Dragonfly Friendly Plants: Enhance Your Garden’s Ecosystem Naturally

Introduction

The warm summer months bring with them one of the season’s most notorious pests—mosquitoes. These pesky insects can really make you reconsider spending time in your garden, yard, or patio. Luckily, there’s a natural solution to keep mosquito populations in check—dragonflies.

About

Dragonflies are natural predators. As adults, they scavenge the skies looking for prey such as mosquitoes, wasps, and moths. In their larval stage, dragonflies consume large numbers of mosquito larvae. You can attract these helpful predators to your outdoor space by thoughtfully planning your landscape. Incorporating plants into outdoor containers or planting them directly are practical strategies, providing the necessary habitat for dragonflies right where you need them. Below, you will find a list of land and shoreline plants that are known to attract these helpful insects.

Land Plants

Although the five plants listed below aren’t aquatic or traditional breeding grounds for dragonflies, they play a crucial role in creating a diverse ecosystem. By nurturing a variety of plant life, you will attract insects to your backyard, providing a stable food source for dragonflies in all stages of life.

1. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

   • Description: With bright yellow blooms, Black-eyed Susan thrives in warmer climates, typically lasting about two years. In cooler areas, these wildflowers will die off when winter hits.
   • Care: Adaptable to nearly any soil type, requiring full sunlight and regular watering.

2. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

   • Description: This perennial favorite produces stunning white and pink flowers annually, attracting dragonfly prey like wasps and bees.
   • Care: Best grown in wetland areas with moist, clay-rich soil.

3. Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

   • Description: Flowering from mid-summer to fall with pink-purple blooms, Joe-Pye weed attracts a variety of pollinators.
   • Care: Prefers full or partial sunlight, commonly found in moist woods or meadows.

4. Meadow Sage (Salvia nemorosa)

   • Description: Boasting striking purple flowers, meadow sage is a stunning perennial that thrives in full sunlight.
   • Care: Minimal watering needed, making it suitable for drier climates.

5. White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

   • Description: A robust perennial with large, flat clusters of creamy-white blossoms that attract insects like tiny parasitic wasps.
   • Care: Requires full sun and well-drained soils, ranging from dry to medium moisture.

   Note: White yarrow can resemble poisonous hemlock. Distinguish yarrow by its fern-like leaves and flat clusters of small white flowers. Consult a reliable guide if needed.

Pond & Shoreline Plants

If you have a pond or are thinking about adding a water feature to your landscape, consider planting these five types of plants in and around such features. These plants will enhance the aesthetic appeal of your pond or water feature and create an inviting habitat for dragonflies, helping to naturally control the insect population in your outdoor space.

6. Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)

   • Description: A versatile aquatic perennial growing to heights of three feet with distinct arrowhead-shaped leaves and tiny white flowers.
   • Care: Needs to be anchored down as it tends to float when placed in underwater soil.

7. Wild Celery (Vallisneria americana)

   • Description: A type of tape grass that provides an excellent aquatic habitat for dragonflies, fully submerged and growing upwards to the water’s surface.
   • Care: Requires at least eighteen inches of water and plenty of sunlight.

8. Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile)

   • Description: Roots itself to the pond floor and produces leaves that penetrate the water’s surface, critical for dragonfly larvae.
   • Care: Loves partial to full sunlight, typically grown from nursery plants.

9. Cattail (Typha latifolia)

   • Description: Prefers moist soil and swampy environments, appealing to dragonflies for laying eggs.
   • Care: Hardy and easy to transplant, often found in full sunlight.

10. Water Lily (Nymphaea spp.)

    • Description: A classic floating plant providing an ideal habitat for dragonfly larvae, growing from tubers planted beneath the pond’s surface.
    • Care: Needs to be weighed down with rocks or other heavy materials to stay submerged.

By attracting dragonflies to your backyard, you will create an ecosystem where these natural predators help maintain balance, allowing you to enjoy your outdoor areas without the annoyance of mosquitoes. Embrace the beauty and utility of these plants, and transform your outdoor space into a vibrant, pest-free retreat this summer.

By planting a variety of dragonfly-friendly plants, you can enhance your garden’s ecosystem naturally. Not only will you enjoy a more beautiful and diverse outdoor space, but you’ll also benefit from fewer mosquitoes, thanks to these amazing natural predators.

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