Building an inviting and effective habitat for butterflies is truly the best way we can help them. Raising butterflies at home is fun and great way to see nature up close. By building native habitats for these insects and other creatures we give them the life giving bridge that they need to migrate. The vast majority of monarch butterflies that are overwintering in Mexico right now are wild born. Our efforts to raise monarchs at home is providing a small portion of butterflies for the migration. But I still think it is important. Even if you raise only 5 or 10 monarchs in a season, you are contributing. If it is early in the season then your butterflies will produce the intermediate or third generation of butterflies (depending on where you live) Later int he season, you will be producing migrators.
Our focus must be on raising healthy butterflies. Planning a great butterfly habitat, be it small or large is essential.
To start off, butterflies need sunshine to warm up their bodies in order to fly and feed. Ergo most butterfly plants are full sun plants. Plan your garden is a spot around your home where you get the most sunlight during the day.
Natives are best to attract native butterflies and native bees. we need all of these pollinating insects to have healthy populations, so please don't plant for the butterflies then kill the bees.
What do I mean by natives? In this article I am mostly referring to native prairie plants that grow well in a home garden. There are many hundreds of specie of native plants in all types of ecoregions, but for my butterfly garden here at home I concentrate on prairie plants that are great for the pollinators and tame enough to grow at home. That narrows the list significantly.
In my own experience in my garden, I planted non natives for years and had no butterflies, planted colorful coneflowers and 'Goldstrum' Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan) and had no butterflies. It was not until I got some guidance from an excellent butterfly garden that I realized I needed natives and lots of them and I needed to add annuals that the butterflies love.
I have left off the most obvious plant for monarchs, milkweed. Please toggle over to the milkweed page for some ID and tips.
I will be adding lists and photos periodically so please check back on a regular basis.
For now I will list my Must-Have native plants for any Midwest butterfly garden:
Ten great natives that attract butterflies, especially the monarch. To be sure, there are more to add and I will be doing that as I test plants out in my home garden. These are plants that I have tested in my own garden
1. Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
2. Pale Purple coneflower Echinacea pallida
3. Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa
4. Meadow blazing star Liatris ligustylus
5. Wild Bergamont Monarda fitsulosa
6. Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum
7. Sweet Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium purpurea
8. Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea
9. Ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
10. New England aster Symphyotrichon novae-angliae
11. Meadow blazing star Liatris ligustylus
The not so native Must have list:
This is a short list of annuals that once added to the garden in conjunction with natives attracts all sorts of butterflies. In my experience in my garden, this is what works. The nice thing about these plants is that they bloom almost all summer. Tithonia starts blooming in August and continues pumping out blooms until the first or second hard frost.
1. Zinnia
2. Verbena bonariensis
3. Lantana
4. Mexican sunflower Tithonia spp
Our focus must be on raising healthy butterflies. Planning a great butterfly habitat, be it small or large is essential.
To start off, butterflies need sunshine to warm up their bodies in order to fly and feed. Ergo most butterfly plants are full sun plants. Plan your garden is a spot around your home where you get the most sunlight during the day.
Natives are best to attract native butterflies and native bees. we need all of these pollinating insects to have healthy populations, so please don't plant for the butterflies then kill the bees.
What do I mean by natives? In this article I am mostly referring to native prairie plants that grow well in a home garden. There are many hundreds of specie of native plants in all types of ecoregions, but for my butterfly garden here at home I concentrate on prairie plants that are great for the pollinators and tame enough to grow at home. That narrows the list significantly.
In my own experience in my garden, I planted non natives for years and had no butterflies, planted colorful coneflowers and 'Goldstrum' Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan) and had no butterflies. It was not until I got some guidance from an excellent butterfly garden that I realized I needed natives and lots of them and I needed to add annuals that the butterflies love.
I have left off the most obvious plant for monarchs, milkweed. Please toggle over to the milkweed page for some ID and tips.
I will be adding lists and photos periodically so please check back on a regular basis.
For now I will list my Must-Have native plants for any Midwest butterfly garden:
Ten great natives that attract butterflies, especially the monarch. To be sure, there are more to add and I will be doing that as I test plants out in my home garden. These are plants that I have tested in my own garden
1. Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
2. Pale Purple coneflower Echinacea pallida
3. Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa
4. Meadow blazing star Liatris ligustylus
5. Wild Bergamont Monarda fitsulosa
6. Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum
7. Sweet Joe Pye Weed Eutrochium purpurea
8. Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea
9. Ironweed Vernonia fasciculata
10. New England aster Symphyotrichon novae-angliae
11. Meadow blazing star Liatris ligustylus
The not so native Must have list:
This is a short list of annuals that once added to the garden in conjunction with natives attracts all sorts of butterflies. In my experience in my garden, this is what works. The nice thing about these plants is that they bloom almost all summer. Tithonia starts blooming in August and continues pumping out blooms until the first or second hard frost.
1. Zinnia
2. Verbena bonariensis
3. Lantana
4. Mexican sunflower Tithonia spp
