Butterfly Nectar Sources

Tall spikes adorned with whorls of 3/8" purple flowers edged in light lavender are produced throughout the growing season and the nectar rich flowers attract butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and even hummingbird moths. From the breeding work of the Durham twins of east Texas, Darrell and Jerrell, comes this unusual picoteed color form of Porterweed. These are vigorous well-branched herbaceous to shrub-like tropical perennials that revel in the heat and sun of summer providing a continuous display of flowers and pollinators until the first frost. The flower power of Porterweeds makes them worthy of being grown as annuals where not hardy or they can be overwintered as container plants in a warm sunny location indoors. Provide a full to mostly sunny location with average or better drainage and moderate fertility for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 11967

Tall spikes adorned with whorls of 3/8" purple flowers edged in white to light lavender are produced throughout the growing season and the nectar rich flowers attract butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and even hummingbird moths. From the breeding work of the Durham twins of east Texas, Darrell and Jerrell, comes this unusual picoteed color form of Porterweed. These are vigorous well-branched herbaceous to shrub-like tropical perennials that revel in the heat and sun of summer providing a continuous display of flowers and pollinators until the first frost. The flower power of Porterweeds makes them worthy of being grown as annuals where not hardy or they can be overwintered as container plants in a warm sunny location indoors. Provide a full to mostly sunny location with average or better drainage and moderate fertility for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 11931

Coming again in 2022! Small clusters of 2-3" wide brilliant golden yellow trumpet shaped flowers are produced throughout the growing season to potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions and are mainly butterfly pollinated but also attract bees and other pollinators. The Dwarf Allamanda, Allamanda cathartica 'Compacta', is a small, naturally evergreen, tropical shrub growing to 2-3'H x 2-3'W and potentially slightly larger with age. The stems are adorned with whorls of glossy narrow foliage to about 3" long. This is an easy to grow, heat and sunloving tropical with good to excellent flower power and makes an easy container plant that is sure to add a tropical flair to any sunny garden setting. For optimum vigor and flowering provide the Dwarf Allamanda with a full sun to partly shaded location in a fertile, well-drained soil. It is important to allow the soil to become somewhat dry between waterings and the hotter it is generally the happier they are and will sulk under cool (below about 55-60^oF) and wet conditions. Item# 395

Clusters of fiery-orange tubular blooms are seemingly born throughout the year atop this miniature growing plant and attract hummingbirds as well as larger butterflies. The compact form of the Dwarf Mexican Firebush lend it to smaller spaces and for use in containers. Surprisingly it appears to be just as hardy as the larger form and can be grown as a die-back perennial well into zone 8. Provide a full to mostly sunny position for the best results. Item# 403

1/4" soft red blooms adorn the long spike-like bloom stems from spring to frost. Another of the smaller varieties creating a dense bush with loads of nectar rich flowers for the butterflies and hummingbirds. Dwarf Red Porterweed is the smallest and most compact Porterweed that we offer and it lends itself to use near the front of the border, in butterfly and hummingbirds gardens, as well as in containers. Item# 407.

The sweetly contrasting bicolor flowers are composed of two large soft shell pink lower petals and a bright rosy pink tube and hood all emerging from maroon tinged calyxes and spikes. Dyson's Joy Salvia, or simply Joy Salvia, is likely a selection or hybrid of Salvia greggii or Autumn Sage, and develops into a compact rounded plant growing to about 2' x 2' that can be enjoyed as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. The brightly colored flowers attract low flying hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and other pollinators with its nectar rich flowers. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions and never keep soggy wet. An RHS Award of Garden Merit winner! Images courtesy of Jadelty Plant Propagation Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13140

The large rounded to conical clusters of 1" wide, sweetly fragrant, white, salverform flowers are blushed purple toward their centers and with a purple eye are held atop sturdy 36" high stems beginning mid to late spring and continuing into summer. Earlibeauty® Daughter of Pearl Phlox is a vigorous upright to mounding, slowly spreading, evergreen perennial Phlox that was developed for its excellent disease resistance and vigor, as well as for its earlier flowering season than typical Tall or Summer Phlox, Phlox paniculata, selections. Perfectly suited for formal to informal garden and landscape settings and it can even be worked into naturalistic settings. Phlox are native only to North America and their nectar rich, often fragrant, salverform flowers are butterfly magnets. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile soil, with average or better drainage. Deadheading is not required but it can help to improve your chances of extending the flowering season. Images courtesy of The Primrose Path, all rights reserved. Item# 12839

Large clusters of sweetly fragrant, rich pink, 1-1/4" wide salverform flowers are produced atop sturdy 12-16" high stems beginning in midspring and continuing into summer with some additional repeat flowering later in the year on well-grown plants. Earlibeauty® Rose Bouquet Phlox is a vigorous slowly spreading, evergreen perennial Phlox that was selected for its early and long flowering season, vigorous groundcovering habit, as well as for its deep green foliage that has excellent disease resistance even under shade and high humidity. The sweetly fragrant and nectar rich flowers of Phlox, whose species are nearly all native to North America, are excellent for attracting butterflies which is their main pollinator. Provide Earlibeauty® Rose Bouquet Phlox with an average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil in a full sun to part sun site for optimum vigor and flowering. Deadheading is not required but may help to further extend the flowering season. Images courtesy of The Primrose Path, all rights reserved. Item# 12840

A must have perennial! Early Bird Gold Rudbeckia produces wave after wave of bright golden yellow, 3-4" daisies from late spring to fall on a nicely branching plant. This exciting new day-length neutral and thusly free flowering Black-Eyed Susan was discovered at Dupont Nursery near Plaquemine, Louisiana and is sure to bring in the butterflies and pollinators as well as providing color all summer. Drought tolerant, deer resistant, and reliable. Item# 10626.

Clusters of blue to light blue, star-shaped flowers are borne in spring on sturdy stems atop the wide foliage. The Eastern Bluestar makes a wonderful garden addition with a mannerly clump forming habit and excellent pest and disease resistance. Yellow fall foliage color adds to its interest. Tolerant of wet to average moist soils. Eastern Bluestar is an easy to grow and reliable native perennial. The flowers attract butterflies and hummingbird moths. Item# 10268

Exceptionally dark purple to black shamrock-like foliage creates the perfect foil for the white to light pink trumpet shaped flowers that are produced during much of the the growing season. Ebony Allure™ Purple False Shamrock, a selection of Oxalis triangularis subsp. papilionaceae, is the latest, darkest foliaged cultivar of this popular container and garden plant which can be enjoyed indoors or out. This is a clump-forming bulbous and non-aggressive Oxalis that slowly multiplies into larger and larger clumps. Ebony Allure™ Purple Oxalis will perform best in a well-draining, average moist, fertile soil under lightly shaded conditions. Easy and rewarding! Images courtesy of AG3, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12456

One of the earliest to begin flowering and an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner! Clusters of lilac-pink tubular flowers are produced in abundance beginning in midspring and continuing into fall and are held against a contrasting foil of long-lasting showy deep bronze-red bracts and exceptionally dark green glossy foliage that takes on purple and bronze tones in winter. The flowers of Abelias attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Edward Goucher Glossy Abelia, considered to be a hybrid of Abelia x grandiflora x A. shumanii, has a naturally dense, rounded to vase-shaped habit on this medium-sized, evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub. Abelias are known for their toughness and adaptability to a variety of soil types provided they have average or better drainage. Deer resistant, somewhat salt tolerant, and mature, well-established plants are moderately drought resistant. Provide a full sun to part shade site with moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Long one of our personal favorites! Item# 3041

Brilliant orange fading to pink and finally red and burgundy into the eye. The 4-5" flowers just seem to keep coming all summer long on a compact but vigorous enough tropical hibiscus. Erin Rachael's smaller stature makes it a perfect container specimen or as part of the landscape in frost free locations. Item# 10485.

A dwarf Joe-Pye Weed producing large clusters of up to 10" wide, nectar rich, reddish-purple flowers are produced over an extended period in summer attracting a variety of pollinators including both bees and butterflies. Euphoria™ Ruby Dwarf Joe-Pye Weed or Eupatorium, a selection of Eutrochium purpureum, is a clump forming, multi-stemmed perennial with dark green foliage growing to about 24-30" high and wide. This Darwin Perennials introduction has garnered high marks in trials across the US: a 2021 Colorado State University Flower Perennial Trials Top Performer, 4.93 out of 5 rating in 2021 Penn State Flower Trials, 4.5 out 5 in 2019 at the UGA Trial Gardens. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a moist to average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 12951

Rich purple, 1" wide daisies with a nicely contrasting sunny yellow eye are produced in mass in fall attracting bees and other smaller pollinators with a late season burst of color just in time for LSU Football! Geaux Tigers! Ezo Murasaki Japanese Woods Aster or Asian Aster, a selection of Aster ageratoides var. ageratoides, is a vigorous rhizomatous perennial adorned with deep green ovate foliage that makes an easy warm season groundcover topping out at about 24" high. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soils. Item# 13049

Dense clusters of large pink tubular flowers with a white lower lip are born in late summer and early fall on this easy native perennial. Excellent for attracting bees. This is the latest flowering Physostegia that we grow. The Fall Obedient Plant will readily spread by rhizomes creating a mass of sturdy, 3-4' stems. An easy and reliable native perennial. Item# 10420.

Large clusters of white flowers with a light purple eye are produced beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into midsummer with some rebloom in fall. Fashionably Early Crystal Phlox is a hybrid that is similar to Garden Phlox, Phlox paniculata, but begins flowering about 2 weeks earlier, has exceptional disease resistance and thick deep green foliage, and slowly spreads to develop into a mass of foliage and 30" high flower stems. Attracts butterflies. Image courtesy of Walter's Gardens, www.waltersgardens.com. Item# 11748

Large clusters of lightly fragrant, lavender-pink flowers with a darker purple eye, the flowers fade to light lavender as they age, are held atop tall sturdy stems beginning in mid to late spring or early summer, depending on your cold hardiness zone, and continuing into summer with some rebloom in fall. Fashionably Early Flamingo Phlox is a highly disease resistant, slowly spreading perennial with deep green, thick waxy foliage. We have truly been impressed by Fashionably Early Phlox series, not only their exceptional flower power and vigor but also by their exceptionally clean healthy foliage. Fashionably Early Flamingo Phlox begins flowering a few weeks earlier than Garden Phlox, Phlox paniculata, and provides an intermediate height plant that makes an easy and low maintenance groundcover for the garden and landscape. The flowers of Phlox are mainly butterfly pollinated although they may also draw hummingbirds and larger bees that rob the nectar. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12579

Large clusters of light fuchsia pink flowers with a darker pink eye are produced beginning in mid to late spring or early summer, depending on your cold hardiness zone, and continuing into midsummer with some rebloom in fall. Fashionably Early Princess Phlox is a hybrid that is similar to Garden Phlox, Phlox paniculata, in height but begins flowering about 2-3 weeks earlier (Fashionably Early Princess Phlox is the first of this series to begin flowering), has exceptional disease resistant thick deep green foliage, and slowly spreads to develop into a mass of foliage and 30" high flower stems. Attracts butterflies. Image courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 11912

Large, 2" long, bright cherry red, tubular flowers emerge from whorls of burgundy tipped yellow-green calyxes from spring to frost on a semi-compact plant with deep green foliage. Fashion™ Cherry Salvia is similar to the Wish series of Tropical Salvias but has a slightly more compact habit reaching about 30"x30" by the end of summer. It makes an easy, heat and sunloving specimen plant or it can be used in mixed company, as well as providing spring to fall color in the garden and landscape. This Salvia is also daylength neutral and so can flower year-round under warm frost free conditions. Sure to draw hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly throughout the growing season.  Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist well-drained fertile soil. Images courtesy of Green Fuse® Botanicals, all rights reserved. Item# 12888