Hanging Baskets & Butterflies

Plants to Bring Butterflies to your Hanging Baskets & Planters

There is nothing nicer than seeing butterflies dancing around your hanging baskets  – foraging for nectar.

Our pick of the two best butterfly attracting plants to add to your mix when planting a hanging basket or hanging planter are:

1. Pentas

These multi-stemmed plants with deep green foliage and small, star-shaped tubular flowers are fabulous.  Some times call Butterfly Pentas or 'Egyptian Starflowers.'  A single plant may produce upto 20 flower clusters at one time. Flowering continuously from spring to autumn, with plenty of nectar filled flowers that butterflies love. 

Pentas attract hummingbirds also.

2. Verbena

Butterflies love Verbena – along with the bees also.  A good performing perennial, 'Homestead Purple' or Verbena Canadensis is a favorite.  Verbena’s grow to about 12" high and usually spread to a diameter of about 30" wide. They blooms June thru September and are somewhat drought resistant.  They work well mixed in with other hanging basket plants.

Other plants the Squirrel recommends include:

Butterfly weed or orange milkweed

You may need to order seed to grow this as it is not usually found at your local garden centers.  Butterfly weed usually grows well in drought conditions due to their low water requirements. They also grow well in moist or dry soil, full sun or part shade.

Butterfly weed grows to be about 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and they bloom from May through September – mix Butterfly weed in with lots of Pentas and Verbena for the ultimate butterfly smorgasbord.

Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' Pincushion Flower
Producing  lavender-blue flowers, Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' generally blooms  June through September. Grows 10"-15" tall.

Black-Eyed Susan

This annual, blooms all summer and loves full sun. This vigorous vine with sunset-colored, dark-eyed flowers is best planted by itself as it will dominate a basket – looks sensational.