Plants That Attract Dragonflies & Building A Prehistoric Garden
Did you know that dragonflies are an apex predator in the natural bug world?! These four winged creatures help manage mosquito populations. They also feed on aphids, gnats, flies, and more.
Dragonflies have been around for over 250 million years! With large segmented bodies and the irradiance color of gemstones, these insects teleport you back to the time of dinosaurs.
This prehistoric bug certainly makes a big impact on any garden space.
Creating a Dragonfly Garden
Creating a dragonfly sanctuary can truly transform your entire garden! By bringing in plants that help with all parts of the dragonfly life cycle, you can turn your garden into a backyard oasis.
Consider including a magnificent water feature with gorgeous aquatic plants! This provides habitat for both egg and nymph stages.
Remember, dragonflies are carnivorous. So, choose plants that draw in other insects that they use as a food source.
When choosing plants, it’s important to think about the habitat requirements for all life cycles of the dragonfly.
So, let’s start with the aquatic plants.
Top 10 Plants To Attract Dragonflies
Aquatic Plants
These plants provide shelter for nymphs as well as egg laying opportunities for adult dragonflies.
1 - Cattail (Typha latifolia)
This is an aquatic plant that grows tall. Cattails provide cover for young emergent dragonflies.
They make great egg laying habitats as well as providing tall perching opportunities for adults.
2 - Water lily (Nymphaeaceae)
This gorgeous aquatic plant creates optimal egg laying habitat.
Water lilies provide safe coverage for eggs and shelter for aquatic nymphs.
Their flat circular leaf shape also provides adults with a place to rest atop the water.
3 - Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
This is a beautiful purple flowering aquatic plant.
Pickerelweed offers a beneficial egg laying habitat.
It provides perching opportunities for adult dragonflies. It also attracts pollinators as a food source!
Wet-Tolerant Plants
Next, we move on to the powerful pollinator plants that can tolerate wet environments.
Plant these around a water feature. They draw in food sources for the adult dragonfly.
Adding a hedge row of pollinator plants around the pond creates hiding spaces for newly emerging nymphs. This allows them to safely transform into their adult stage.
4 - Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
As the name suggests, this plant tolerates wet environments!
Swamp milkweed attracts insects for dragonflies to eat.
These plants also support monarch butterfly populations. Why not draw more butterflies to your garden!
5 - Aster (Symphyotrichum spp.)
These plants tolerate both wet and dry environments. This makes them a great addition around a water feature.
They are powerful pollinator plants and attract lots of different types of beneficial insects.
Look for a variety that is native to your area.
6 - Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
This plant tolerates moist environments. It is a tall perennial and acts as a perfect perch for adult dragonflies.
Joe-Pye Weed is a powerful pollinator plant that draws in a diversity of pollinators.
Wildflower Meadow Plants
In higher elevations add a wildflower meadow. These plants are drought tolerant and very beneficial to dragonflies.
Once grown, they provide high perching opportunities for adult dragonflies. They also draw in other beneficial pollinators as well as other insects that dragonflies rely on as a food source.
Simulating a meadow is a great way to draw in many types of pollinators and insects. The following plants are excellent varieties to add to your dragonfly meadow.
7 - Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Drought tolerant and low maintenance, yarrow is one of the best meadow flowers out there.
Yarrow comes in various colors, so you are sure to find one that suits your garden's style. The variety I recommend is the summer pastels blend.
Yarrow is great for attracting food sources for dragonflies.
8 - Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis)
Meadow Sage is a powerful pollinator plant and a wonderful edible herb! It can be dried and added to many types of dishes.
It attracts many different food sources for the dragonfly.
This is a drought-tolerant plant, making it an excellent choice for a wildflower meadow.
9 - Coneflower (Echinacea)
Coneflower makes a wonderful focal flower.
The plant grows tall and acts as a perching point for adult dragonflies.
It is a beneficial pollinator plant that attracts a lot of insects.
It is drought-tolerant and comes in many varieties of colors! One of my favorite varieties is “white swan.” It is an elegant, robust option.
10 - Native Grasses
Tall grasses add a cohesive flow throughout your meadow-style garden.
They also provide lots of perching opportunities for dragonflies as well as offering cover for them.
Some recommended varieties are:
Mexican Feather Grass (Stipa tenuissima)
Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium
Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis)
Prehistoric Garden Plan
If you want to take your dragonfly garden a step further, why not add plants that transform your garden back to the land of the dinosaurs!
Dragonflies have been around for hundreds of millions of years. Creating a prehistoric themed garden is only fitting!
I recommend adding these plants:
Some of the oldest living trees are ginkgos (Ginkgo biloba) and tree ferns (Cyathea cooperi). Their cool leaf shapes add texture to the garden.
Big-leaved perennials like gunnera have been around for 5 million years! These plants really add to the prehistoric aesthetic. Gunnera gets big! So, consider your space when planting these.
Try adding edible plants like rhubarb if you're looking for something smaller. They have the same large-leaved-look as gunnera.
For a shady garden, ferns such as ostrich (Matteuccia struthiopteris) or maiden hair (Adiantum) are excellent choices.
Create Your Dragonfly Sanctuary
One of the best things you can do for the planet is to grow a garden!
An abundant garden with diverse plantings is great in so many ways, including attracting dragonflies. Growing a garden provides pollinators and dragonflies with much needed habitat. With the right plant selection, it can feed and nourish your family too!