The following plants will attract and encourage butterflies in Iowa. Most provide nectar for adults; others (marked with a C ) are a necessary food source for specific caterpillars. Refer to Food Preferences of Common Iowa Butterflies. Some plants support both caterpillars and adult butterflies (for example, asters, milkweeds and thistles). Inclusion of a plant does not constitute an endorsement of its use. Evaluate carefully your site and all available information before deciding to plant or retain any plants in your landscape.
Trees shrubsAsh CBirch C Boxelder C Buttonbush Cherry C Coralberry C Dogwoods C Hackberry C Honeysuckle Hoptree C Lilac C Maple Oak C Poplar C Plum C Prickly ash C Spicebush C Spireas Sumacs C Sweet mockorange Weigela Willow C Annual FlowersCosmosFlowering tobacco Four o'clocks Globe amaranth Heliotrope Lantana Marigold C Mexican sunflower Nasturtium C Petunia Salvia Snapdragon Statice Verbena Zinnia WeedsBurdock CCinquefoil Common milkweed C Dandelion Ironweed Knapweed C Mullen Mustard C Nettles C Queen Anne's Lace C Sedge C Thistles C OtherAnise CAlfalfa C Broccoli C Cabbage C Carrot C Celery C Clovers C Dill C Garden pea C Grasses C Parsley C Parsnip C Rosemary Vetch C |
PerennialsAsters CAster spp. Bee balm Monarda spp. Black-eyed Susans C Rudbeckia spp. Blanketflower Gaillardia spp. Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly-bush Buddleia spp. Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis Centaureas Centaurea spp. Columbine Aquilegia spp. Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis Daisy, feverfew Chrysanthemum spp. Dame's rocket Hesperis matronalis Daylily Hemerocallis spp. False indigo C Baptisia spp. Fireweed Epilobium angustifolium Fleabane Erigeron spp. Garden phlox Phlox paniculata Gayfeather, Blazing star Liatris spp. Gentian Gentiana sp. Globe thistle Echinops spp. Goldenrods Solidago spp. Heliopsis Heliopsis spp. Hibiscus C Hibiscus spp. Hollyhock C Alcea rosea Hyssop Hyssopus officinalis Joe Pye weed Eupatorium maculatum Leadplant Amorpha canescens Lily Lilium spp. Mallow C Malva spp. Milkweeds C Asclepias spp. Obedient plant Physostegia virginiana Pearly everlasting C Anaphalis margaritacea Penstemon Penstemon spp. Peppermint and spearmint Mentha spp. Pincushion flower Scabiosa spp. Purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea Rock-cress C Arabis spp. Selfheal Prunella grandiflora Stonecrop C Sedum spp. Sunflowers C Helianthus spp. Sweet William, Pinks C Dianthus spp. Sweet pea Lathyrus spp. Thyme Thymus spp. Tickseed sunflower Bidens aristosa Turtlehead Chelone glabra Violets C Viola spp. Yarrow Achillea spp. |
Adapted from Krischik, V., 1996. Butterfly Gardening. University of Minnesota Extension Service publication AG-BU-6711-S.
Prepared by Donald R. Lewis, extension entomologist and Richard Jauron and Cindy Haynes, extension horticulturists. January, 2001
This article originally appeared in the February 23, 2001 issue, pp. 15-16.
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on February 23, 2001. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.