Top 10 Flowering Shrubs That Birds and Butterflies Love
Updated: Jul. 15, 2020There's nothing prettier than a flowering bush and these top beauties attract bunches of pollinators, including bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
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Tianshan Seven-Son Flower
Heptacodium miconioidies 'Minhep'
Zones 5 to 8
Size: 8 to 12 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide
Providing year-round appeal, this is a smaller, more compact version of the flowering bush Heptacodium. The bark is quite beautiful, but the real show happens when the white flowers bloom in late summer in clusters of seven, hence the seven in the name.
Why we love it: Rose-purple sepals appear after the white flowers. Check out our favorite plants with white flowers.
Where to buy it: Sooner Plant Farm
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Zones 3 to 11
Size: more than 6 feet tall and wide
Watch bees, butterflies and hummingbirds flock to these fragrant, spherical white flowers. Buttonbush is also a host plant for several types of caterpillars. The round fruit persists through winter, providing food for a variety of birds. Grow it in full to partial sun and moist soil.
Why we love it: This long-flowering plant provides months and months of enjoyment. Check out more long-blooming plants pollinators love.
Where to buy it: Proven Winners
Kalm St. John’s Wort
Hypericum kalmianum
Zones 4 to 7
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
This shrub’s blue-green foliage is the perfect backdrop for its bright yellow flowers. You’ll enjoy the buzz of visiting bees and, for those in more mild climates, the evergreen foliage. For a more compact cultivar with fine foliage, try out the Gemo.
Why we love it: Not only does this adaptable plant tolerate drought conditions once it’s been established, but it also handles poor soil.
Where to buy it: Gardenia
Potentilla
Dasiphora fruticosa floribunda
Zones 2 to 6
Size: 1 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
The bright buttercup yellow flowers look stunning and attract local bees. To keep this traditional summer bloomer looking its best, regularly prune out a third of the old stems.
Why we love it: Though it prefers to be in full sun with well-draining soil, this hardy shrub can withstand both poor, dry soils and extreme cold.
Where to buy it: Proven Winners
Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica
Zones 5 to 9
Size: 3 to 6 feet tall and wide
The Virginia sweetspire’s white flowers, which give off a slight fragrance, attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. Grow in sun or shade and moist, acidic soils. Select Henry’s Garnet for superior flowering or the smaller Little Henry for narrow spaces. Here's more fragrant flowers that pollinators love.
Why we love it: The leaves turn from green to yellow, orange and reddish purple colors during autumn.
Where to buy it: Monrovia
Summersweet
Clethra Alnifolia
Zones 4 to 9
Size: 4 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide
Entice hummingbirds, butterflies and bees with the fragrant white flowers of summersweet. This plant is tolerant of both shade and moist soil and will form colonies perfect for naturalizing, unless you remove the root suckers. For a more compact cultivar, try Sugartina Crystalina.
Why we love it: Go ahead and plant this one in a shadowy spot—this is one of the few shrubs that flower in the shade. Check out more plants that add color to shade.
Where to buy it: Proven Winners
New Jersey Tea
Ceanothus americanus
Zones 3 to 8
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
This compact native shrub attracts a wide range of pollinators, including butterflies and native bees. You may even see hummingbirds stopping by. Plus, the deer tend to leave it alone. Its deep root system keeps it from being susceptible to many difficult-to-manage conditions.
Why we love it: Plant several of these shrubs together to create a low-growing, drought tolerant hedge.
Where to buy it: Prairie Moon Nursery
Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus
Zones 5 to 8
Size: 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide
Bring in hummingbirds with the colorful blossoms of this lovely late-summer bloomer. You’ll also find bees, butterflies and other pollinators visiting the white, pink, red, purple or violet flowers. Grow in full to part sun and moist, well-draining soil. Check out flowering shrubs that attract butterflies.
Why we love it: This incredibly adaptable shrub grows in almost every type of soil, except for any that is extremely wet or dry.
Where to buy it: Proven Winners
Elderberry
Sambucus nigra canadensis
Zones 3 to 9
Size: 5 to 12 feet tall and wide
Give this shrub plenty of room to spread and grow, then watch as both butterflies and bees gather on flowers and as the birds flock to the ripe fruit. Although it prefers full sun and moist soil, it tolerates drier conditions once it’s established.
Why we love it: Elderberry suckers form large and lush thickets, which are perfect hiding spots for songbirds.
Where to buy it: Stark Bros
Bush Honeysuckle
Diervilla spp.
Zones 4 to 7
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall and wide
This native shrub is not an invasive honeysuckle, unlike Lonicera japonica. The sulfur yellow blooms and visiting pollinators appear during the middle of summer. For a compact option, choose Cool Splash with its cream and green variegated foliage. Check out more alternatives to invasive shrubs.
Why we love it: It’s a host plant for the fawn sphinx moth, and birds eat seeds that come after the flowers.
Where to buy it: Proven Winners