Ok, I'm semi new to this, but I live in zone 5 ;) I was just reading in a magazine last night about butterfly gardening. And they mention that a butterfly garden should be in full sun, because, as they mention, most BF can't fly unless their body temp is high enough, and most BF attracting plants need full sun. But I've seen butterflies on my Astible, which only gets morning sun.

Some plants they list and BF's attracted, hardy to us are:

Perrenials:

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)- Red Admirals, swallowtails, monarcs, & skippers -best started as seed, doesn't transplant easily
New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)-Painted Ladies, pearl cresents, sulphurs, and whites
Butterfly Bush (Buddleja)- Monarchs, swallowtails, sulphurs, & skippers- (I've heard a lot of people in our zone say they can't grow this, Black Knight is a good variety that winters over)
Stokes' aster (Stokesia laevis) - E. Tiger Swallowtail, baltimore cherckerspots

Annuals:

Marigold-Sulphurs, pearl crescents & sleepy oranges
Starflower (Pentas Lanceolata)- Monarchs, swallowtails and painted ladies
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)- Painted ladies & Monarchs
Verbena (Verbena hybrids) - sulphurs, dogfaces & spicebush swallowtails
Lantana (lantana camara)- Pearl crescents, alfalfas, and buckeyes
Zinnnia-spicebush swallowtails, skippers and monarchs

That was their list. I'd add Purple coneflowers, (or other variety of coneflowers), Salvia, Bee Balm, and milkweed and Queen Anne's lace off the top of my head.

Hi Matt, I was just thinking of posting a similar question - I am glad I found your post first.

I'd like to have some of the "regulars" here tell us what they are growing, that is "tried-and-true" for caterpillars.

I'm in Z6 and get winter (not as bad as Iowa though) and I wonder if things like Passion Vine and other tropicals can be over-wintered in the house.

Anyone with a seasonal butterfly garden have some tips for us?

thanks!

Jeri in Texas

Jeri, passiflora incarnata and ceurulea both should be root hardy in the Texas panhandle.

I think several folks have overwintered tropical milkweed indoors over winter. I don't have the room, so I have to start them from seed every year. Other milkweeds are root hardy in your area, like Asclepias incarnata, A. syriaca, A. viridis, Antelope Horns, etc. I can't believe there's a zone 6 anywhere in Texas! LOL!

Other hardy perennials you might want to try are False Nettle (boehmeria cylindrica) for Red Admirals, Questions Marks; Hops vine (humulus) for Question Marks; Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa, A. macrophylla, A. serpentaria, A. clematitis, and there's another one used in Texas that I don't recall right now) for the Pipevine Swallowtails; Rue (BSTs and GSTs); parsley, fennel and dill (BSTs) (I don't grow dill because it bites the dust in our summer heat); Sunflowers (Silvery Checkerspots, Gorgone Checkerspots, and Bordered Patches); Verbesina encelioides (Golden Crownbeart) for Bordered Patches); plantain and ruellia, for the Buckeyes.

Check out the FAQs which has a section on host plants for various butterflies.

I would think you could grow almost anything we can grow in Oklahoma at least.

Susan

Susan, thanks so much! I think we can grow almost everything that you can in OKC; y'all have just a little more humidity. (however we've been more humid than we are accustomed to this summer)

I have had fennel in my garden for years and have watched the BST cats it attracts. This year I planted sunflowers for the first time and I'm inundated with the black cats! That is what really piqued my interest in butterfly gardening... I am having a blast watching "my" babies.

I have printed out your list of plants, and will look for them. I might have time left this summer to start some perennial plants in pots and then transplant them this fall. I really, really appreciate you sharing the information!

Jeri in Texas

Butterfly Bush dies back to the ground in my zone but comes up again later in the year. The brookings arboretum has some nice 4-foot white ones blooming in the fall before it is killed down by frost again.