List of Plants for Butterflies and Hummingbirds

Here's a list of plants for Butterflies and Hummingbirds.
(Please add if you don't find any listed here)

ANNUALS AND BEDDING PLANTS
Begonia (Begonias)
Fuchsia (Fuchsias)
Ipomoea purpurea (Common morning glory)
Lantana camara (Lantana)
Nicotiana alata (Flowering tobacco)
Pelargonium (Geraniums)
Petunia (Petunias)
Phaseolus coccineus (Scarlet runner bean)
Salvia splendens (Scarlet sage)
Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium)


PERENNIALS
Achillea filipendulina (fern-leaved yarrow)
Alcea rosea (Hollyhock)
Aquilegia (Columbines)
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly weeds)
Aster novae-angliae (New England aster)
Astilbe x arendsii (astilbe)
Baptisia australis (Blue false Indigo)
Boltonia asteroides(boltonia)
Campanula (Bellflowers)
Centranthus ruber (red valerian)
Chrysanthemum x superbum (shasta daisy)
Delphinium (Delphiniums)
Dianthus gratiopolitanus (cheddar pinks)
Digitalis (Foxgloves)
Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
Erigeron speciosus (daisy fleabane)
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe-Pye weed)
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Gaillardia x grandiflora (blanket flowers)
Hemerocallis (Daylilies)
Heuchera sanguinea (Coral bells)
Iris (Bearded irises)
Kniphofia uvaria (Torch lily)
Lilium (Lilies)
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)
Lupinus polyphyllus (garden lupines)
Lychnix (Campions)
Monarda didyma (Bee balm)
Papaver (Poppies)
Penstemon (Beardtongues)
Phlox paniculata (Border phlox)
Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower)
Salvia officinalis (Common Sage)
Saponaria (Soapworts)
Scabiosa caucasica(pincushion flower)
Sedum spectabile (Showy stonecrop)
Stachys (Betonies)


SHRUBS AND VINES
Buddleia davidii (Butterfly bush)
Campsis radicans (Trumpet vine)
Caragana (Pea shrubs)
Chaenomeles (Flowering quinces)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneasters)
Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beautybush)
Lonicera sempervirens (Trumpet honeysuckle)
Lonicera tatarica (Tatarian honeysuckle)
Ribes sanguineum (Red-flowering currant
Rhododendron (Rhododendrons and azaleas)
Syringa (Lilacs)
Weigela florida (Weigela)

NOTE: Best by choosing Red, Pink, or Oranage varieties. Also, avoid using pesticides.

This message was edited Nov 9, 2005 7:57 AM

I also have a lot of butterfly and hummer activity around cleome, hyacinth bean, and impatiens. Neal.

I had a female Speckled Wood butterfly on my hebe

a comma liked the sedum erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn' and some species dahlias

brimstones liked the species dahlias

Red Admirals liked the honey scented species dahlia

Peacocks liked the dwarf seed grown collarette 'dandy'....preference for pink

a female Gatekeeper on dwarf dahlia...

Hi! The MOST butterflies I have EVER SEEN in my garden was when I planted about 6 rows of zinias! Those flowers were ALIVE with butterflies from sun-up to dusk EVERY DAY! It was as if the flowers and the butterflies were ONE organism! I tried the same thing this past gardening season, but I made a serious mistake: I scattered zinia seeds in the garden instead of planting them in rows. I then had a very difficult time separating sprouting weeds from sprouting zinias, and I ended up with a lot less zinias, and more weeds and less butterfiles. Will do it right again next season!

I probably don't get the special, gorgeous kinds of butterflies many members are posting, but I got plenty of swallowtails, red admirals, painted ladies, skippers, (stinky cabbage "butterflies) and probably 3 or 4 other kinds.

I think especially for children that you can't go wrong planting LOTS of zinias if you want your children to see LOTS of butterflies! I think maybe butterflies like zinnias BETTER than they do butterfly bushes!

I have a tough time growing dahlias out this way, for some reason---they tend to get thrip and viruses and end up stunted and making very few flowers... and haveta dig 'em up at the end of the season, too, and store 'em. Sometimes I wish I lived in British Columbia---MAN, do they EVER have some dahlias THERE!

Hi persevere, I challenge you to live up to your name! Dahlias if grown from seed are less likely to get viruses, as any plant is, viruses mostly come from mass produced stock.

You may find once you have the problem it will take some time to get rid of. As for thrips, well if you try to steer clear of chemicals, and leave the dahlias in the ground, you will find that natures cleaners do the job. I had lots of huge greenfly once, and after building up an eco system I have all the ladybirds, lacewings etc and now have no problem, they are straight onto the job. By thrips I imagine you mean whitefly? these seem to go for stored tubers, and also greenhouse plants, but again I once had them and now do not.

many people believe they should spray everything, but by doing that you will also kill off your friendly bugs, and it's no good doing it as some would suggest in the evening when all have gone to bed, the chemicals are still there for the insect to eat, poisoning the bug that eats it as well.

You do sound to have many lovely butterflies, it is the first year I have had so many, and they get used to you and become your friends. As for the 'common' cabbage white I have changed my view on them after seeing them dance off together in an embracing mating session. Look at this...the one I took after of them together I deleted as last on memory, to get a better shot, and they went!

Hello, Wallaby!

Thank you for your kind reply. What I thought I meant by thrip is the tiny insects that get inside of flower buds and keep them from opening. They are a terribly nuisance and very difficult to combat. I appreciate what you said about allowing nature to do the fighting of bad bugs for one, instead of destroying good bugs with "friendly fire." It certainly makes sense. We have tremendous numbers of Asian beetle/ladybugs where I am, and I have seen NO aphids at all since they made their appearance several years ago. Could you give me a source for dahlia seeds? I love all the gorgeous dahlias I have seen in catalogues, but I did not think those were available except as tubers. Perhaps you are not talking about those gorgeous kinds of dahlias, but of growing lesser dahlias from seed in order to attract butterflies.

With regard to cabbage butterflies, I do not appreciate them because they do not come without the ubiquitous "cabbage loopers," which can do significant damage to vegetables.

Best wishes!

Persevere, I have grown seed from Thompson and Morgan, dwarf collarette 'Dandy', some have collars, some not, some solid colour, inc. a black/red with golden centre, a lovely sight. i think they were poss. from the National Dahlia Collection holder here, many look like the new cultivars. I have at lest 20 colour variations. The tall ones are species, I grow them in the middle, and they are beautiful, also from T&M, a Heritage species mix.
You can also buy mixes of the large cactus and decorative varieties, but they don't come true from seed, you may get a few gems.
Mine I sowed in late January, had flowers that year, now after 3 seasons in the ground are doing really well, not sure what your zone is but they will survive if free draining and very well mulched to quite low temps.

T&M is backyardgardener in the States. Not sure what it is that stops the buds opening, I have heard of an insect that does that, one for the research. I haven't had that problem.
The pic taken on October 26th

Hi, Wallaby.

I am a zone 5.5 to 6. I rather think the tubers will turn to mush in this zone, even if I mulch heavily. It has hit sub-zero here already this year. I have grow lights and could start dahlias from seed indoors if I wanted to. But there are so many plants I would like to grow---I have to limit myself. Since I have been thinking about it, I am not at all sure growing dahlias would attract other species of butterflies than the ones that come to my zinnias and butterfly bushes. Very nice photo of your dahlias! I might try a few from the nursery again this season....

Bump.....

Here's another list for butterflies and hummingbird lovers...

Enjoy!

Linda

I move it to the appropriate Butterflies and Hummingbirds section of Dave's Garden.

Click here......
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/854475/