There’s a world of garden activity once the sun goes down, when nighttime pollinators appear. Whether you design an entire moon garden filled with white and silvery plants that reflect the low light or simply plant a few containers with night-blooming plants, nighttime pollinators will appreciate the effort. The pale and white blooms in a moon garden are highly reflective, making them easily visible in moonlight. This allows moths, bats, fireflies, and other nocturnal insects to locate flowers for feeding and pollination efficiently. Learn more about native and non-native plants that attract nighttime pollinators.
“Native plants provide the most benefit to nighttime pollinators in your area,” says Mary Phillips. “Reduce unnecessary artificial light sources in the landscape, as they confuse night pollinators, causing them to become disoriented, vulnerable to predation, waste energy, and struggle to find food or mates, which ultimately harms their populations.”
Pale Purple Coneflower
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Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) is a native plant across much of North America. The tall flower stalks with drooping, elongated pale-colored petals offer a luminous and ethereal quality and serve as a larval host plant for several species of moths. They bloom 2 to 3 weeks earlier than purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea).
Botanical Name: Echinacea pallidaSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Type: Clay, loam, sandSoil pH: Acidic to NeutralHardiness Zone: 3a-10b
Angel’s Trumpet
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The white, light yellow, or soft pink trumpet-shaped, ruffled-edged, pendulous blooms of angel’s trumpet announce their presence every night with their heavy fragrance. They can grow up to 1 foot long. During the growing season, the plant is a heavy feeder that needs regular fertilization to stimulate new growth and flowers. In cooler growing zones, it will die back to the ground but will overwinter if given some protection from the cold. The plant’s flowers, leaves, and seeds are toxic if ingested.
Botanical Name: BrugmansiaSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Type: Organically rich with good drainageSoil pH: Neutral to acidicHardiness Zone: 7b-10b
Moonflower
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Moonflower is a tropical vine usually grown as an annual that can reach a height of up to 20 feet in one growing season. Its white, upright, funnel-shaped flowers remain tightly closed during the day and open fully to a width of 4 inches or more in just a few minutes in the evening. Its delightfully sweet fragrance attracts night-flying pollinators.
Botanical Name: Ipomoea albaSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Type: Clay, loam, sandSoil pH: Alkaline to acidicHardiness Zone: 10a-12b
Evening Primrose
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A hardy perennial in cooler areas, evening primrose is a fast-spreader and forms mounds of foliage about 12 inches in height. The large, cup-shaped, pale pink flowers open in the evening or on cloudy days and release a fragrant aroma into the garden. It is drought-tolerant and grows in any soil type except those with poor drainage.
Botanical Name: Oenothera speciosaSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Type: Rocky, clay, sandSoil pH: Neutral to alkalineHardiness Zone: 6a-8b
Night-Blooming Jasmine
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Covered with fragrant, large, tubular orange flowers from spring until fall, night-blooming jasmine is a perfect choice for nighttime pollinators. It can form a small shrub in warm growing areas, but in most growing zones, it is a woody vine that fills a trellis. In cooler areas, it may die back, but is root hardy to zone 7.
Botanical Name: Centrum aurantiacumSun Exposure: Dappled sunlight to partial shadeSoil Type: Clay, loam, sandSoil pH: Alkaline to acidicHardiness Zone: 7b-11b
Calico Aster
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If you’re looking for a late summer blooming native plant, calico asters are a perfect choice. They have a profusion of petite white, daisy-like flowers that subtly catch and reflect moonlight. The plants reach 2 to 3 feet tall and wide and serve as larval hosts for several species of moths.
Botanical Name: Symphyotricum lateriflorumSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Type: Well-draining, clay, loam, or sandSoil pH: AlkalineHardiness Zone: 4a-8b
Night-Blooming Cereus
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Usually grown as a houseplant, a night-blooming cereus is a perfect addition to a container in a warm, humid, summer Southern moon garden. An erect, sprawling, and spineless cactus, the flowers are white, fragrant, and measure 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. Blooming in late spring to early summer, the flowers open at night and wither by the next morning. The flowers are pollinated by bats and moths and produce purplish-red fruits.
Botanical Name: Epiphyllum oxypetalumSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Type: Well-draining sand or loamSoil pH: Acidic to AlkalineHardiness Zone: 10a-11b
Four O’Clock
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Four o’clock is a must for a moon garden because its flowers open late in the afternoon and remain open all night while emitting a pleasant fragrance. An annual with bush-like foliage and white, pink, or yellow blooms, it grows to around 15 inches tall and reseeds readily. Four o’clock is a favorite of night-flying moths looking for nectar.
Botanical Name: Mirabilis jalapaSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Type: Clay, loam, sandSoil pH: NeutralHardiness Zone: 9a-10b
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