Zinnias, Lantana & Coleus blooms are the most popular @ my house. And blue curls, which is just starting to bloom. Hard to have just a little of that though. LOTS of seeds. It is definitely hardy here too.
Forked Blue Curls (Trichostema dichotomum)
There is an enormous list of nectar plants here:
https://garden.org/thread/go/1...
Since they can bloom at such different times, I think it works best to have as much variety as I can find/get.
If you wonder if butterflies visit a plant, do an internet search for name of plant and the word butterfly. If you see pics of butterflies on it, you don't need to find it on a list somewhere, you've seen it. Butterflies do have lists of known host plants, which is usually a significantly different and abbreviated list vs. a list of acceptable nectar plants.
The same can be done if hoping to attract hummingbirds. The pics tell the story.
