Plants for Butterflies and Other Pollinators

Showing 33–40 of 220 results

  • Astilbe chinensis luo xin fu in China Z 4-9

    Pink plumes in mid-summer atop fern-like foliage.  More tolerant of sun and well-drained soil than the hybrids.

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Pink plumes in mid-summer atop fern-like foliage.  More tolerant of sun and well-drained soil than the hybrids.

    Size: 24” x 24” spreads
    Care: Sun to shade in moist or moist well-drained soil
    Native: Siberia, China, Korea

    Astilbe from “the Greek word for without” and stilbe meaning “lustre” referring to the fact that the leaves are not shiny.  1st described for the West by botanist Carl Johann Maximowicz in 1859 and then named Hoteia chinensis.  Liberty Hyde Bailey termed this plant “graceful” in the early 1900’s.

  • Baptisia australis syn. Saphora australis False Indigo Z 3-9

    Foot-long spires of indigo blue pea-like flowers (it’s a legume) in June followed by ornamental black seed pods on this perennial that looks like a shrub. Internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013).

    $12.95/bareroot

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    Foot-long spires of indigo blue pea-like flowers (it’s a legume) in June followed by ornamental black seed pods on this perennial that looks like a shrub. Internationally known garden designer Piet Oudolf’s 100 “MUST HAVE” plants, Gardens Illustrated 94 (2013).

    Size: 3' x 3'
    Care: Full sun in well-drained soil. Heat and drought tolerant.
    Native: Eastern United States, Wisconsin native.
    Wildlife Value: Food source for several caterpillars and nectar for a number of butterflies. Deer resistant.
    Awards: Received England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit. Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year Award, 2010. Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit

    Baptisia is Greek meaning to dye referring to use of the plant as a substitute for indigo dye. Cherokee used Baptisia australis for a number of illnesses: cease mortification, cure toothaches. Collected by John Bartram (1699-1777) plant explorer and colonial nurseryman by 1748.

  • Baptisia leucantha syn. Baptisia lacteata, Baptisia alba White Wild Indigo, Prairie wild indigo Z 3-9

    Towering creamy white flower spikes in May & June followed by dark seed pods.

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    Towering creamy white flower spikes in May & June followed by dark seed pods.

    Size: 3-5' x 2-3'
    Care: full sun to part shade in rich well-drained soil.
    Native: Wisconsin native – from Minnesota to Texas.
    Wildlife Value: food source for several caterpillars and nectar and pollen for a number of butterflies and bees. Deer resistant.

    Winnebago (HoChunk) mashed cooked root to make a poultice applied to remedy inflammation of the womb. Baptisia is Greek meaning to dye referring to use of Baptisia australis as a substitute for indigo dye. Leucantha means white flowered.

  • Baptisia sphaerocarpa Yellow wild indigo Z 5-8

    Spikes of yellow pea-like flowers in spring cover this broad plant - really makes you say “awe” or “oooh” when it blooms. All season resembles a shrub Flowers turn into round seed pods the size of a marble.  This is a legume that improves soil fertility by making nitrogen available to the Baptisa and surrounding plants.

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Spikes of yellow pea-like flowers in spring cover this broad plant – really makes you say “awe” or “oooh” when it blooms. All season resembles a shrub, flowers turn into round seed pods the size of a marble.  This is a legume that improves soil fertility by making nitrogen available to the Baptisa and surrounding plants.

    Size: 3’ x 3’
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to dry soil.
    Native: Missouri to Mississippi to TX
    Wildlife Value: Attracts butterflies. Deer resistant
    Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit.

    Baptisia is Greek meaning “to dye” referring to use of Baptisia australis as a substitute for indigo dye. Sphaerocarpa means “round seed.” Collected before 1834 by Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) English planthunter who scoured the US from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

  • Berberis aquifolium syn. Mahonia aquifoliumOregon grape Z 5-9

    Clusters of buttercup yellow flowers in spring followed by glaucous blue fruit with red stems. Holly-like, evergreen leaves turn purple in fall for a four-season ornament.

    $15.95/POT

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    Clusters of buttercup yellow flowers in spring followed by glaucous blue fruit with red stems. 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 berries

    Snohomish ate the berries and made a yellow dye from its roots.  It cured bloodshot eyes and kidney disease for 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.  Lakota Sioux treated stomach, digestive, kidney and breathing ailments with this.  Mahonia is named in honor of Bernard McMahon, (1775-1816) Scottish nurseryman who immigrated to Philadelphia around 1802.  McMahon’s nursery received some seeds of plants and plants discovered by Lewis & Clark who collected this plant in April 1806 along the rapids of the Columbia River.

  • Bigelowia nuttallii Nuttall’s rayless goldenrod Z 4-10

    Clouds of soft yellow flower clusters rise above evergreen foliage from mid-summer through fall on this short plant.

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    Clouds of soft yellow flower clusters rise above evergreen foliage from mid-summer through fall on this short plant.

    Size: 10-12” x 5”
    Care: sun in well-drained soil, perfect rock garden plant
    Native: Southern US; TX, LA, AL, GA, FL
    Wildlife Value: attracts honeybees

    Possibly collected by Thomas Nuttall, for whom it is named, before 1818. Collected again on banks of Ohoopee River in Tattnall County GA before 1970.

  • Bletilla striata syn. B. hyacinthina Chinese ground orchid Z 5-9

    Racemes of pinkish-purple flowers on scapes above dark green, upright, lance-shaped leaves, April-May

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    Racemes of pinkish-purple flowers on scapes above dark green, upright, lance-shaped leaves, April-May

    Size: 12-18” x 12”
    Care: Part shade in moist, well-drained soil.
    Native: China, Japan
    Wildlife Value: Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Deer & Rabbit resistant.
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

    Protect with thick winter mulch, may not reliably survive Zone 5 winters.
    Spreads slowly by rhizomes and seeds in optimal conditions.
    ‘Bletilla’ honors Louis Blet, a Spanish apothecary in Algeciras who also had a botanic garden at the end of the 18th century. Collected before 1784 by Thunberg.

  • Boltonia asteroides False starwort, Bolton’s aster Z 4-9

    “Bloom profusely” majestic, white daisies cover imposing, cheerful plant, August – September

    $12.75/bareroot

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    “Bloom profusely” majestic, white daisies cover imposing, cheerful plant, August – September

    Size: 5-6' x 3'
    Care: full sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil.
    Native: Maine to Florida, west to Texas and north to North Dakota and all areas in between
    Wildlife Value: Supports over 40 bee species, moths, butterflies, and wasps.

    Named in honor of 18th century English botanist, James Bolton.  Asteroides means resembling as aster. Species introduced in 1758. Recommended for fall blooms in Wisconsin State Horticultural Society Annual Report, 1911.