Butterfly Host Plants

Even though host plants aren’t top-of-mind when planning a butterfly garden, no butterfly garden is complete without these important, ‘behind-the-scenes’, plants.

Host plants are the nurseries of the garden. If you keep an eye out you’ll see the female as she flits around the plant, gently laying her next brood’s eggs, sometimes on the top of leaves but usually on the bottom, hidden from predators.

Then, in 10 to 14 days, the tiny larvae, less than an eighth inch long, emerge and begin eating the plant. It’s a fascinating process as they munch away, growing larger everyday. Equally fascinating is watching the caterpillar leave the plant to form a chrysalis.  

Host plants range from flowering plants like Milkweed and Passion Vine, to herbs like Fennel, to bushes as well as trees like Sweet Bay Magnolia.

By including both host plants and nectar plants in your garden, you can attract a wider selection of butterflies while providing an environment that supports their entire life cycle.

Here are a few host plants to consider:  

Host Plants

Flowers:
Aster spp. (Aster)
Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan)
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed)
Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed)
Alcea rosea (Hollyhock)
Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium)
Boehmeria cylindrica (False Nettle)
Antennaria plantaginifolia (Pussy-toe)
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflowers)
Ruta graveolens (Rue)
Leucanthemum spp. (Shasta Daisy)
Artemisia stellariana (Silver Brocade)
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Cleome hasslerana (Spider flower)
Sedum (Woodland Stonecrop)
Helianthus (Sunflower)
Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed )
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Viola spp. (Violet)

Herbs:
Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel)
Antheum graveolens (Dill)

Shrubs:
Baptisia australis (False Indigo)
Lindera benzoin (Spicebush)

Vines:
Passiflora spp. (Passion Flowers)
Aristolochia macrophylla (Pipevine)

Trees:
Populus spp. (Aspen Tree)
Ulmus spp. (Elm Tree)
Asimina triloba (Pawpaw)
Zanthoxylum americanum (Prickly Ash)
Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)
Magnolia virginiana (Sweet Bay)
Salix (Willow)

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