Butterfly Caterpillar Host Plants

Clusters of soft yellow-orange tubular buds mature into medium orange tubular trumpet-shaped flowers that darken as they age. Flowering begins in late winter to early spring and continues cyclically throughout the growing season and finishing up in fall at the end of hummingbird season. Tangerine Princess Coral Honeysuckle, a Louisiana selection of Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, twining, deciduous, woody vine that is one of the longest flowering vines for attracting hummingbirds. The mother plant was discovered during a tour of the Dr. Charles Allen Nature Preserve in northern Louisiana with its namesake noted botanist, author, and retired professor Dr. Charles Allen, Ken and Sonie Milton, etal. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8' arbor, trellis, or post. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. 1/4" red berries follow flowering and are a treat for songbirds. Item# 957

Texas Gold Columbine produces bright sunny yellow flowers over an extended period from mid to late spring. The spurred flowers are visited by a variety of pollinators including butterflies, bees, and moths. The fine, fern-like soft textured blue green foliage provides a nice contrast with surrounding plants. Columbine are not always long lived perennials but readily reseed on bare soils. Provide this beautiful perennial to biennial with a moist, semi-shaded location for the best results. Texas Gold Columbine, a hybrid seed strain of Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinkleyana x A. canadensis, was selected and introduced by Greg Grant and Jerry Parsons and is a Texas Superstar® plant selection. Item# 11388

The Roselle that we grow is definitely Hibiscus sabdariffa var. sabdariffa of the race ruber that is known for its large, thick, deep clear wine red, crispy, sweet, cranberry flavored calyxes.A vigorous annual to tender perennial, Roselle Hibiscus prefers a warm, mostly sunny position in a well-draining, humus rich, moderately fertile, sandy-loam and free from competition. All parts of the plant are edible including the roots. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 10717

Worth growing just for its randomly variegated bright white and green variegated foliage that is a standout in the garden. The sleepy, deep red 1" blooms glow like Christmas lights against the white and green foliage. Super easy to grow and care for and your Hummingbirds and Butterflies will show their appreciation for this attractive plant as well. Caterpillar host: Glassy Winged Skipper. This selection does show solid green new growth from time to time which should be pruned away. Item# 712.

Nearly black buds open to 7" wide scarlet red to deep wine red ruffled flowers with a darker burgundy eye that are produced throughout the summer growing season. Vintage Wine Perennial Hibiscus is a compact well-branched large clump forming perennial with a naturally rounded habit. This is an indeterminate Hardy Hibiscus meaning that they flower all up and down the stems instead of just on the upper half 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. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 12059

One of the most exciting new Hardy Hibiscus introductions for 2024! The medium to large, 7" wide, heavily ruffled, bright magenta flowers with a slightly darker eye are set against a foil of deep green, bronze tinged foliage. Watermelon Ruffles Hardy or Perennial Hibiscus is an indeterminate type meaning that they both begin flowering earlier and flower all up and down the stems instead of just on the upper half of the plant 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. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13298

Pyramidal, 6-10" high clusters of small creamy white flowers are produced in mid to late spring attracting a variety of pollinators and are followed by green fruits that ripen to reveal large black seeds covered in a thick translucent yellow to brown tissue that has been utilized as a soap. The Western Soapberry, Sapindus drummondii, is a small to medium-sized, native, deciduous tree with a vase shaped to rounded crown growing to 25-30' high and potentially to 50' high in good quality soils.The medium to deep green pinnately compound foliage provides good yellow fall color and the decorative fruits may remain on the tree into winter. This is a adaptable tree tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions from average moist to dry, acidic to alklaline, and clay to sandy or rocky soils. The plants are unbothered by browsers like deer and the almost 1/2" diameter, shiny black seeds are eaten by birds but are considered toxic to humans and mammals. Provide a full sun to partially shaded site in average to well-drained, average moist, fertile soils for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13551

Bright golden yellow daisies top the sturdy and branched, 3-5' stems of this perennial native Sunflower. The Western Sunflower will quickly create a ground-covering colony of plants by multiplying via underground rhizomes. The spent flower stalks hold seeds for songbirds and will die back to the ground in fall but are quickly replaced by a multitude of new rosettes in winter. An easy and durable plant for naturalizing and native to much of the southeastern US. Considered to be one of the least aggressive spreading Sunflowers. Caterpillar host: Milbert's Tortoiseshells. Item# 10240

White Lightening Turk's Cap is a new Greg Grant introduction with a more vigorous growth habit and produces loads of pure white blossoms that are held against the dark green foliage. Mix this one in with your red flowered Turk's Caps for a wonderful contrast where it will flower from late May to November. Caterpillar host: Glassy Winged Skipper. Item# 9738

Clusters of pure white flowers with a darker eye may be born throughout summer and can nearly cover the top of the plant under good conditions. White or Swamp Milkweed is one of the few shade tolerant Milkweeds but it seems to produce a fuller denser plant where it receives at least 4-6 hours or more of direct sunlight. This is an excellent choice for use as a Monarch host as it will remain evergreen in mild winters in zone 8B and warmer and is a good substitute for the Mexican Milkweed for those looking for a reliable locally native perennial Milkweed with a smaller compact habit. Asclepias perennis is native to much of the eastern central US. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist to semi-moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Plant the Aquatic or White Milkweed in spring until about midsummer in zones 6-8 to help ensure plants are well-established before winter. It can also be enjoyed as a container plant but it should be protected if there is a chance that the soil can freeze. Item# 10451

A rare or at least uncommon color form of the ever popular Blue Pea Vine producing large white blossoms held against medium green to blue green foliage on a small vine with excellent flower power. The White Pea Vine makes the perfect vine for container culture on small trellises, mailboxes, and fences that will flower from spring nearly all the way until frost. By some accounts it is a tender perennial in mild winters but is more generally grown as an annual and it readily returns from seeds saved the previous winter. Provide a full to partial sun location in a moderately fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Longtail Skipper. Item# 11952

In late summer and fall loads of dainty 1/2-1" wide white daisies, with yellow centers or disk flowers that age to red-purple, literally cover the plants for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to a variety of smaller pollinators. The White Wood Aster, Aster divaricatum now Eurybia divaricata, is a medium-sized bushy, shade and drought tolerant, vigorously spreading rhizomatous, native perennial common throughout the Eastern US. This is one of the earliest Asters to begin flowering in late summer and can even be utilized as a mum replacement in containers if desired. The White Wood Aster may be best suited to semi-shaded to shaded, naturalistic areas where it will readily colonize eventually creating a groundcover-like mass of offsets. Provide a partly shaded site in average to well-drained soils with average to dryish (once well-established) moisture conditions. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12991

In fall loads of dainty 1/2" wide white daisies with a pinkish-purplish 'eye' literally cover the plant for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to smaller pollinators. The White Woodland Aster or Calico Aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, is a small bushy clump forming native perennial common throughout the Eastern and Central US and spilling over into Canada. It is a common component of our local Pineywoods region that adds a bolt of color beneath that of the changing foliage as well as providing a pollinator food source at a time when many plants have gone to seed for the year but native bees are still stockpiling. The White Woodland Aster is fairly tolerant of full sun to partly shaded sites and is a good choice for meadows, prairies, and roadside plantings. It may reseed on exposed soils, although it does not appear to be aggressive. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Item# 12039

According to Dr. Allen's Edible Plants of the Gulf South, Wild Chervil or Honewort is an easy to grow, native, tuberous rooted perennial whose leaves, stems, and flowers are useful fresh in salads or can be cooked as a green, the tuberous roots can be used as a starch, and the seeds can be used as a spice. Grow it as a loose groundcover in shade to partial shade in a moist, but not soggy soil,  preferably rich in organic matter. A host for the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly. Item# 10219.

The tall stems of this native perennial cover up in 1" light purple daisies in late summer and fall. Willowleaf Aster, Symphyotrichum praealtum, produces a multitude of upright to arching stems once well-established and makes a grand statement in the fall garden, prairie, meadow, or roadsides. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but are an especially important late summer and fall nectar source for native bees. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Willowleaf Aster or Willow Aster is long rhizomatous, versus clumpforming, and will slowly colonize an area once established creating a dense stand at maturity. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in moist to average moist soils. Cutback to ground level after flowering to prevent unwanted seedlings if desired. Item# 10693.

Light blue narrow rays surround the eye of contrasting yellow disc flowers sit atop the neat mounds of foliage beginning in late summer and continuing into fall. The nectar rich flowers attract a variety of smaller pollinators. Wood's Light Blue New York Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii or Aster novi-belgii, is a 8-12" x 8-12" compact selection of the species that is a good choice as a replacement for fall mums and can be enjoyed as both a container plant as well as near the front of the border in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13151

Clusters of medium to large cupped white flowers that are centered by a deep burgundy eye are produced in summer and sit atop a sturdy stems cloaked in grayish to nearly white foliage. The Woolly Rose-Mallow or Swamp Mallow, a form of Hibiscus moscheutos var. lasiocarpos, is sure to be a standout hardy clump-forming perennial that will produce more and more flowering stems each year eventually developing into a rounded mass of nearly white foliage topped by clusters of flowers. The flowers normally remain open until about midday but may stay open nearly all day on overcast or cloudy days. The Woolly Rose-Mallow is adaptable to moist to wet to average moist, fertile soils and is an easy choice for pondside and bog plantings. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12197

A rare or uncommon color form of the common Red Shrimp Plant, the Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant produces a continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy light yellow to chartreuse colored bracts from which the individual white tubular flowers emerge in spring and summer to year round under warm tropical conditions. It displays the same habit and exceptional flower power of its maroon-red bracted cousin making a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana, is a heat loving, naturally evergreen, bushy, tropical plant with dark olive green foliage and grows to about 24" high by about 18" wide. It is both full sun and bright shade tolerant but tends to have the densest branching habit where it receives at least 4 hours or more of direct sunlight. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Attracts hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly and is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Caterpillar host: Cuban Crescent, Texan Crescent, White Peacock, and Malachite. Item# 1170

Bright orange, 1" wide upward facing daisies are produced from spring to fall atop wispy wiry stems and are held above the deep green, fuzzy foliage attracting a variety of smaller pollinators including bees and butterflies. Zemmenia, Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida, is a low growing naturally mounding, drought resistant, Texas tough, small native shrub-like perennial that is a mainstay of pollinator gardens from central Texas to the Rio Grande Valley as well as along the southwestern border and into Mexico. It seems to flower best and have the tidiest habit in full sun but can tolerate some shade but it may be at the expense of flowers. Zexmenia generally prefers a well-drained sandy or rocky soil but is adaptable to good garden soils as long as the plants have good to excellent drainage. It also makes a forgiving container plant but again provide sharp drainage. The butterfly in the image is a Western Pygmy Blue. Item# 13085