Plants for Butterflies and Other Pollinators
Showing 89–96 of 228 results
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Engelmannia peristenia syn. E. pinnatafida Engelmann’s Daisy Z 4-8
Clusters of golden-yellow daisy-like flowers, May-August, over an evergreen rosette
OUT OF STOCK
Clusters of golden-yellow daisy-like flowers, May-August, over an evergreen rosette
Size: 18-36” x 15-18”
Care: full sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: South central US
Wildlife Value: Attracts birds for the seeds, Bees & butterflies for nectar/pollen. Rabbit resistant.First published in 1840 by Nuttal/Gray. Named for George Engelmann (1809-1884) who was born in Germany and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, as a young man. He was a physician and botanist. When he died much of his collection went to Missouri Botanical Garden.
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Epilobium angustifolium syn. Chamaenerion angustifolium Fireweed Z 2-7
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-September atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
OUT OF STOCK
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-September atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
Size: 2-6’ x 3’ spreading
Care: Sun to part shade in dry to moist well drained soil
Native: Circum-polar to the temperate northern hemisphere (Wisconsin native)
Wildlife Value: Attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Host for Fireweed Clearwing moth & Nessus Sphinx moth.Common name comes from its quick reappearance after a wildfire. First Nations used fireweed externally for burns and other skin conditions, and drank a tea for gastro-intestinal and bronchial problems. Its shoots eaten as a vegetable and young leaves added to salads. Fireweed yields a honey so prized that some Canadian beekeepers drive – or even fly – their hives to areas rich in fireweed for the blossoming season.
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Erigeron aureus Alpine yellow fleabane Z 5-8
White hairs cover frosted-looking basil leaves making this worthy of any garden even without flowers, but then its school bus yellow daisies flower from spring through fall.
White hairs cover frosted-looking basil leaves making this worthy of any garden even without flowers, but then its school bus yellow daisies flower from spring through fall.
Size: 3-4” x 3”
Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Cascade Mountains from Alberta to State of Washington
Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies and birds1st described in literature in 1884.
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Eryngium amethystinum Amethyst sea holly Z. 3-8
Metallic amethyst stems, spiny bracts and cone-shaped flower in July and August
OUT OF STOCK
Metallic amethyst stems, spiny bracts and cone-shaped flower in July and August
Size: 28” x 28”
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil, drought tolerant
Native: Italy & southern Alps
Wildlife Value: attracts bees & butterflies, birds eat seeds. Deer & rabbit resistant
Awards: Great Plant Pick Award from Elizabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden.Garden cultivation since 1648. Long prized for its metallic luster.
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Eryngium giganteum Miss Wilmott’s ghost Z 5-8
oval thistles top prickly green, turning steely blue, silvery, prickly bracts
In summer, oval thistles top prickly green, turning steely blue, silvery, prickly bracts. Stems turn steel blue too. Dramatic cut flower, fresh or dried.
Size: 36" x 24"
Care: Full sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Deer resistant.
Native: Caucasus Mountains
Awards: England's Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Named for Ellen Wilmott, a wealthy, eccentric English gardener who reputedly dropped seeds of this plant as she passed her neighbors’ gardens. It came up after she had passed – Miss Wilmott’s ghost. Her personality also reputedly resembled the prickly plant. Introduced to England from its native Caucasus Mountains in 1820.
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Eryngium maritimum Sea holly Z 5-8
Mounds of showy, frosted, holly-like foliage
OUT OF STOCK
Mounds of showy, frosted, holly-like foliage with conspicuous silver veins and prickly leaf margins with round, steel-blue thistles blooming in late summer. Grow at the front of the garden or in a rock garden.
Size: 8" x 8"
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant
Native: Seacoasts of EuropeEryngium is Greek meaning “thistle.” Anglo-Saxons prescribed the root to cure the king’s evil, serpent bites, broken bones, stiff necks and melancholy. During Tudor times the plant, reputedly an aphrodisiac, brought on “kissing comfits.” Garden cultivation in America since 1700’s.
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Eryngium planum Flat sea holly Z 5-9
Round thistles top prickly steely blue, silver colored, bracts
Round thistles top prickly steely blue, silver colored, bracts June-August. Stems turn steel blue too. Deadhead for repeat bloom. Reseeds readily. Great cut flowers: dry or fresh.
Size: 36” x 18”
Care: Sun well-drained soil, drought tolerant
Native: E. EuropeEryngium is Greek meaning “thistle.” Eryngium was described in Gerard’s Herball in 1597 for its uses: ”old and aged people that are consumed and withered with age, and which want natural moisture (and also) amended the defects of nature in the younger.”
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Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake master Z 4-8
prickly round white umbels surrounded by spiny bracts
July-September, prickly round white umbels. Leaves like thinner versions of a Yucca
Size: 48” x 18”
Care: Full sun, moist well-drained soil.
Native: Eastern United States, Wisconsin nativeEryngium is Greek meaning “thistle.” Chickasaw shamans chewed the root, blew on their hands and then picked up rattlers without injury, hence “Rattlesnake master.” Its roots valued by Native Americans for medicinal uses: diuretic, stimulant, and to cure venereal disease, impotence and joint inflammation. Potawatomi used Rattlesnake master for good luck in gambling.
