Try this….

Here is a link that might be useful: Plants That Attract Butterflies

Be aware that many plants sold at Wally World and big box stores have been hybridized to a point where they aren't as attractive or nectar-heavy as their 'parent' plants. I have a few different Pentas plants and none of the dwarfed varieties attract butterflies/bees the way the standard full-sized plant do. They can still attract them - when nothing else is in bloom my dwarfed red pentas are very popular - but if there are other options in the area, the insects will probably go to those.

Unfortunately, none of my favored butterfly plants would do well in containered culture.

I have a huge Blue Porterweed that attracts several different colored butterflies. The flower is a pretty blue spike. Not a real showy flower, but the butterflies make up for that.

In my yard, the butterflies love my Jatrophas, Porterweed and Milkweed, Coreopsis (Tickseed), Pentas, Coneflowers and Dotted Horsemint.
They also love herbs like parsley, dill and rue.

One important thing to know if you wish to attract butterflies is that you should have both nectar and larval plants. If you have three large pots you might have two with nectar plants (I think pentas are the best) and one with larval plants.

For the larval pot I would plant a milkweed, a parsley or fennel and a native passion vine. The milkweed will attract Monarchs, the parsley or fennel will attract black swallowtails and the passion vine will attract Fritillaries and Zebra Longwings. If you can find a Rue you could substitute it for the parsley and/or fennel. Rue attracts both Eastern Black Swallowtails and Giant Swallowtails.

At 20 gal per pot, I would do as Tom suggested, except I would mix the host plants with the nectar plants. You could do something like 2 Pentas, 1 Porterweed per pot and then put a different larval plant in each pot. Perhaps a milkweed in one, a Corkystem passionvine in another and a dill in the third. The problem I see is these will eventually need pruning to keep them from outgrowing the pot. 20 gal is a large pot, but my porterweed turned out to be quite a large plant by itself.

I suggest corkystem as the passion vine as I believe it tends to stay more prostrate and doesn't get all that big. One of the other passionvines would quite quickly overgrow everything else in the pot. Dill is a 'problematic' herb for me as it tends to grow, set seed and die quite quickly. But it is fairly easy to collect the hundreds of seeds and grow more.

Wow, thanks to all for the great info. Hope I didn't just screw up, - bought a healthy looking Mexican Petunia that a young sales gal said butterflies love.
Still have plenty of room though if this one dissapoints. Hopefully by mid Nov, after sorting thru the above data, will have 3 or 4 promising plants starting out,...luring those mesmerizing butterflies.

Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) is a real magnet for the Monarchs here - & it has a lovely sweet clover scent as well. Mine started as a volunteer & reseeds easily...

Mexican Petunia is good, but is a nectar source. They won't lay eggs on it. If you want butterflies, you need to grow some larval plants as described above. Monarchs love Milkweed. Swallowtails love parsley and rue. Put those in the other pots.

I'm always so happy to know people are trying to help these beautiful creatures. But, remember no pesticides of any kind. I find big-box stores have their plants full of chemicals. I've had caterpillars die from eating them. I only buy from smaller nurseries which do not spray their plants.

Have fun, its addictive!

Jane.

Hamelia patens - commonly called Firebush - attracts more butterflies in my garden than any other plant. And, it's a Florida native!

If you have milkweed, you will have butterflies. I suggest a variety of plants to include some milkweed in each pot. Butterflies just love flowers so have fun.
theo

Long story short, (hopefully ). lol

Was spurred into action by what happened on Tuesday. That's when I decided to return the new Mexican petunia. Got the receipt and walked outside. 4 flowers had already opened ( discovered these plants flowers close up overnight, - cool ! ), then as I approached the plant on the sunny lawn, I saw four 2" wide purple flowers. Wait, one of the flowers was purple AND YELLOW ! How could this be ? Then inching closer I discovered the yellow was actually a small yellow butterfly with its wings folded back so it looked like one wing !! He was intently munching away at the flowers center, then flitted to another flower for 15 seconds or so, then flew away.

Needless to say, I took the receipt back inside and filed it away. This is just what I was hoping for, just not so soon !

Was at HD on Wed and decided to only buy the 3 big bags of potting soil, taking heed of the warnings about sprayed chemicals in some big box stores. It was then I spotted the round clay pots ( bought my 3 there years ago ). The experienced salesman told me he was sure they were only 15 gal pots, not 20 !! Bummed out somewhat, I then saw these huge wooden " whiskey barrels " with the black metal straps. Was told " they are twenty five ( 25 ) gallons each.". Couldn't resist, so bought 2 of them.

On Thurs I drove up to the MRT Nursery in South Venice and purchased : 4 milkweed; 2 pentas ( 1 red, 1 white ); I large firebush ; and 1 porterweed; - based on the advise gathered here. With the Mexican petunia, I now had 9 plants, so started in early Thurs morning. Planted the firebush first, directly in the ground. That took 2 1/4 hours,..am not crazy enough to work longer than that, even if it is getting a bit cooler.

Then this morning spent 2 1/2 hours potting the 2 pentas and one porterweed in one of the gigantic whiskey barrel pots, then planted the Mexican petunia in one of the 15 gal clay pots. "Whew ",..enough for one day,...am a retiree not a young Gators linebacker,..don't want one of my neighbors calling 911 that buzzards are circling over my backyard ! ( smile )

I watered & fertilized all plants, stashed my tools away till tomorrow, - came back out and I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye,..TURNED QUICKLY AND SAW A HUGE MONARCH BUTTERFLY FLITTING BEHIND AN UNPLANTED MILKWEED STILL IN ITS BLACK PLASTIC POT !!! I SWEAR IT HAD A WINGSPAN OF SIX INCHES !!!! OK, MAYBE FIVE INCHES ? YOU SAY 3 AT THE MOST ?

Whatever, I didn't imagine it, made my day for sure. Will resume on Tuesday. Expect to have the project completed by Fri at the latest. Am thrilled,..yeah, this is fun !

One more question : the three 15 ga clay pots all have round plastic trays underneath to catch & hold the excess water or rain when plant gets wet. The two new huge wooden whiskey barrels have no tray underneath. Any advice ? Buy two new trays or scuttle the three existing ones ? Thanks again !

This post was edited by jofus on Sun, Oct 26, 14 at 17:20

Do the whiskey barrels allow for drainage?
(Enjoyed your account, by the way!)

Oh yes, there's an inch diameter hole in the middle of the base on both whiskey barrels as is the case with the smaller clay pots. Should drain with no problem.

This post was edited by jofus on Sun, Oct 26, 14 at 17:23

I depend on trays under almost every potted plant in my yard, for both water and to prevent roots from digging into the soil.
I would expect a wooden barrel sitting in water, even intermittently, to eventually weaken at the bottom.
How lucky you are to have butterflies just waiting to visit your new flowers. There must be host plants in your yard or nearby.

I would say it depends on where the barrel halves will sit. If they reside in a mulched bed or turf, do not worry about a saucer, but if they are going to rest on concrete or stone, add a saucer to reduce the chance of staining. But I would also get three or four small, cheap pavers to elevate the planter so it doesn't sit in the water and rot.

Irma : Thanks for the common sense answer.
As for them just waiting, I have seen only two ( smile ). If in another month a few more are fluttering around, I'll be more convinced my efforts paid off. Right now am just psyched out at the sight of even two, prematurely for sure. Just keeping my fingers crossed.

Leekle : Thanks for the tip, will consider the pavers after the project is completed.

Just keep in mind that we're entering the cool season. Butterflies can still be around, but they won't be a numerous or active. You will, however, notice an increase on a year by year basis. My first year I had a little more than a few, the second year I thought I had a lot, but this year my yard has been constantly a-flutter with several different species. As your plants mature, so too will your butterfly populations. Also, having the firebush will not only help bring in butterflies it is THE plant to bring in Zebra Longwings. They never show in my yard until mine goes into bloom and once it stops (prematurely this year due to transplanting) the Longwings disperse, despite my over abundance of passionvine.

This post was edited by Leekle2ManE on Sun, Oct 26, 14 at 22:32

In my garden, red pentas and goldenrod get the prize as necter plants. I also get eggs from swallowtails on my lemon tree and ficus.

I collect the eggs from all my host plants quickly because something eats the eggs (lizards, ants) and wasps circle the milkweed and the few hatched caterpillars are taken.

I grow some milkweed inside my screened lanai and let them hatch i there. I have about 10 monarch caterpillars munching on the indoor porch.

Last week I was in HD and saw some short bushes labeled Butterfly bush. I bought 3 to add to the front garden. I also bought milkweed from a small nursery.

All the plants had caterpillars (which I didn't notice until I got home. Turns out the 'butterfly bushes' were milkweed which must have been cut short. They each had 2 caterpillars which are growing and doing well. So not I wonder about HD spray the butterfly plants.

I suppose its a gamble.

Swallowtail on red penta
{{gwi:957009}}

Another Swallowtail on a blue Plumbago.

Jane

Jane, I never heard of butterflies laying eggs on a ficus? What kind of butterfly?

The large red pentas are excellent nectar plants. I have them in many places in my garden. Right now, however, I would have to say that the large purple porterweeds get the most visits. The porterweeds (Stachytarpheta frantzii) are also excellent hummingbird plants. The hummers will also come to the pentas.

Saw a Queen yesterday and last week I had three large Queen caterpillars on one of my milkweeds. I see Monarchs all the time but Queens are rare for me. It was a thrill.

If you want to attract Sulfurs (yellow butterflies) cassias or Partridge Pea work well. Most cassias or sennas, however, get to be big bushes--not sure how well they would do in pots.

Jane - ny : I am sooo jealous !! Gorgeous pics. Now I have something to shoot for. Thanks !

Tom : I planted a spiked Porterweed also, glad now I did. I wouldn't know a Queen if it landed on my nose, but in time hopefully. I can't plant anything big, will have two Firebushes, one in ground out front, the other in my 2nd " wooden whiskey " barrel, which will be in the corner behind my lanai so it can climb the walls as it grows.

I will have eventually 10 plants in all, one Firebush + 2 Milkweeds directly behind the lanai, and the rest directly in front of the lanai and two spreading across the front of my mobile homw.

Hopefully in the future will be able to see the graceful, majestic butterflies flit around outside as I do my dishes ( smile ).

Will never have a butterfly garden as large as either of youse guys,..but still optimistic. Best gardening project I've undertaken in a long time, am psyched !

I'm jealous, too. I have plenty of plumbago and I do see an occasional swallowtail, but they just hover a moment, give a practically audible sniff of disdain, and flutter off to look for something more appealing. Only the hairstreaks seem to love the plumbago around here.

Rue was mentioned as one of the host plants for swallowtails. Be aware that some people develop a fairly severe case of contact dermatitis from a combination of rue sap and sunlight.

I planted both rue and fennel last year for the swallowtails. I was very careful around the rue, wearing gloves, long sleeves, etc. Happily for me, the swallowtail cats seemed to prefer the fennel so I didn't bother to replace the rue when it died.

June, I also have had more luck with fennel in attracting the Eastern Black Swallowtails. However, I have read that rue also attracts Giant Swallowtails. I haven't seen any on my rue, however. Maybe it's a myth.

I do have plenty of trees for the Giants. I don't see many anymore. They were plentiful this summer and even into late September. I do see one once and a while now, but not often.

Tom, I haven't seen any Giants since September. I kind of chalked it up to the fact that starting in October I have been doing transplants and many of my plants went into shock. Some took only minor shock and others took hard hits (but so far are still alive). But right now I am light on the nectar plants with only a few Pentas working overtime and I figured that was why I wasn't seeing many of the butterflies I saw through the summer. That and the cooler weather/shorter days. I still have plenty of Gulf Frits and a few Sulphurs now that my Senna is starting to bloom, but all the others are fairly uncommon sights in my yard right now.

I'm in Clermont, not far from you and for me the Gulf Fritillaries and the Zebra Longwings are the most numerous now. I still see quite a few Monarchs and Polydamas and Sulphurs. Some skippers also and lots of the small butterflies that I can't name.

Thankfully I still have lots of flowers blooming. Right now the best nectar plants are the red pentas and the large purple porterweeds. For some reason my Cape Honeysuckles are blooming now also. Usually they bloom very early in the spring, or perhaps I'm not remembering correctly.

My Coral Honeysuckle has been blooming non-stop since Spring. It slowed down during the height of summer, but still bloomed. Now it has returned to heavy blooming. But it doesn't get visited much by butterflies. It resides in my daughter's butterfly-less butterfly garden. For some reason it rarely gets visited despite it having many nectar plants and a few hosts. An expert at Wings anf Wildflowers suggested that it's location on the Northeast corner of the house is the reason. She said the bed might fall into shade too soon and therefore isn't attractive enough. So this tourist season my daughter and I will be moving her garden to a sunnier a location that gets more afternoon sun. Location, location, location.

You need to tell me your secret for getting the coral honeysuckle to bloom heavily in the fall. For me it only blooms well in the spring and after that the blooms are intermittent. It is, however, a great plant for hummingbirds. They love it.

I don’t know about moving your garden to a sunnier location. It would probably help, but can’t you just extend the garden rather than moving everything? The Zebra Longwings prefer the shade. If you get a passion vine that they like they will visit your garden and stick around. Like the Polydamas, the Monarchs and some other butterflies they tend to stick around the larval plants. I prefer the Corky-stemmed passion vine (Passiflora suberosa). It works very well for both Fritillaries and Zebras. The Frits will lay their eggs in sunny spots and the Zebras will lay their eggs in shady areas.

The other vine that I highly recommend is the aristolochia tomentosa, which is a type of pipevine. It attracts Pipevine Swallowtails and Polydamas. It is the one vine I wouldn’t be without. You can get it online at the Mail Order Natives in northern Florida or also at Vincent Gardens online. It does well in part shade.

I am afraid I can't help you with my secret as I don't think I have one.. If anything, I would say I just ignore my Coral Honeysuckle.

I have three passionvines and a pipevine in my yard (not counting the dozens of runner vines). While that corner falls into shade around noon, it stays too sunny for the zebra longwings. My shed which is thoroughly covered in passionvine has sunny spots and shady spots, but the shady spots rely on the movement of the sun. I have yet to see Zebra Longwing cats on them. I think the adults look upwaed for some sign of overhanging branches to decide on a spot, and that is something my yard lacks.

She does have milkweed mixed into that bed though and we do find monarch cats from time to time, we just hardly ever see any adults visiting that bed Something about the location of that bed just makes it a desert for butterfly activity in my otherwise a-flutter yard. Bees love it, as does the occasional hummer, but butterflies avoid it.

Was out the door early and planted the last Ftrebush into my second 25 gal wooden whiskey barrel.
Saw another butterfly yesterday. It was a gorgeous deep orange with black spots and a 3 " wingspan. It was perched atop the bright flowers of my White Penta out front, completey ignoring the Red Penta just 6 inches away. He was not nervous in the least as I stood over him, memorizing his markings. He flitted off and I trotted inside to google his identity. Turns out he/she was a Gulf Fritillaries, IMHO, one of the most beautiful butterflies around.

Today as I returned home in the afternoon I saw another. A Gulf Friitillatie ( who names these creatures ? ), - again on the White Penta,..maybe the same guy from yesterday.

I knew nothing of butterflies till I travelled to Costa Rica 22 yrs ago. While there I visited the Monterverde Cloud Forest for 2 + days. While there I took in their Butterfly Garden.. On barely 1/3 acre, this netting covered jungle was an eye opener. Have had this in the back of my mind ever since.

So by Saturday I will have two butterfly gardens, small as they are. One out front with 7 plants and a NE exposure, the 2nd, behind the lanai with only 3 plants ( a Firebush bracketed by 2 Milkeeds ), with a SE exposure.

In the 6 yrs I've lived here have not seen even one butterfly as best I can remember. In last 4 days have seen four,. so am optimistic.

Think this is something I would recommend to anyone with a little land outside, after the work of installation the maintenance is easy, even for me ! ( smile )

This post was edited by jofus on Fri, Oct 31, 14 at 8:40

I've read it many times that "everyone can have a butterfly garden, even if all you have is an apt balcony." Your success so (and so soon!) with your plants proves it.

If you ever make it up to Gainesville, you may want to give UF's Butterfly Rainforest a whirl. I think you would enjoy it.

Will do, am a big Gators fan anyway !!

I think where you live that you will continue to see butterflies for some time. We have a Monarch population that stays here in Florida all year long.

You have milkweeds, so you can expect a visit fairly soon.

The more flowers and larval plants you have the more butterflies you are going to get. Imagine yourself sitting in a comfortable chair while butterflies are flying all around you.

It can happen. It will.

FWIW, 'fritillary' is also a flower & the word comes from the Latin for 'dice box', likely referring to the checkering on both the flowers & the butterfly's wings.

Thanks Carol. Simply the bane of most engineers, they always have to know the details, which bore most people.

My interest in starting a butterfly garden by the way, was initiated recently by learning that their population is in serious decline.

One online site said that the Monarch numbers in particular are way down. Apparently only one Monarch exists today for every 15 that existed in 1997

Hopefully stats like that will induce more folks to plant a few friendly plants for them. Such beautiful creatures !

Sounds like you are off to a good start, soon you will have lots of butterflies, bees and caterpillars in the yard.

Years back, our local newspaper had a bi-weekly columnist that would write about local gardening, telling what to do in the yard for the month, a plant profile, stuff like that. Every few years she would do a whole column about butterfly gardening, listing host plants, nectar plants, which plants attracted which butterflies. Saw her once at a speaking engagement and she mentioned her butterfly gardening articles, said that it never failed, about a month or so after the article was in the paper, she would start getting calls and letters from readers who read the article and wanted advice. They would start the letter saying they followed her recommendations and planted this, this, this and this, and the butterflies showed up and all was good, then after a few weeks caterpillars showed up and started eating lots of the plants. They all wanted to know how they could get rid of the caterpillars so the plants would look nice again.

DM

Still seeing a lot of butterflies. Yesterday I saw another Queen and a Pipevine. Today I saw a Giant. Monarchs, Fritillaries, Sulphurs, Polydamas, Zebras and skippers are around most of the day.

The most popular plant in my yard is the large purple porterweed. Here's a picture of the largest one. It reaches about ten feet tall now.

Don't know what will happen to the butterflies after this cold spell. Certainly will see less.