Adam H. Putnam, Commissioner - Richard D. Gaskalla, Director
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Butterfly Gardening

Helpful Planting Tips:

  1. Choose a sunny area to plant your garden.
  2. Choose plants that will flower throughout the season.
  3. Plant in large groups or clumps rather than individually.
  4. Include 'host' plants for the caterpillar's food source, and nectar-rich flowers for butterflies.
  5. Avoid pesticides, whether applied to your lawn or put on plants are harmful to butterflies.
  6. Provide some rocks where they can 'bask' in the morning sun to warm up.
  7. Provide a few sheltered areas, like shrubbery, to protect them from wind and rain.

Native Florida plants that attract butterflies:

  • Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa
  • Joe-Pye-Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
  • Maypop (Passiflora incarnata)
  • Porter’s Weed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis)
  • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
  • Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
  • Red Bay (Persea borbonia)
  • Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
  • Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana)
  • Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea)
  • Liatris (Liatris spicata)

Native Florida plants that do NOT attract butterflies:

  • Bayberry (Myrica cerifera)
  • Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal palmetto)
  • Florida Violet (Viola sororia)
  • Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
  • Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)
  • Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
  • Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
  • Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
  • St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)
  • Sword Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)

Butterfly Gardening links

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