Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Minnesota · Zones 3–5
Native Butterfly Plants in Minnesota
Nectar and host plants that bring butterflies to your garden — and give their caterpillars something to eat once they arrive. Minnesota sits in a landscape of Northern tallgrass prairie & North Woods, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its cold continental character. The list below — led by Anise Hyssop and Wild Bergamot — is filtered to species genuinely native to Minnesota and the wider flora of the Midwest and hardy through zones 3–5. A real butterfly garden does two jobs: nectar for the adults and host leaves for the caterpillars. Flat-topped flowers make the best landing pads, and warm, sheltered, sunny spots out of the wind get the most visits. Tolerate a little leaf damage — those chewed leaves are the whole point, and a caterpillar today is a butterfly next month.
The plants
55 native species for Minnesota
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–5 · see this collection in other states.
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Nectar for the adults and a caterpillar host for their young, in one plant, and it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that blooms May through Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–2 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A butterfly nectar plant that blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Nectar for the adults and a caterpillar host for their young, in one plant, and it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Feeds butterflies and the caterpillars they hatch from — it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
A butterfly nectar plant that blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Does both jobs of a butterfly garden — nectar and host leaves, and it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that blooms Aug through Oct.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Aug–Oct
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Nectar for the adults and a caterpillar host for their young, in one plant, and it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
A landing pad and nectar stop for butterflies that blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Easy nectar for visiting butterflies that blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
A butterfly nectar plant that flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
31 more also qualify: Woodland Phlox, Cardinal Flower, Chocolate Flower, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Blanketflower, Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Prairie Blazing Star, Serviceberry, Ninebark, Showy Milkweed, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Virginia Creeper, New Jersey Tea, Common Milkweed, Stiff Goldenrod, Rattlesnake Master, Blue Grama, American Elderberry, Sideoats Grama, Creeping Phlox, Spicebush, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Purple Prairie Clover, Indian Grass, Big Bluestem, Switchgrass, Prairie Dropseed, Little Bluestem, Pennsylvania Sedge.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Minnesota
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.