I live very far south of you, but I think the buddleias would do well for you. They are terrific for large butterflies and you will get visits from hummingbirds and other pollinators as well. Pentas are excellent also. If you can get the large ones they are better, but the small ones will attract butterflies as well. If you really want to attract butterflies you will need to plant larval food as well. An easy one is parsley which the large black butterflies like.

Here is a site that shows other plants you might consider.

Probably the best advice is to find a good nursery near you and ask them what they recommend.

Best of luck.

Vettin,

Tom is correct, buddleias aka butterfly bush, are great nectar plants for butterflies up North. I grew several varieties in Ohio. I cut them back to around 6 inches tall in early winter and by mid summer they were 4-5 feet tall.

Another great nectar plant for northern butterflies is Sweet Joe Pye. The large flower heads make nice landing pads for the butterflies.

Good luck and keep us updated on your butterfly sightings.

Any particular buddleias you recommend? Thank you

There is one that comes with different color flowers. I thought that one looked exceptional. However, I think all of them work quite well. I would get any one of them that I could get in a nearby nursery. I had very good luck with the yellow one and the dark purple one was extremely fragrant.

Two things about these plants. They should be deadheaded and they do not like wet feet.

Vettin,

Dark Knight and Pink Delight attracted lots of butterflies for me in Ohio. Here's a few pics taken there.

Buddleias can be invasive in some areas. There are now varieties that are sterile, so they won’t produce seeds that could allow them to escape from your garden. I would check whether there are any concerns re these plants in your area. Happy gardening.

Martha

What I learned in a native plant class last year was that buddleia is NOT beneficial for butterflies. It does attract them for their brief llifespan but doesn’t provide nutrition needed to complete their lifecycle. They’re a dangerous tease, I’ll try to dig out the full information, but just wanted to jump in with the warning that butterfly bushes have been debunked as a pollinator no-no..

I had at least 10 buddleias planted on my property in Ohio. Never once over 15 years growing there did I have any problems with them being invasive. So, while they may be invasive in some parts of the country, they aren't in other parts.

The butterflies that visited mine spent lots of time feeding from the flowers. They must have found enough nectar to keep them coming back.

As Tom stated, we plant lots of larval food sources along with the nectar sources to ensure that each stage of the life cycle is fed and that we attract them to our gardens.

Happy gardening 🙂

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, attracts a lot of butterflies. It grows wild around our property and the sides of the road, still it is a beautiful perennial and I plan on adding some to my flower beds. Everytime they are in bloom I see them covered up in butterflies.