15 Pollinator Plants For Southern Pollinator Gardens (2024)

For Southern gardeners, finding flowering plants that can handle the heat and still support the bees and butterflies can be difficult. Thankfully, my passion for pollinator gardening has led me to hunt down the best Southern pollinator plants.

There are many different plants you can choose for a beautiful pollinator garden, depending on your local microclimate where you are in the south.

Whether you want to welcome butterflies, hummingbirds, or an abundance of bees, here are 15 plants to create a pollinator paradise even in scorching Southern summers.

Building a Pollinator Garden

When building a pollinator garden, a few factors hold true no matter where you are. First, there must be nectar. The pollinators spread the pollen, but they are truly looking for nectar. Nectar is the primary food source for butterflies; and the main energy source for other pollinators like bees and hummingbirds.

If you want to observe the maximum amount of butterflies through their entire lifecycle, host plants are the second thing a pollinator garden needs. While adult-stage butterflies dine primarily upon the nectar of flowering plants, their larvae have a different diet that consists mainly of leaves from one or more host plants.

Finally, a water source is an essential part of a pollinator garden. These tiny creatures expend tremendous energy collecting their food, so they need a spot to rest and hydrate. A birdbath or a bowl filled with pebbles and water will work just fine. If there is movement in the water, it will be especially appealing.

Here in the South, we are fortunate to have a nice long pollinator season. The bees are always here; they begin to come out of hiding for the first blooms of spring. Butterflies and hummingbirds show up mid-spring when the weather warms up.

Here is a list of my top 11 Southern pollinator plants. These are my tried-and-true pollinator plants that continue to bring my little flying friends to the garden year after year.

African Blue Basil

	botanical name Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum ‘Dark Opal’
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 18”-24”
	hardiness zones 5-12

Without fail, African Blue Basil is always one of the top-visited plants in my garden. In particular, it attracts an abundance of bumble bees and honey bees to its pretty purple flowers. Bees are partial to flowers in the blue and purple color family. Their vision differs from ours because they see ultraviolet light. Blue hues reflect the greatest amount of UV light.

‘African Blue’ is a hybrid variety of basil with a shrubby growth habit, small green leaves with purple veining, and purple stems that support clusters of small white and purple flowers. This herb is fragrant but not as flavorful as some other types of basil, so it is not typically the best type to grow for culinary use.

African Blue Basil is an excellent nectar source for all kinds of pollinators. The herb is considered an annual in all but zones 10-12. However, I am in zone 8 and my largest plant came back this spring!

American Beautyberry

	botanical name Callicarpa americana
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Shade
	height 6’-10’
	hardiness zones 7-11

Beautyberry is a wonderful plant for anyone who wants to draw wildlife to their garden. The foliage plays host to both the spring azure butterfly, as well as the snowberry clearwing and rustic sphinx moths. If you are unfamiliar with the latter, this adorable moth looks like a bumblebee with large, translucent wings. It’s a lovely creature.

In early summer, American beautyberry blooms with a mass of clusters of tiny pink flowers, a nectar-rich source of food for bees. When pollinated, these flowers will drop to reveal berries that start green and ripen to a rich magenta by late summer. These beautiful berries provide food for a range of birds, including the Northern bobwhite.

The berries are also edible to humans, and I’m told that, while tart, they make a gorgeous jar of jam. They do spread and can grow very large over a relatively short time. This is a deciduous perennial that is native and tolerates the heat of southern states. It thrives in full sun as well as part shade.

Anise Hyssop

	botanical name Agastache foeniculum
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 2’-4’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Humans have long used anise hyssop for various applications. Its leaves emit a wonderful, spicy fragrance. Bees love this plant, and it readily reseeds itself so that it returns year after year. I often have to thin out the seedlings these plants create, as they are always plentiful. This is a pollinator plant that you can share generously after the first year.

Pollinators of all types will visit this plant. It will absolutely be a favorite in the garden for many types of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths.

Anise hyssop reaches about 4 feet tall and is topped by clusters of purple flowers with a fuzzy appearance. It is drought-tolerant and very easy to care for. While it dies back to the ground in a freeze, it is a hardy perennial that will return year after year.

Blue Mistflower

	botanical name Conoclinium coelestinum
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 1’-3’
	hardiness zones 4-11

This little flower made its way into my garden organically. That is, it might be called a weed in some circles. For me, if the monarchs love something the way they love this little plant, it’s a treasure.

A small bit of seed must have blown into my garden, and found a spot in a hanging pot. It has lovely blue flowers, so I left it alone. As it turns out, the butterflies adore it.

Blue Mistflower is a member of the Aster family of flowering perennials, all of which are great pollinator plants. This one, in particular, is a nectar source for monarchs. The leaves and stems are bright green and delicate, and the flowers look like pale blue clusters of fuzz up top. These plants have a tendency to spread rapidly, so plant them in a space where they can be kept in check.

Butterfly Bush

	botanical name Buddleja
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height up to 15’
	hardiness zones 5-9

The name says it all with Butterfly Bush. This lovely flowering shrub produces large panicles of brightly colored flowers that provide an abundant source of nectar for pollinators. They prefer full sun and will flower best in this type of light.

In warmer climates, they are perennials that need little more than a gentle shaping from time to time. In colder climates, they will die back in winter but return in early spring.

Butterfly Bush is a hardy plant that doesn’t need much care. It likes well-drained soil and moisture, but the plants are surprisingly drought-tolerant.

This low-maintenance plant produces a great number of flowers and is an attractive pollinator favorite. It also comes in dozens of unique varieties.

Cuphea

	botanical name Cuphea
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 1’-3’
	hardiness zones 8-11

Cuphea is a highly heat-tolerant flowering plant that will draw butterflies and hummingbirds to your Southern pollinator garden. It grows well in the ground as well as in hanging baskets. The long tubular flowers are perfect for hummingbirds, but you’re unlikely to see any bees visiting these flowers because their tongues are not long enough to access the pollen.

This flowering perennial comes in many different colors. Some plants are low and sprawling, while others have an upright habit. They are very easy to care for and don’t spread easily. While they will maximize the space you give them, they won’t become invasive or infringe on your other plants.

Fennel

	botanical name Foeniculum vulgare
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height up to 6’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Another herb that has a firm place in the Southern pollinator garden is fennel. This relative of the carrot family has a sweet and spicy smell and flavor. Fennel does flower, but its small yellow flowers are not the main attraction for pollinators.

As a host plant, fennel is a food source for Black Swallowtail larvae. In the butterfly world, larvae is another name for caterpillars. You will draw these beautiful butterflies to your garden by growing this plant. Keep fennel in a container for best results.

Lantana

	botanical name Lantana
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height up to 6’
	hardiness zones 7-12

If you love butterflies, you will adore Lantana. While it is typically grown as a shrub or creeping ground cover, this genus has several different types and growth habits. This is one of my most reliable perennial plants in the pollinator garden. It grows quickly and flowers consistently from spring until fall. It has a sharp, pungent, citrus scent.

Lantana has small, serrated leaves that resemble mint. However, they are members of the Verbena family. The flowers grow in small, round clusters and can be any number of colors or combinations. I love the two-tone varieties, but my favorite is a pretty lavender color.

Lavender

	botanical name Lavandula
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 1’-3’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Lavender is a familiar plant to almost everyone these days. This classic herb has a unique fragrance to its leaves and flowers. You can grow it from seed, but starting with cuttings or a transplant is easier.

I hear many gardeners say that they struggle to keep lavender alive, and my best guess is that they love it to death. You see, lavender likes poor soil and is drought-and-heat-tolerant. It likes to be neglected and has little need for fertilizer.

Lavender has long been a favorite among beekeepers, as it lends its famous fragrance to the honey bees make from its sweet nectar. Bees, especially honey bees, are very attracted to lavender’s fragrant, purple flowers. Bumble bees and butterflies will also enjoy this flower.

Milkweed

	botanical name Asclepias
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height up to 5’
	hardiness zones 4-11

I’m about to say something controversial about milkweed, and you can take it or leave it. In the best interest of the butterflies, if you live above zone 8, you should avoid growing the imported tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) in your pollinator garden.

This is the tall milkweed with bright red and orange flowers. Monarchs migrate to Mexico for the winter, and tropical milkweed can confuse monarchs into reproducing when they shouldn’t.

Instead, plant North American native milkweed. Here in Florida, we call it swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which is shorter than its tropical cousin. The flowers are usually white, pink, or gold. However, there are many native milkweed varieties in the United States, depending on your region – other excellent choices include common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) or narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis).

Regardless of the native species of milkweed that you’re planting, if you want to bring monarchs to your garden and give them the right food at the right time, a milkweed is the plant you want to look for.

Milkweed is both a nectar source and a host plant for monarchs. You don’t plant milkweed because it is a pretty plant. If you’ve ever grown it, you know it will be nothing but a bundle of sticks with flowers on top for most of the summer.

Monarchs lay their eggs on the stems and underside of the leaves, and when the larvae hatch, they quickly eat the foliage. It typically grows back just in time for another generation of larvae to take it down again.

Passion Vine

	botanical name Passiflora
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 10’-30’
	hardiness zones 6-10

If you want to draw an abundance of butterflies to your yard, passion vine is the way to go. Also referred to as the passion flower vine, butterflies flock to this plant. It’s not always for the reason you would think, though. True, most varieties of this plant produce large, showy flowers, which are a good nectar source. However, the main attraction here is the foliage.

Passion vine is a host plant for gulf fritillary, variegated fritillary, and zebra longwing butterflies. I have often stood and watched as my vine seemed to be fluttering as a half dozen or more zebra longwings danced about the leaves looking for a prime egg-laying spot. When the eggs hatch, these two insects spend their larval stage munching on Passiflora’s tender leaves.

Most varieties of passion vines produce flowers and edible fruit. The flowers will draw other types of butterflies and hummingbirds, and other birds will come for the fruit if left on the vine.

Porterweed

	botanical name Stachytarpheta
	sun requirements Part Sun
	height 4’
	hardiness zones 8-11 as a perennial, North as an annual

Porterweed is, in my experience, the quintessential hummingbird attractor in a pollinator garden. I have a porterweed next to my porch, and the hummingbirds love it so much they will dine while I sit mere feet away.

It is irresistible to these sweet little birds. If you’re a hummingbird lover, your pollinator garden should definitely contain this plant.

Porterweed is a tall, shrubby plant that acts as a perennial in zone 8 and warmer and as an annual elsewhere. Its long, thin stems are topped with spikes of pretty blue, nectar-rich flowers.

It is a very low-maintenance plant that dies back in the winter but will regrow back to its full height by the end of summer. It will tolerate full sun if it gets enough moisture but prefers to have some protection from the afternoon heat.

Purple Coneflower

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 2’-4’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Coneflowers of all kinds are wonderful additions to the pollinator garden, as they are great nectar producers. If you recall, purple is a particularly attractive color to bees, so the purple coneflower is an excellent plant to keep around. These relatives of ragweed and sunflowers are commonly used in herbal teas.

In the garden, purple coneflowers will draw a variety of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Fritillaries, painted ladies, monarchs, and swallowtails are all attracted to Echinacea as well. This is a well-rounded plant to provide to your winged friends.

Sweet Almond Bush

	botanical name Aloysia virgata
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Shade
	height up to 15’
	hardiness zones 8-11

If porterweed is my number one entry for hummingbird plants, sweet almond bush is my number one for bees. When Aloysia virgata blooms, it is always covered with bees. Both honeybees and wild bees love this plant, but perhaps none as well as the bumblebees.

In zones 10-11, sweet almond bush will reach a small tree height and grow as an evergreen. Farther north, it will die back in the winter but is a fast grower and can reach 8’-10’ in one season. It does well in full sun or part shade and is drought-tolerant.

The best thing about sweet almond bush isits flowers’ wonderful fragrance.The smell is that of fine almond soap, and it carries a long way on a breezy day. The flowers appear in the summer and will continue to bloom until the first freeze.

Virginia Pepperweed

	botanical name Lepidium virginicum
	sun requirements Full Sun to Part Sun
	height 6”-20”
	hardiness zones 7-11

This last plant is commonly considered a weed, but it’s actually a butterfly host plant with edible seeds! Virginia pepperweed is an unassuming little plant that pops up wherever it pleases. It might be challenging to find at a nursery, but if you see a bit of it in your garden, resist the urge to pull it up.

Virginia pepperweed hosts the great southern white butterfly and the checkered white butterfly. Leave it in the garden to see these two delicate butterflies visit, and their larvae will feast on the foliage.

Pepperweed is a member of the mustard family, its leaves and seeds are edible to humans, but be careful not to snack on any plants if you aren’t 100% certain you can identify them.