RESOURCES

Plant of the Year

Key pollinator plants to pick up for your garden

GardenstyleSA

Exhaustive list of plants for Butterfly Gardens, curated specifically for San Antonio

GardenstyleSA

Texas AGrilife Extension

Butterfly garden article with links to more resources assembled by the home of the Texas Master Gardeners

Texas AGrilife Extension

Native Plant Society of Texas

Native plants for Butterfly Gardens

Native Plant Society of Texas

Houston Arboretum

Planting for Pollinators

Houston Arboretum

Monarch Joint Venture

Gardening for Monarchs

Monarch Joint Venture

San Antonio straddles several ecosystems and can benefit from multiple lists, thus, exceptionally useful are two plant lists from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, based 70 miles up the road in Austin. Their list of recommended pollinator plants of Central Texas includes 103 species, and their choices for South Texas add another 116 to the appropriate pollinator plant palette for our region.

Another great resource, especially for San Antonio: Plant a Butterfly Garden, assembled by botanist/horticulturist and Gardening Volunteers of South Texas icon Charles Bartlett. The handout lays out step-by-step what to do and how, which plants and where and everything in between.

Additional Helpful Resources

Selecting Plants for Pollinators in the Southwest

The Pollinator Partnership, a pollinator advocacy organization based in San Francisco, offers regionalized plant guides, including one just for our part of the world, Selecting Plants for Pollinators in the Southwest. Their free and downloadable 24-page booklet does a fantastic job explaining the importance of pollinators while also recommending specific plant recommended specifically for our region.

Pollinator Plants Southern Plains Region

The Xerces Society, an Oregon-based invertebrate advocacy organization, also has great  regionally curated plant lists. Texas belongs in the Southern Plains Region. The selected plants for our region are available in the three-page handout, with a chart.

Native Plant Society of Texas magazine

If you’re wondering about milkweed species, this article on Aslcepias curassavica for the Native Plant Society of Texas Magazine includes info about the pros and cons of planting nonnative milkweed.

Bee on Wildflower

Looking for pollinator plants for our Pollinator Habitat Challenge?