Free Garden Catalogs

Butterfly plants?

I live in Southern California and I want to attract monarch butterflies to my garden. I know i need milkweed, but what other plants do Monarchs like?

Public Comments

1. I found a whole list of them right here: http://www.geocities.com/farfalla247/plantlist.html Alpine rockcress (Arabis alpina) Aster (Aster) Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Bugle (Ajuga) Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii) Campion/ Catchfly (Silene) Caragana/ Pea tree (Caragana aurantiaca) Campion/ Catchfly (Silene) Catmint/ Catnip (Nepeta x faasseniii) Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Common marjoram (Origanum vulgare) Daisy (Bellis perennis) Day lily (hemerocallis lilio-asphodelus) Field eryngo (Eryngium) French marigold (Tagetes patula) Golden rod (Solidago Canadensis) Heliopsis (Heliopsis helianthoides) Hemp agrimony (Eupatorium purpureum) Honeysuckle (Lonicera x tellmania) Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) Ironweed (Vernonia spp.) Knapweed (Centaurea) Knautia Scabious (Knautia) Lavendar (lavandula angustifolia) Lilacs (Syringa spp.) Leopards-bane (Doronicum) Ligularia (Ligularia spp.) Martagon lily (Lilium martagon) Masterwort (Astrantia) Mezereon (Daphne) Mouse-ear (Cerastrium) Pennycress (Thlaspi) Phlox (Phlox paniculata spp.) Pink (Dianthus) Pincushion flower (Scabiosa spp.) Primrose (Primula) Purple coneflower (Echinaea purpurea) Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Ragged robin (Lychnis) Sweet pea (Lathyrus) Sage (Salvia) Siberian squill (Scilla sibiria) Snakeroot (Liatris spicata Speedwell (Veronica) Stoke’s Aster (Stokesia laevis) Stonecrops (Sedum spp.) Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Thrift rose (Armeria) Thistle (Cirsium) Tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora, C. lanceolata) Vervain (Verbena spp.) Vetch (Vicia) Yellow chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) Viburnum (Viburnum spp) Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) I personally prefer the Butterfly Bush, and Zinnias, they're really easy to maintain, and have butterflies.
2. I don't know about Monarchs, but other butterflies love Verbena. I planted it around my lamp post. It's pink in color, & has really spread around the base of the lamp. I bought the Verbena at Lowes, but you should be able to find it most anywhere where flowers are sold.
3. Purple Coneflowers, Goldenrod, Butterfly Weed and some herbs as well. Every species of Milkweed, and there are many, will bring the Monarchs you desire.
4. PS living in the southern part of the state you can play a major role is contributing to the continued effort of feeding them on their journey north. Open the Mo Ext link to see how. M o n a r c h W a t c h Butterfly Gardening There is a plethora of plants listed for them http://www.monarchwatch.org/garden/nectar.htm http://www.monarchwatch.org/garden/index.htm Purchase Seeds http://www.butterflyencounters.com/store/products.php http://www.butterflyencounters.com/ Monarch Butterflies Eat and Thrive on Milkweed BONUS ANSWERS Excellent story of the entire migration Monarch Migration Listen to the article https://muextension.missouri.edu/extensioninfonet/article.asp?id=1553 If you know any children this is a good link for them. http://www.pmsd.k12.pa.us/schools/conestoga/Monarchbutterfly.html
5. I personally like the shrimp plants they are pretty and they draw the butterflies to my yard also like bleeding heart .