Seeing butterflies flying around your garden’s colorful blooms is a scene to behold. It brings calmness and peace as these delicate creatures are known to complete the look of any garden and also help with pollination. However, seeing bees buzzing around doesn’t create the same effect.
Despite their importance to the ecosystem, a lot of people would love to grow flowers that attract butterflies, but not bees. For example, they might be allergic to bee stings, or they might be worried about their kids getting stung.
Luckily, several flower varieties will definitely appeal to butterflies and not so much to bees. So, keep reading to learn more about them.
11 Beautiful Flowers that Attract Butterflies, But Not Bees
Some flowers will attract different pollinators like butterflies, bees, wasps, hummingbirds, and even bats. However, some species only appeal to butterflies, so they’ll work for you if you want to grow a butterfly garden where you can enjoy the look of these peaceful creatures.
1. Butterfly Bush
The butterfly bush is a deciduous shrub with coarse leaves and impressive spiked flowers that attract butterflies, especially Monarchs. The blooms are pink, purple, white, or blue, growing on top of foliage that can be as tall as 12 feet high.
This plant grows in USDA zones 5 to 9, preferably in neutral to slightly acidic soil. In most of its region, it grows as a perennial.
Exposure to bright sunlight is essential to help the plant bloom and it’s quite resistant to drought, stress, pollution, and pests. As a result, it’s pretty popular in urban areas. Adding a layer of compost at the beginning of the growing season will keep the plant healthy and support its growth.
2. Lantana
The lantana flower attracts butterflies to your garden with its showy colors and fragrant nectar. It’s grown in USDA zones 7 to 11, growing as an annual in USDA zones 7 and 8, and as a perennial in USDA zones 9 to 11.
The fast-growing plant has sandpaper-like leaves that emit a strong citrusy smell. The blooms are fluorescent bicolored flowers that come in different shades of orange, yellow, pink, red, purple, blue, and white.
The plant can reach a maximum height of 6 feet in neutral, slightly acidic, or slightly alkaline soil. Lantanas are shrubs, but they grow as vines and are toxic to animals.
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3. Butterfly Weed
The butterfly weed or butterfly milkweed is a clump-forming perennial with lance-shaped leaves and clusters of bright flowers that come in shades of yellow and orange. The blooms are rich in nectar and pollen and attract butterflies, but this plant doesn’t produce a milky sap like other types of milkweed.
It grows in USDA zones 3 to 9 and is planted in the late spring when the soil is warm. The butterfly weed is slow to establish and takes about 3 years before it flowers.
Compared to other types of milkweed, this plant is less toxic to pets and humans. In addition, the plant is quite hardy and can even grow in drought-like conditions.
4. Cosmo
Cosmos are quite appealing to different types of butterflies, especially Monarch butterflies, because of their big blooms and rich nectar. They also attract other pollinators like hummingbirds.
The plant is an easy-to-grow annual that starts blooming fast after a slow germination period. The blooms come in vibrant shades of magenta, purple, pink, yellow, golden yellow, orange, white, and brown.
Thanks to its long blooming season that lasts till fall, adding cosmos to your garden will make it an attractive spot for butterflies all year long. In addition, it’s a low-maintenance plant that thrives in USDA zones 2 to 11 and doesn’t need regular fertilizing.
5. Scabiosa
Also known as the pincushion flower, the scabiosa flower is an easy-to-grow perennial that can be grown in early spring. After about 100 days, the plant gets established and starts to bloom attractive flowers that last all summer through fall.
The scabiosa plant thrives in USDA zones 3 to 7 when the soil is neutral to slightly alkaline. In USDA zones 5 to 9, it’s a short-lived perennial that blooms heavily in May.
The flowers come in shades of white, cream, lavender, burgundy, and red. One healthy plant can produce up to 50 blooms, each held on a thin stem.
6. Garden Phlox
The garden phlox or tall phlox is a low-maintenance plant with long-lasting attractive flowers. The blooms are usually lilac, pink, purple, lavender, white, and salmon and have a light fragrance that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
The attractive foliage grows in upright clumps, reaching a maximum height of 4 feet, but it’s prone to powdery mildew. The flowers bloom in the summer, and when planted in a sunny spot, the flowers will bloom year after year.
Extending the blooming period is possible by deadheading the spent flowers. It has moderate fertilizing needs and adding a layer of compost every spring will keep the plant healthy.
7. Shasta Daisy
The Shasta daisy is a hybrid flower that was developed by crossing oxeye daisies and several types of wild daisies. There are several single and double petal varieties that grow up to a height of 3 feet.
You can plant Shasta daisies in spring or summer, especially if you live in a colder climate. When planted in the fall, the flowers will start blooming in early spring, growing white blooms with yellow centers. Planting Shasta daisies in winter might affect them as the plant struggles to become established.
This plant needs regular fertilizing, and adding compost will keep it in excellent health. Shasta daisies thrive in USDA zone 5 to 9 and are toxic to pets. Yet, they’re quite attractive to butterflies and make gorgeous cut flowers.
8. Yellow Coneflower
The yellow coneflower is a pretty variety of the Echinacea or coneflowers that grows to a height of 3 feet. The plant blooms in summer and fall as a perennial, and the flowers have brown centers and yellow petals. Each stem grows a single flower.
This plant is hardy and grows in USDA zones 3 to 9. Initially, it grows odorless flowers, but after a while, the rays start to point downward, and the flowers emit a honey-like fragrance to attract butterflies.
Yellow coneflowers need direct sunlight to grow, but they can tolerate partial shade. They’re widely used for their medicinal benefits.
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9. Sweet Alyssum
The sweet alyssum is a blanket plant that can be grown as a ground cover, spreading quickly within a few months in USDA zones 5 to 9. It grows tiny cross-shaped flowers and has gray-green hairy foliage that can be prone to pests like aphids.
The flowers bloom in spring and fall, disappearing in the summer when the temperature increases. They come in various shades of purple, pink, and white.
This plant is suitable for beginner gardeners and can be planted along paths, driveways, and in crannies when you need to fill spaces in your landscape. The flowers emit a honey-like fragrance that attracts butterflies.
10. Hollyhock
The hollyhock is a common plant in cottage gardens, where it grows to a maximum height of 8 feet. It grows as a perennial or biennial in USDA zones 2 to 10, with large blooms that come in shades of pink, lavender, red, yellow, and white.
These tall plants are usually planted at the back of your landscape as borders but should be kept at a safe site, so they don’t get blown away by the wind.
Hollyhock is cold-hardy, and the plants should be separated to allow for good air circulation, as they’re prone to fungal diseases, which are mainly caused by moisture. The hollyhock plant can grow in any soil type, as long as it can enjoy full sun exposure. However, it can tolerate some partial shade.
11. Yarrow
Yarrow or common yarrow has aromatic leaves and beautiful flowers that attract butterflies to your garden. It’s a perennial flowering plant that reaches a maximum height of 3 feet, growing an umbrella-like canopy of small flowers.
It grows in USDA zones 3 to 9, thriving in well-draining sandy or loamy soil. The flowers are usually white or yellow but come in other shades like orange, red, purple, and pink. They bloom in summer and fall and need regular watering in the dry season.
You can grow common yarrow, which is also known as the poor man’s pepper, in desert areas where other flowers won’t survive. Adding compost in the spring might help if the soil is exceptionally poor.
Despite its beautiful look, yarrow is toxic to pets and horses. However, poisoning rarely happens as the animals are put off by the plant’s bitter taste.
Wrap Up: 11 Flowers that Attract Butterflies, But Not Bees
Whether you’re allergic to bees, don’t want to get stung by them, or are worried about attracting a large number of bugs to your garden, there are several beautiful flowers that attract butterflies but not bees, and they’ll work for your garden.
Careful planning is necessary, as you must pick flower types that are suitable for the weather and the soil. With proper care, you’ll have an impressive flower garden that pops with color season after season.