Butterfly Nectar Sources

Spikes of 1/2" long, tubular, two-lipped, deep azure blue flowers have a contrasting bright white bee-guide and throat are produced in late spring or early summer and continue into fall atop the tall wispy stems. The nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Bog Sage, Salvia uliginosa, is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial producing a multitude of tall thin wiry stems that can reach 5-6' high in rich fertile moist soils but tends to remain shorter, 3-4' high or so, under average moist garden conditions, which it can tolerate quite well, despite its name, once fully established. it tends to be more restrained under drier conditions as well. Its long flowering season and ease of care have garnered Bog Sage the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It can tolerate full sun in the cooler portions of its range but may be at its best where it receives a little midday shade in areas with hot summer climates. Item# 12906

Clusters of soft lavender pink, nicely fragrant flowers are borne in loose clusters in spring. The rich dark green, narrow foliage is nearly immune to powdery mildew! A vigorous ground-covering perennial that flowers over an extended period and attracts butterflies. Item# 3062.

Unusual fuchsia colored flowers with exerted purple stamens and pistil are produced throughout the year attracting hummingbirds along with occasional butterflies. Brazilian Candles, Pavonia multiflora, is an exceptionally free flowering, naturally evergreen tropical shrub with an upright to vase shaped growth habit and glossy dark green textured foliage. Provide a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. This rare tropical shrub is sure to be a conversation piece! Item # 544

The 1" long, showy tubular flowers are red to red-orange at their base and quickly fade into bright sunny yellow and are held against a foil of dainty, glossy dark green foliage. The flowers are produced heaviest in fall and spring with intermittent flowers in between. The Brazilian Fuchsia or Firecracker Flower, Justicia rizzinii or now J. floribunda, is a naturally evergreen, small tropical shrub typically growing to up to 2-3' high and potentially as wide. It can be enjoyed as an indoor plant where it is sure to provide a little cheer during the cold dreary winter days in a warm sunny window. The flowers of the Brazilian Fuchsia attract hummingbirds and other pollinators in fall and spring as they migrate through when grown outdoors. Caterpillar host: White Peacock and Malachite. Utilize it as a porch or patio plant during the warmer months or in the ground in areas with mild, generally frost free winters like in zone 10 as it is reported to be hardy to brief dips to about 28^oF. Tolerant of full sun to light shade and provide an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. An RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Item# 12807

Clusters of sunny yellow orchid-like flowers are borne in summer and into fall to yearround under warm tropical conditions on this vigorous twining vine. The Brazilian Golden Orchid Vine, Stigmaphyllon ciliatum, is a naturally evergreen woody twining climbing with dark green arrowhead shaped foliage that has a heart-shaped, or cordate, leaf base and fine bristles along their edges as well as along the sepals. It is not quite as cold hardy as the Yellow Butterfly Vine, Mascagnia macroptera, with which it is easily confused but it has larger flowers. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Where not hardy it is easily overwintered indoors in a warm sunny location. Provide a well-drained, moderately fertile, acid soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12001

Flattened round 1-1/2" wide clusters of tiny light lavender tubular disc flowers are held well above the 12" high rich green foliage beginning in mid to late spring and lasting well into summer. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators. Broadleaf Barbara's Buttons, Marshallia trinervia, is a rare low-growing rhizomatous native perennial that develops into a dense ground-covering mass of plants with an unaggressive nature. This easy to grow plant is more vigorous than its rarity might imply when given a moist to average moist, fertile soil rich in organic matter. Deciduous shade seems to be optimum providing full to mostly sunny conditions for the low rosettes of foliage in winter and light shade during the heat of the day in summer. With adequate moisture, it is reported to handle full sun to mostly sunny conditions even in summer, although, an eastern exposure with cool morning sunlight should be about perfect. Broadleaf Barbara's Buttons makes a wonderful low growing companion for Hydrangeas, larger Hostas, clump forming ferns, and other similar shade lovers. Item# 10767

The dark purplish-bronze, finely textured, licorice scented foliage makes a beautiful addition to the perennial border or the butterfly garden. Mix Bronze Fennel with yellow and chartreuse foliaged and flowering plants for a great combination. The foliage and stems are utilized by the Eastern Black Swallowtail, Baird's Swallowtail, and Anise Swallowtail as a caterpillar host plant. For optimum health and vigor plant Bronze Fennel in a full to mostly sunny site, in a well-drained, fertile soil. It can be grown as a reliable perennial in gardens and landscapes as well as in containers, either as a specimen plant or in mixed company. Item# 9121

A continuous display of brown-eyed golden-rayed daisy-like flowers are produced from early to midsummer into fall on well-branched plants with deep bronzy green hairy foliage. The Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba, is very similar in all regards to the wild forms of the Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, and it begins flowering about the time that the latter species is finished for the year. This biennial to short-lived perennial is a heat tolerant, sun-loving, deer and rabbit resistant native well-suited to both the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings like prairies, meadows, and roadside plantings. It 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. The flowers of the Brown-Eyed Susan offer pollen and nectar to bees, smaller butterflies, and other garden beneficials. The seeds offer food for songbirds and small mammals. Item# 11980

Spikes of 2" vivid fuchsia tubular fuzzy flowers emerge from dark colored calyxes and are held atop the dark green, glossy rounded foliage from spring to fall on this compact growing Salvia. Buchanan's Sage is an excellent choice for containers or the garden where it is sure to attract both hummingbirds and butterflies. A popular and easy to grow beauty that is now considered to be very rare if not extinct in its native habitat of Mexico. Item# 9857.

Similar to New Gold in habit and flower power, Buttercream Lantana produces clusters of golden yellow flowers that change to a soft golden yellow and finally to white. An excellent Greg Grant introduction with somewhat more of a pastel effect than that of New Gold. Great for butterflies and pollinators! Buttercream Lantana is a low growing mounding Lantana suitable for use as a groundcover, at the front of the garden, or spilling from containers. Item# 9904.

The tall spikes of deep golden yellow 1"+ wide flowers emerge from dark, near black buds and calyxes atop the tropical looking, up to 18" long, pinnately compound foliage composed of fragrant, deep olive green, rounded leaflets. The flowers may be produced throughout the warmer months of the year attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Buttered Popcorn Cassia, Senna didymobotrya, is a heat and sunloving, loosely branching, tropical shrub typically growing to 6-8' high, potentially larger in warmer climates with longer growing seasons and generally shorter, 4-6'H, in cooler summer climates. Gently rub the rounded slightly fuzzy leaflets and they will emit a fragrance similar to buttered popcorn to peanut butter depending on your nose which is certainly a good conversation starter especially for the younger generations. The Buttered Popcorn Cassia adds a splash of summerlong color and a tropical feel to any sunny setting. Provide a well-drained, fertile soil, in full to mostly sunny conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Ceraunus Blue, Barred Yellow, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, and Cloudless Sulphur. Item# 9018

Ray petals in shades of bright yellow leaning into orange hues surround the dark cones tipped in golden yellow composing the 3-4" wide flowers that are perched atop 18" high stems and are produced over an extended period in summer. Butterfly™ Golden Skipper Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that lasts from mid to late spring into fall, briliant color, large flowers, excellent branching habit meaning more flowers, good resistance to leaf spot diseases, as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Removal of spent flowers may help to prolong the flowering season. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of AB-Cultivars, all rights reserved. Item# 13050

Clusters of starry light blue flowers are produced in late spring to early summer atop the fine-textured foliage that transforms to a rich butterscotch yellow adorning contrasting red stems in fall. Butterscotch® Arkansas Bluestar, a hybrid of or selection of Amsonia hubrichtii, boasts richer fall color, flower petals that extend outward, instead of recurving backwards, makng the flowers seem larger, and has good disease resistance. This is a clump-forming, long-lived, herbaceous native perennial with an almost formal habit at maturity reaching about 3'H x 4'W. It can be utilized as an informal hedge or backdrop and will look great paired with native grasses in fall. Butterscotch Amsonia is easy, sunloving, heat tolerant, and deer and rabbit resistant. Images courtesy of Emerald Coast Growers, all rights reserved. Item# 12890

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The dense, rounded, white to greenish-white, up to 1" diameter, flower clusters sit atop thick sturdy stems that emerge from a rosette of soft yucca-like foliage and are produced over an extended period in summer. Button Snakeroot, Eryngium yuccifolium, is a tough and long-lived, adaptable clump forming native perennial whose long-lasting summer flowers will attract a myriad of butterflies, bees, wasps and other pollinators to your garden. Typically found in consistently moist settings like bogs, moist savannahs, prairies, and meadows but it readily tolerates average moist garden conditions. Provide Button Snakeroot with a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist to moist soil. Item# 9260

Lightly honey scented, white to cream, tight ball-like flower clusters are produced on new growth in late spring and summer and attract an array of butterflies, bees, and other garden beneficials. The Buttonbush is a vigorous, medium-sized to large growing, deciduous shrub that does best in consistently moist soils with most of a day of sunlight. A moderate to severe annual pruning of established plants in late winter helps to promote fuller plants and the most flowers. Item# 9247.

Intense raspberry pink, nectar rich, fragrant flowers are produced in dense spikes held at the ends of the arching branches and contrast nicely with the gray-green foliage on compact plants. Buzz™ Hot Raspberry Butterfly Bush or Buddleia was selected for its slightly smaller densely branching compact stature as well as its exceptional flower power. The Buzz series of Butterfly Bushes are small enough to be enjoyed as fragrant patio container plants where they can draw pollinators in close as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 12113

The large rounded clusters of tubular buds are yellow tinged orange and open to display the large bright canary yellow fragrant flowers in early spring on bare stems just before the foliage emerges. Canary Isles Deciduous Azalea is an upright to rounded, medium-sized, deciduous shrub well suited to partial shade but can take full sun under average or better conditions. The Aromi Deciduous Azaleas were developed by Dr. Eugene Aromi of Mobile, Alabama, and are known for both their amazing spring display of fragrant flowers as well as their ability to withstand the heat and humidity of the Southeastern US. Sometimes still fondly referred to as Wild Honeysuckle Bushes, these nativars will do best in an average moist, well-drained, fertile, acidic soil from partial shade to full sun conditions. Topdress with an organic mulch like pinestraw, a.k.a. pine needles, or pine bark. Item# 13288

Tall candles to 18" high that are composed of golden yellow blossoms and buds rise well above the foliage of this popular pass along plant from mid to late summer well into fall for an outstanding show. The Candlestick Tree, Senna alata, is a moderately fast growing and vigorous sun loving tropical that is excellent for the back of the border, as a specimen plant singly or in mass, and even as a large container plant. Attracts butterflies. Caterpillar host: Ceraunus Blue, Barred Yellow, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, and Cloudless Sulphur.Reseeds readily or save seeds in fall to replant in spring. The Candlestick Tree is a heat and sunloving easy to grow tropical to tender perennial where winters are mild. Item# 10017.