Gardening in Tucson
and Southeastern Arizona

The Butterfly Garden

PLANTS
Butterfly Garden
Erosion Control
Fruit, Berries, Nuts
Grasses
Ground Cover
Hummingbird Garden
Parasitic Plants
Peppers, Chilies
Shrubs
Tomatoes
Trees: Landscape
Vines
Wildflowers

ON THE WEB
Gardening Organizations
Links: Garden-Related
Nurseries

GARDENING HOW-TO'S
Dealing with Critters
Digging Holes for Plants
Fruit: Selection, Cultivation
Garden Bed: Sterilizing
Gardening Schedules Zone 8b
Gardening Schedule Tucson
Microclimates
Mulching
Oracle: Weather, Wildflowers
Plant Placement
Search This Site
Selecting Plants: SE Arizona
Seeds: Planting
Soil Preparation
USDA Hardiness Zones
Watering

Tips for a Successful Butterfly Garden

  • Plant flowers in masses to attract the attention of passing butterflies.
  • Select a combination of plants that bloom at different times of the year.
  • Use both caterpillar food plants and nectar plants to lure adult butterflies. Female butterflies look for a suitable food plant on which to lay their eggs.
  • Offer pieces of overripe fruit. This lures butterflies such as the Empress Leilia that are attracted to rotting fruit and tree sap but rarely flowers.
  • Furnish windbreaks.
  • Provide shade for hot days.
  • Install flat rocks for resting places in both morning sun and all day shade.
  • Supply damp soil from which butterflies can absorb salts and nutrients.
  • If a plant seems to have too many caterpillars, either put in additional plants of the same variety or pick off the excess caterpillars. These surplus caterpillars can be dumped in a bucket of soapy water. Getting rid of caterpillars, however, reduces the number of butterflies.
  • Do not use Asian or Australian plants in place of native American plants. Plants in the Senna and Aristolochia genera from Asia, for example, kill our local caterpillars because they contain different poisons than those the caterpillars are adapted to.
  • Avoid using pesticides. They harm butterflies and hummingbirds. Let birds remove the bugs, or spray them off with water.


Butterfly Plants Providing Nectar - Low Water

Aloysia gratissima: Whitebrush / Bee Brush

Aloysia wrightii: Oreganillo, Bee Brush

Antigonon leptopus: Coral Vine

Buddleja marrubiifolia: Woolly Butterfly Bush

Calliandra californica: Baja Fairy Duster

Conoclinium dissectum (Eupatorium greggii): Blue Mist

Coreopsis tinctoria: Calliopsis

Cosmos bipinnatus: Cosmos

Cosmos sulphureus: Yellow Cosmos

Dalea capitata: Lemon Dalea

Ericameria laricifolia: Turpentine Brush

Gaillardia aristata: Firewheel

Hymenoxys acaulis: Angelita Daisy

Hyptis emoryi: Desert Lavender

Lantana montevidensis: Trailing Lantana

Melampodium leucanthum: Black Foot Daisy

Merremia dissecta: Alamo Vine

Tagetes lemmonii: Mount Lemmon Marigold

Zinnia grandiflora: Prairie Zinnia


Butterfly Plants Providing Nectar - Moderate Water

Lantana camara: Lantana
Rapidly grows to 3' high and 5' wide or more. Green leaves to 3" long can irritate skin. Small flowers clustered into multicolored hemispheres of yellow, orange, red and other colors. Blooms summer through early fall. Attracts butterflies. Small, toxic, black or blue-black berries attract birds. Native origin in tropical America. Full sun improves bloom. Low to moderate water. Drought tolerant once established. Fertilizer or amended soil improves performance. Evergreen perennial. Dies to ground when temperature drops below 28°F but usually recovers from root in spring. USDA hardiness zones from 7,8,9 to 11 depending on cultivar.


Caterpillar Food Plants Providing Nectar

By allowing caterpillars to crawl on and consume these plants,
you are helping to produce the next generation of butterflies.

Acacia angustissima: Fern Acacia
Grows to 3' high. Abundant, dark-green, tiny leaves on thornless stems give fern-like appearance. Leaves fold up when touched and at night. Sometimes used as livestock forage. White puff-ball flowers, 0.5" wide, bloom May to September. Attracts butterflies and insects. Food plant for Acacia Skipper caterpillar. Brown seed pods to 3" long. Seeds attract quail and other birds. Deep taproot. Plant has woody rhizomes that can form colonies and reduce soil erosion. Native to Arizona through Louisiana, parts of the Midwestern United States, Florida, Mexico and Central America. Drought tolerant but does best with rain. Never fertilize - this plant has nitrogen-fixing roots. Perennial. Dies to ground with first hard frost. USDA hardiness zones 6-10.

Anisacanthus thurberi: Desert Honeysuckle

Asclepias curasavica: Blood Flower
Grows 3-4' high. Green elliptic leaves, to 5" long, pointed at both ends. Orange and red flowers, in clusters, bloom spring to fall. Attracts butterflies. Food plant for Monarch and Queen caterpillars. Plant is poisonous. Sap is skin irritant. Native to tropical and subtropical Americas. Full sun to part shade. Moderate to regular water. Perennial. USDA hardiness zones 8b-11; evergreen in zones 9b-11. Dies to ground in zones 8b-9a but can recover in spring.

Asclepias linaria: Pineneedle Milkweed

Asclepias subulata: Desert Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa: Butterfly Weed

Dalea frutescens: Black Dalea

Dalea greggii: Trailing Indigo Bush

Dalea pulchra: Indigo Bush

Helianthus maximiliani: Maxmillian's Sunflower
Depending on variety, these plants grow 3-8' high. Summer bloom starting in second year from seed. Attracts butterflies. Food plants for Elada Checkerspot and Painted Lady caterpillars. Perennial. Native to North American plains and Southwestern United States. Low to moderate water. Needs well-drained soil. Full sun. USDA hardiness zones 3-8.

Thymophylla pentachaeta: Five-needle Pricklyleaf
A perennial growing up to 8" high. Thread-like green leaves form dense feathery mound. Yellow daisy-like flowers bloom intermittently spring to fall. Reseeds freely. Attracts butterflies. Food plant for Dainty Sulfur caterpillar. Native to Southwestern United States and Mexico. Full sun. Drought tolerant. Weekly water during hot weather for best performance. USDA hardiness zones 9-10.

Verbesina encelioides: Golden Crownbeard


Caterpillar Food Plants with Flowers not Attracting Butterflies

By allowing caterpillars to crawl on and consume these plants,
you are helping to produce the next generation of butterflies.

Aristolochia watsonii: Desert Pipevine
A trailing vine to 3' long. Small, green, arrowhead shaped leaves turn purple in full sun, low water conditions. Blooms late spring to early fall. A food plant of Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar. Plants are sometimes sold at desert native nurseries. Native to Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. Very drought tolerant. Full sun to part shade. Perennial. USDA hardiness zone 7-9.

Atriplex canescens: Four-Wing Saltbush

Pseudognaphalium Arizonicum: Arizona Cudweed
Grows 7-20" inches high. Stems and linear leaves are silver-green to silver depending on abundance of whitish hairs. Tiny yellow flower clusters are bundled as rods in whitish bracts. Food plant for the Painted Lady caterpillar. Native to Arizona, Texas and Mexico. Very drought tolerant. Full sun or part shade. Needs no maintenance. Garden appearance is low silvery bush.
Blooms September to October. Annual with deep taproot.

Senna hirsuta v. glaberrima: Slimpod Senna

Senna wislizenii: Shrubby Senna



Senna hirsuta v. glabberima: Slimpod Senna

Queen

Reakirt's Blue

Southern Dogface


Civano Nursery
5301 South Houghton Road, Tucson, AZ (520) 546-9200

Desert Survivors
1020 West Starr Pass Boulevard, Tucson, AZ (520) 791-9309

Green Things
3235 East Allen Road, Tucson (520) 299-9471

Mesquite Valley Growers
8005 East Speedway Boulevard, Tucson, AZ (520) 721-8600

Rillito Nursery
6303 North La Cholla Boulevard, Tucson, AZ (520) 575-0995