Plants for Butterflies and Other Pollinators
Showing 129–136 of 228 results
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Lunaria annua Money plant, Honesty, Silver dollar Biennial Reseeds Z 5-10
Spectacular mauve phlox-like blooms spring to early summer turn into silvery, translucent seedpods.
Spectacular mauve phlox-like blooms spring to early summer turn into silvery, translucent seedpods.
Can not ship to: Maryland
Size: 1'-3' x 1’
Care: Full sun to part shade.
Native: mountains of Italy
Wildlife Value: attracts bees and butterfliesOld-fashioned heirloom. Silver dollars are perfect for dried bouquets! Popular in winter flower arrangements since colonial times. Introduced to England from Germany in the late 1500’s and carried to America by the Puritans as a reminder of home.
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Lupinus perennis Sun-dial lupin, Old maid’s bonnet, wild pea Z. 4-9
Many flowered blue, pea flowered raceme May-June
OUT OF STOCK
Many flowered blue, pea flowered raceme May-June
Size: 1-2' x 12"
Care: full sun in well drained soil. A legume, so it enriches the soil by adding nitrogen.
Native: Maine to FL, Ontario to MN to Louisiana.
Wildlife Value: Attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies. The only food for larvae of endangered species, Karner Blue butterfly.Lupinus is Latin from Lupus meaning “wolf.” Likely sent from its native Virginia to England by Tradescant the Younger in 1637. Certainly collected by Michaux, late 1700’s. Grown by Jefferson. The Cherokee used this to stop bleeding. The Menominee fattened their horses with this Lupin and made them spirited. They rubbed the plant on themselves to give power to control the horses.
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Magnolia virginiana Sweetbay magnolia 5-10
Large, ivory cups, lemon scented
Large, ivory cups, lemon scented, in May & June & sporadically all summer & fall. 6” long leaves, waxy green on top and silvery-frosted beneath. In fall fruits open to reveal bright red seeds.
Size: 20’ x 15’
Care: Sun to part shade in acidic, moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: Atlantic coast from NY to FL, west along Gulf coast to TX
Wildlife Value: nectar source for Spicebush swallowtail butterflyMagnolia named for Pierre Magnol, Montpellier professor of medicine and director of the botanic garden. (1638-1715) This species collected by Rev. John Banister in Virginia c. 1690. One of the mainstays of John Bartram’s seed business, Peter Collinson, Bartram’s agent in England, said, “the name Magnolia will sell a box of seeds.” Offered for sale in Bartram Garden’s 1783 Broadside, America’s 1st plant catalog. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
**LISTED AS OUT OF STOCK BECAUSE WE DO NOT SHIP THIS ITEM. IT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT OUR RETAIL LOCATION.
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Mahonia aquifolium Oregon grape Z 5-9
Showy yellow flowers in spring followed by pretty blue fruit with red pediciles. Holly-like, evergreen leaves turn purple in fall for a four season ornament.
OUT OF STOCK
Showy yellow flowers in spring followed by pretty blue fruit with red pedicles. Holly-like, evergreen leaves turn purple in fall for a four season ornament.
Size: 5’ x 3’
Care: sheltered site (in Z 5) in humusy, moist to moist well-drained soil, sun to part shade
Native: Pacific Northwest
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees & butterflies, Birds eat the berriesMahonia is named in honor of Bernard McMahon, Scottish nurseryman who immigrated to Philadelphia around 1802. In 1818 Thomas Nuttall extolled McMahon “whose ardent attachment to Botany, and successful introduction of useful and ornamental horticulture into the United States, lays claim to public esteem.” McMahon’s nursery received plants discovered by Lewis & Clark who collected this plant in April 1806 along the rapids of the Columbia River. The Snohomish ate the berries and made a yellow dye from its roots. It cured bloodshot eyes and kidney disease for the Okanagan-Colville. California’s Karok Indians boiled the root and drank the liquid to cure numerous ailments. Steamed roots and leaves believed to remedy yellow fever.
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Monarda bradburyana Eastern beebalm, Bradbury’s Monarda Z. 5-8
Whorls of pale pink hood-shaped petals with dark purple spots, April to June.
Whorls of pale pink hood-shaped petals with dark purple spots, April to June.
Size: 18-24" x 24"
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Walnut toxicity resistant.
Native: IL west to KS, south from AL to TX
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies and hummingbirdsNamed for its collector, Englishman Bradbury who searched for plants in central No. America in 1810. In gardens by 1826.
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Monarda didyma ‘Cambridge Scarlet’ Beebalm, Oswego tea
Whorls of scarlet tubes and bracts
Whorls of scarlet tubes and bracts crown 3′ tall, square stems in July and August.
Size: 3-4' x spreading
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Grow in an open location to prevent powdery mildew. Deer resistant. Walnut toxicity resistant.
Native: Upstate NY
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies and hummingbirdsDidyma refers to paired stamens. Oswego Indians taught colonists how to make tea from the dried leaves. Colonists in turn showed John Bartram who sent Beebalm to Peter Collinson in England, in whose garden it grew in 1744. Widely used during the American Revolution as a substitute for tea. Gertrude Jeykll recommended the cultivated variety ‘Cambridge Scarlet’ in 1908.
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Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamont Z 3-9
Lavender tubes and bracts encircle 3' tall square stems
Lavender tubes and bracts encircle 3′ tall square stems in July and August.
Size: 3-4' x spreading
Care: Sun to part shade any soil. Drought tolerant Walnut toxicity resistant.
Native: central U.S., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts both butterflies and hummingbirdsFistulosa refers to the hollow stem. Native Americans used the plant for abdominal pain, pimples, and chest pain in children. Sent to Europe by Tradescant the Younger in 1637. Cultivated by George Washington.
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Nepeta nervosa Catmint Z 4-9
Chubby spikes of many clear blue-purple flowers blooming June-September. Deadhead to rebloom
OUT OF STOCK
Chubby spikes of many clear blue-purple flowers blooming June-September. Deadhead to rebloom
Size: 16-20” x 18-24”
Care: sun in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: China
Wildlife Value: deer & rabbit resistant, attracts bees & butterfliesNepetas may have been named after Nepete, an old Etrusrian city. Nervosa means with conspicuous veins. Collected before 1833.
