Top 10 Flowers To Attract Butterflies | Popular Butterfly Flowers in India

Roaming butterflies are one of the most heartwarming sights in a garden, as they intensify the flower’s beauty and the garden’s aura. Our gardens always welcome them because of their pollinating qualities and aesthetically pleasing personalities. The best part is that one can create a garden that sends a welcoming invitation to these butterflies! There are several butterfly attracting flowers that contribute to hosting these prettiest insects in our gardens! Let’s learn about these butterfly plants in more detail.

What Are Butterfly Attracting Flowers?

Numerous plants impregnate gorgeous flowers that soon become the host for butterflies. These plants might have a selfish reason for doing that because they get pollinated by these butterflies. These plants also serve nectar to the butterflies as a token of appreciation. Many flowers that attract butterflies are known to gardeners worldwide, and all plant parents use them to create a pretty garden with lots of butterfly flowers and other greenery!

How To Attract Butterflies In Your Garden?

Apart from propagating butterfly garden plants, one can make one’s garden more feasible for the butterflies. Here are some tips for creating a stunning garden with beautiful flowers with butterflies:

✦ Pick Plants

First of all, you need to pose the question, what flowers do butterflies like? The simple answer is that they mostly like all the flowering plants that produce nectar and pollens. So, rather than asking what plants attract butterflies, ask which ones would you like to propagate and maintain in your garden. Play with the colors of decorative plant seeds, and select the best ones suitable to your visual buds! However, it is best to go with plants that are local to your area.

✦ Site Selection

Butterflies and flowers love a spot where the sun shines completely, as such areas also keep the greenery warm during the night. The flowers butterflies like will ask for a spot filled with the sun's warmth rather than the shade's coolness. The area should also provide enough drainage for the butterfly attracting perennials. Moreover, flowers and butterflies will have a cozier relationship when they rest in a smaller garden.

✦ Mud Puddle

If you didn’t know this, butterflies are extremely mischievous and fun-loving! Plants that attract butterflies growing in a muddy puddle in a sunny area will attract more butterflies than ever, as these muddy spaces often attract the butterflies to come over and play in their leisure time!

✦ Fencing

Ensure the flowers for butterflies are carefully packed inside the hedges and fences, as these fun-loving creatures love flying over obstacles to reach their source of nectar. Cover the whole perimeter of your garden with wooden fencing to create an aesthetic picture while inviting the butterflies!

✦ Layer Rocks

The butterfly attracting plants will look super gorgeous when you place some garden stones and pebbles along their edges! They will create a serene and zen vibe with their still attitude and help attract the butterflies to an aesthetically pleasing environment!

What Are The Top 10 Plants For Butterflies?

By now, you must be really curious to know what flowers attract butterflies, right? Read further to know more about the butterfly pea flower plants that are not only loved by these flying creatures but also by their plant parents.

1. Ixora

Also known as West Indian Jasmine, the Ixora plant is the favorite of butterflies! They end up chasing the Ixora plant due to its gorgeous flowers that smell good. It is best to propagate this plant in a sunny spot to create a welcoming ambiance for the butterflies. Propagate it in a well-draining plant soil and let its stunning flowers make all the noise!

2. Sunflowers

These are some of the most prominent names that come when we talk about flowers to attract hummingbirds and butterflies! The sunflower plant takes only a few weeks to sprout with attractive flowers colored yellow. These flowers chase the sun’s inclination while the butterflies chase these flower’s nectar. These quick-growers not only attract butterflies, but they also send a pollination invitation to the honeybees!

3. Butterfly Bush

This is the plant that most people see in the flower with butterfly drawings! Being an ornamental beauty, this plant is the most sought-after specimen for inviting butterflies to one’s humble abode. The butterfly bush is aptly named, as it soon becomes the hub for butterflies and can grow intensively with bushy foliage. Experts suggest regularly trimming this plant with a branch cutter to maintain its neat & clean appearance.

4. Butterfly Weed

Also called Asclepias, they are known as butterfly weeds due to their winged appearance. They love spending time in a sunkissed spot with the butterflies in close proximity. Moreover, it is essential to water them generously throughout their growing season, with ample nutrients being available through chemical fertilizer and other gardening composts!

5. Crotalaria

Who knew that the toxicity in a plant could assist another insect in the food chain? The caterpillars are really fond of the toxins in this plant’s leaflets. These are the exact toxins that motivate the butterflies to lay eggs, and later on, the larvae end up consuming these leaves. In the process, the butterfly on flowers not only lends a hand in creation but also invites several other insects like bees and birds!

6. Cosmos

Are you looking for an easy-growing flowering buddy that one could grow without much fuss? You are at the right place! The cosmos plant doesn’t take much attention and grows hassle-free with low maintenance. It produces dozens of flowers throughout its flowering season that attract and entertain butterflies for days! Named after the grace of the whole universe, the cosmos is a true beauty for home gardens!

7. Blue Porterweed

The butterfly with flower drawing is incomplete without the mention of nectar in the whole picture. The blue portweed is an essential plant specimen that creates a welcoming environment for the butterflies due to its ample nectar availability. It blooms with beautiful bluish-purple flowers that entice the butterflies to come and grace its presence! It will easily grow in a nutrient-rich environment filled with enriching garden manure.

8. Marigold

One of the most common and popular flowering variants in the Indian subcontinent, the marigold is marked for its easy association with butterflies. This plant is an easy-grower that grows healthily with a little care and maintenance. It blossoms with pompom-shaped flowers colored yellow to bright orange. It looks elegant when gracing the ambiance in flower beds and floor planters!

9. Lavender

If you are a herb lover like us, you must have heard of lavender before! This plant belongs to the herb category of greenery, but it also grows beautiful light purple flowers that take no time to take over our hearts! This is one of the most gorgeous butterfly attracting flowers that will enhance the beauty of your space with its presence alone. It will add a cherry to the cake when the butterflies chase these flowers for nectar and pollination!

10. Chrysanthemum

This plant is broadly known in India for two reasons: its cuttings and its eye-catching blooms. As our motive is to create a butterfly-attracting garden, we will focus on propagating this plant in our yard to grow beautiful flowers. These flowers appear in different colors, and they are all loved by the butterflies. Creating a butterfly garden using simple sophistication from the Chrysanthemum plant is easy!

Why Should I Grow Butterfly Attracting Flowers?

Maybe everybody loves to chase butterflies because they love running away from us. It is one of the reasons why humans want to create a setting that naturally attracts these beautiful creatures. Here are some more reasons why you should think about growing a garden that naturally welcomes the butterflies:

▶ Aesthetically Pleasing

First and foremost, butterflies roaming in a garden is extremely pleasing to our hearts. Their sight strikes some chords in the heart that make us all nostalgic and childlike! These butterflies are themselves so gorgeous, and they sprinkle that beauty everywhere they go, so our gardens end up all the more beautiful due to their enchanting presence.

▶ Give Back To The Environment

Do you know how much destruction we humans have caused from time immemorial? We have destroyed not only butterflies' habitats but also other important species. It is in our hands now to create a sustainable environment for our future generations by reversing some damage that we have done till now. Propagating plants that attract butterflies in one such way to create an eco-friendly ambiance with the welcoming and enthralling presence of these pretty insects!

▶ Easy to Grow

It might sound surprising, but growing and maintaining a butterfly garden is not as tough as it might seem. All you require is to know about suitable flowering plants as per the season and the locality, and with some care and love, you will create a charming and elegant butterfly garden in no time!

Conclusion:

Butterfly attracting flowers are easily available offline and in online gardening stores like Plantlane. They are easy to propagate, grow, and maintain, so you don’t need to worry about giving endless hours in their maintenance. Moreover, once you catch numerous butterflies visiting your butterfly garden, all your worries and apprehensions will disappear soon. Plus, growing the butterfly garden of your dreams is extremely easy with a little preparation and planning!

FAQs About Butterfly Attracting Flowers In India

Ques: Which Is The Best Flowering Plant To Attract Butterflies?

Ans: To summon these pretty insects home, you can propagate several flowering beauties like zinnia, wild sage, cockscomb, dahlia, etc.

Ques: Which Colors Do Butterflies Like?

Ans: Butterflies mostly like vibrant colors like yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple.

Ques: What Makes Butterflies Attracted By The Flowers?

Ans: Butterflies play a big hand in pollination, one of their tasks while visiting a flower. Moreover, they are enticed by the presence of nectar in the flowers’ buds, so the more the nectar, the more the butterflies will visit your garden.

Ques: Do Foliage-rich Plants Attract Butterflies?

Ans: A foliage-rich plant will rarely attract the butterflies, as they are most often attracted by the ones that can grow flowers and serve them nectar.

Ques: Do Butterflies Migrate?

Ans: Yes, whenever there is a food shortage in the local areas, the butterflies will migrate to another location to fill their stomachs with rich and satisfying nectar.