If you love butterflies you’re not alone. These dainty insects help pollinate our flowering plants and they are fun to watch. You can create a beautiful butterfly garden butterflies will want to visit in just a few easy steps.
You can attract butterflies to your garden with the right host and nectar plants.
Around 250 species of butterflies live and/or migrate through Arizona. It is common to see butterflies from each of the six butterfly families.
- Tips to create a butterfly garden
- Common butterflies in Arizona
- Phases of butterfly metamorphosis
- Host Plants
- Nectar Plants
- Best time of year to view
- Local Butterfly Gardens and Resources
6 Tips to Create a Butterfly Garden
- Choose a sunny location in your yard: Butterflies and the plants that attract them need at least six hours of direct sunlight every day.
- Select the right plants: A butterfly habitat needs both host plants and nectar plants. The host plants are where butterflies lay their eggs. Nectar plants provide food for butterflies.
- Plant flowers in clusters. This makes it easier for the butterflies to see while they are flying. Butterflies prefer flat topped flowers or clusters of flowers.
- Provide a water source: Just like every living thing, butterflies need a place to drink. You can provide a shallow dish of water or birdbath with rocks for them to land on.
- Create Shelter: Butterflies need a place to rest, so provide sheltered areas in your garden. For example a Mexican Flame vine or Passion vine climbing on a trellis could provide shelter.
- Avoid pesticides in your butterfly garden: Butterflies are insects, so insecticides and pesticides can be harmful to butterflies. Instead, use natural methods to control pests. Aphids love milkweed, but a quick spray with the hose will usually dislodge them from the plant. You can also handpick or use insecticidal soap.
Common butterflies in Arizona:
- Swallowtails
- Whites
- Sulphurs
- Blues
- Hairstreaks
- Metalmarks
- Brushfoots
- Skippers
- Snouts
Phases of a Butterfly Metamorphosis
To create a true butterfly garden, it is helpful to understand the phases of a butterfly metamorphosis.
There are four phases: egg, caterpillar (larvae), chrysalis (pupa), and then the final metamorphosis – a butterfly!
To attract butterflies to your garden you will need two kinds of plants:
- host plants
- nectar plants
Butterflies need larvae plants or host plants to lay their eggs.
As soon as the larvae or caterpillar is born they need to have access to the leaves they will eat to prepare for their next life cycle.
Butterflies also need plants that provide nectar.
They enjoy mass plantings of wide shallow flowers that they can easily see from the air and perch on.
What Host Plants Attract Butterflies?
Specific host plants attract specific butterflies. Below are some host plants to help you create a butterfly garden.
- Pipevine attracts Swallowtails
- Citrus attracts Swallowtails.
- Milkweed attracts Monarchs.
- Herbs such as parsley, dill, fennel and rue attracts Swallowtails
- Desert Senna attracts Sulphurs.
- Globemallow attracts Skippers.
- Hibiscus attracts Hairstreaks.
- Passionfruit Vine attracts Fritillary.
- Baja Fairy Duster attracts Marine Blue
- Desert Hackberry attracts Snouts
Nectar Plants that Attract Butterflies
To attract butterflies to your yard you will also need to plant flowers that provide nectar. Choose a variety of flowers that bloom at different times of the year, so you can enjoy watching these delicate beings year round. Butterflies love classic annual flowers such as
- cosmos
- marigolds
- pentas
- sunflowers
- zinnias
They also love perennial flowers such as:
- asters
- black-eyed susans
- coneflowers
- lantana
- coreopsis
- red bird of paradise
- euroyps daisy
- bottlebrush
- baja fairy duster
- tickseed
- mexican flame vine
Butterflies also love fruit such as oranges and bananas.
Many of these plants not only attract butterflies they will also attract bees and hummingbirds too.
What time of Year will I see Butterflies?
Butterflies like warm weather. In Arizona peak butterfly season is August and September. However, they are also active in spring and late summer. Monarch butterflies migrate through Arizona October through April.
How to Attract Butterflies to Your Phoenix Garden
Create a safe and nurturing habitat for butterflies by planting both host and nectar plants, provide a source of water, and areas for shelter.
Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location with at least six hours of sun. After all your hard work, don’t forget to include some seating or an area you can easily observe these dainty little insects.
Butterfly Gardens in Arizona
Arizona has several places you can see these beautiful insects.
- Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix
- Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale
- Sedona’s Red Rock State Park has a Monarch Waystation.
For butterfly resources visit Gardening Resources.
