusters of lavender to white tubular flowers are born in summer on this durable native perennial. Wild Bergamot is a clump forming native perennial with good deer resistance. Excellent for hummingbirds and butterflies. This tough little native is drought tolerant and prefers to be on the dry side of moist and is resistant to drought once well-established. The fragrant foliage has been used in teas, perfumes, potpourri, and more. Item# 10484.

Spikes of fuzzy, glowing red tubular blooms are borne from summer to frost attracting hummingbirds for the duration of the flowering period. Where protected from frosts and freezes Belize Sage can flower continuously throughout the year. Smooth glossy green foliage and a compact habit set this Salvia apart as well as its preference for partial shade conditions. An excellent choice for containers or in the ground anywhere it is hardy, or it is vigorous enough to grow as an annual in cooler climates. Item# 10118

Belle Starr Gold Lantana produces a endless display of deep golden yellow, nectar rich, rounded flower clusters on a vigorous mounding to trailing plant with deep dark green glossy foliage acting as a backdrop. A 2015 LSU Agcenter Plant with Potential, this hardy Lantana attracts loads of butterflies, bees, smaller pollinators, and other garden beneficials and flowers from spring to frost. Use Belle Starr Gold Lantana as filler/spiller for medium to large containers or as a groundcovering perennial in the garden or landscape. It was named for the famous outlaw queen associated with James - Younger gang. Item# 11146

The spike-like clusters (racemes) of tiny fragrant white flowers of Berlandier's Fiddlewood attract a whole host of pollinators including butterflies large and small, bees, and many other beneficials. Pollinated flowers are followed by long clusters of attractive orange berries that mature to black and are utilized by a variety of birds and mammals. This is an adaptable South Texas native that develops into a medium to large deciduous shrub to small tree. Item# 11368

Tall dense spikes of deep rosy pink foxglove flowers with a creamy yellow throat flecked and speckled with burgundy are produced beginning in late spring with the show continuing into fall above the rosettes of dark green foliage. Berry Canary Digiplexis, is the first cross-generic hybrid between the tropical Canary Island Isoplexis (now classified as a Digitalis) and Digitalis purpurea producing a vigorous exceptionally free flowering hybrid. These new longer flowering Foxgloves can be added to the garden and landscape but also make showy container specimens. The flowers are sure to draw in a variety of pollinators for the nectar rich reward. Berry Canary Digiplexis is considered hardy in zone 8, in colder climates it makes a worthy annual. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12302

White tubular blooms emerge from tall, velvety, purple calyxes on dense flower spikes from late summer to fall. This is considered to be the normal color form for the species. Soft velvety medium to gray-green foliage. Mexican Sage bush is a drought tolerant, sun and heat loving reliable clump forming perennial that is considered deer proof. Item# 10284.

Lavender flowers emerge from dense, dark purple to near black bottlebrush-like spikes beginning in summer and continuing until fall. Black Adder Agastache is a vigorous sterile hybrid with fragrant licorice scented foliage and so it continues to flower throughout the growing season. Easy to grow and the flowers attract loads of pollinators especially bees. Item# 10807.

Showy deep violet-purple, fragrant spikes, to 8" long, are held at the ends of the arching, woody stems. Black Knight Butterfly Bush is an exceptionally free-flowering shrub, producing the intensely deep purple, fragrant flowers  from spring until fall. An excellent choice for butterfly gardens as well as providing nectar for a host of other pollinators including hummingbirds. Black Knight, an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner, is still one of the most strikingly colored and popular of all Buddlejas grown today. Item# 322.

The dark purple to deep burgundy foliage nearly black foliage of this sturdy perennial is topped by spikes of sweetly contrasting purple to lilac flowers in mid to late spring. Flowers attract native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Blackbeard Penstemon or Beardtongue is hybrid selection of our native species (Penstemon species are found native only in North America) whose intensely colored foliage is sure to provide wonderful contrast with surrounding perennials in the garden and landscape or use it as a specimen in containers. Provide a full to mostly sunny location for the darkest foliage coloration and a well-drained, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Blackbeard Penstemon was selected not only for its foliage color but also for its compact habit and flower power. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 11904

The 6-petaled starry flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and red are heavily speckled and flecked with red and are produced on sturdy stems atop the fans of medium to light green iris-like foliage in summer over a period of several weeks. The flowers of the Blackberry Lily, Belamcanda chinensis or more recently Iris domestica, are followed by seed pods that split open to reveal shiny black round seeds that are sometimes used in dried arrangements for fall. This is a hardy clump forming heirloom perennial with a tough constitution as well as being a colorful and low-maintenance addition to the garden and landscape. It will do best in an average to well-drained, average moist, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny site. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12304

The summerlong show of 8" deep dark merlot colored, ruffled flowers unfurl from nearly black buds and are held against a foil of deep green foliage. The darkest of Walter's Gardens intorductions, the large flowers of Blackberry Merlot Hardy Hibiscus are sure to stop traffic and may steal your neighbors hummingbird population! This is a compact well-branched plant on a clump-forming hardy perennial rated into zone 4 with proper winter protection.  Like most other Walter's Gardens introductions, Blackberry Merlot is an indeterminate plant producing flowers from the top to the bottom of the plants creating a knockout display in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in moist to average moist to wet, moderately fertile soils. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12492

In late summer and fall these plants are covered with dark-eyed golden yellow 2-3" wide daisies that sit atop sturdy stems with the flowers providing pollen and nectar for smaller pollinators and other garden beneficials. Blackjack Gold Brown-Eyed Susan offers more flowers over a longer period on sturdy disease resistant plants with improved vigor on longer-lived plants. It received exceptionally high marks in trials at UGA in 2019. This is a heat and sun-loving, deer and rabbit resistant native well-suited to both the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings. The Brown-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba, readily reseeds on exposed soils but is not aggressive or difficult to control. It prefers a full to mostly sunny position in well-drained, average moist to semi-dry soils. Ripened seedheads offer food for songbirds and small mammals. Item# 12319

The large rounded flower clusters open a soft lemony yellow, darken to apricot and coral, and finally fade into shades of pastel orange. Bloomify™ Mango Lantana is a sterile dwarf cultivar with a compact, well-branched upright to rounded habit lending it to use near the front of the garden and landscape, in mixed contaiener gardens, and as specimen container plants. Since the Bloomify™ Lantanas do not waste energy on fruit and seed production they can spend that much more time flowering! The flowers are sure to attract a myriad of pollinators with their nectar rich flowers. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture Company, all rights reserved. Item# 12409

2022 Pre-Introduction! The large rounded flower clusters open sunny yellow and deepen into shades of orange as they mature. Bloomify™ Orange Lantana is a sterile dwarf cultivar with a compact, well-branched upright to rounded habit lending it to use near the front of the garden and landscape, in mixed contaiener gardens, and as specimen container plants. Since the Bloomify™ Lantanas do not waste energy on fruit and seed production they can spend that much more time flowering! The flowers are sure to attract a myriad of pollinators with their nectar rich flowers. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture Company, all rights reserved. Item# 12589

2022 Pre-Introduction! The large rounded flower clusters open white with a contrasting egg-yolk yellow throat and deepen into shades of pink as they mature. Bloomify™ Pink Lantana is a sterile dwarf cultivar with a compact, well-branched upright to rounded habit lending it to use near the front of the garden and landscape, in mixed contaiener gardens, and as specimen container plants. Since the Bloomify™ Lantanas do not waste energy on fruit and seed production they can spend that much more time flowering! The flowers are sure to attract a myriad of pollinators with their nectar rich flowers. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture Company, all rights reserved. Item# 12590