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Top 10 plants for moths

Let’s not forget the pollinators that cover the night shift. Here are the best plants for moths you can grow to help our nocturnal pollinators

Moths can sometimes be overlooked in favour of their generally more colourful cousins, the butterflies. But moths provide important services too: as well as pollinating our night-flowering plants, they play an important role in pollinating crops and wildflowers; complementing the services of daytime pollinators. Moths are vital players in a healthy ecosystem and a valuable food source for garden birds.

The UK has around 2500 species of moth, many of whom are in alarming decline. But gardeners can help, and one easy way is simply to grow a few night-flowering plants and moth caterpillar food plants. See how many of these 10 best plants for moths you can include in your garden, and check out the moth-themed resilient planting pocket at the 2024 RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival for more inspiration.

Top tip: to maximise benefits to pollinators, try to buy plants from pesticide-free suppliers if you can. Our list of organic nurseries is a good starting point for sourcing organic plants.

Alternatively, try growing plants from seed, or nabbing divisions/cuttings from a neighbour – which keeps costs down, too!

Find out more

Plants for adult moths 

Scarlet tiger moth (Callimorpha dominula)
Poplar hawk moth (Laothoe populi)
 Most moths feed on flowers that open in the evening, or become more heavily scented in the evening, such as Nicotiana (tobacco plant) – a great moth-friendly annual for filling gaps in borders or containers. The best plants for adult moths are often nectar-rich, tubular flowers that the moths are able to access using their long proboscis (tube-like mouthpart). 

Evening primrose (Oenothera)

Oenothera fruticosa
 The yellow silken blooms of evening primrose open to release their scent as the sun goes down. Great for free-draining soils, Oenothera will attract many different night-flying moths.

Plant it: in dry gardens, gravel gardens, prairie planting or free-draining borders
 

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

Lonicera periclymenum ‘Serotina’
Our native honeysuckle, and its cultivars, makes a wonderfully fragrant climber for a large wall, pergola or trellis. Look out for visits from the colourful elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) and the delicate twenty-plume moth (Alucita hexadactyla).  

Plant it: to climb up a trellis, pergola, wall or fence, or scrambling up a tree in a woodland garden
 

Summer-flowering jasmines (e.g. Jasminum officinale)

Jasminum officinale ‘Devon Cream’
 Summer-flowering jasmines make lovely climbers for summer evening fragrance. They are especially good for sunny or city gardens, where they can be grown in large containers. Summer-flowering jasmines may be particularly attractive to the large and impressive privet hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri) and pine hawk-moth (Sphinx pinastri).

Plant it: to climb up a trellis, pergola, wall or fence, or in a large container with an obelisk
 

White campion (Silene latifolia)

Silene latifolia
The delicate white blooms of this native biennial, or short-lived perennial, make an elegant addition to a cottage garden, informal border or wildlife area. The flowers produce lilac aldehydes, the scent compounds known to attract the plant’s key pollinator, the lychnis moth (Hadena bicruris).

Plant it: in an informal border, wildlife area, long grass or woodland garden
 

Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

Hesperis matronalis
Also known as dame’s violet, this purple-flowered short-lived perennial is richly perfumed, filling the air on late spring and early summer evenings to attract a wide range of moths. If allowed, the plant will seed around to create naturalistic drifts. The flowers are also edible, adding a dash of colour when sprinkled on a salad. 

Plant it: in an informal border, cottage garden or wildlife area 

 

Plants for moth caterpillars

Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria) caterpillar
Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillar
 To help moths all year round, and at all stages of their lifecycle, it’s important to also provide food plants for moth caterpillars. Whereas adult moths feed on nectar from flowers, the caterpillars feed on leaves, so require different plants.
 

Foxgloves (Digitalis)

Digitalis purpurea
Perfect for the cottage or woodland garden, foxgloves are food plants for several moths, including the lesser yellow underwing (Noctua comes), angle shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa) and setaceous Hebrew character (Xestia c-nigrum). These quintessential cottage garden biennials will seed freely to create naturalistic drifts.

Plant it: in borders, cottage gardens or woodland gardens 
 

Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum​)

Galium verum
This delightful native perennial wildflower produces frothy heads of tiny yellow flowers, which make a colourful addition to areas of long grass in summer, while providing food for the hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum), elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) and bedstraw hawk-moth (Hyles gallii). 

Plant it: in long grass areas or wildflower meadows
 

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus, V. bombyciferum)

Verbascum thapsus
The felty grey leaves of mullein are irresistible to the brightly striped caterpillars of the mullein moth (Cucullia verbasci).These drought-resistant, statuesque biennials produce tall spires of yellow flowers that are perfect for punctuating prairie planting or a dry garden, as well as adding colour to wildlife areas.


Plant it: in borders, dry gardens, gravel gardens or wildlife areas
 

Mint (Mentha species)

Mentha x villosa var. alopecuroides 'Bowles Mint'
A great addition to every garden thanks to its all-round usefulness, mint caters for caterpillars of the mint moth and beautiful plume moth, as well as making a lovely herbal tea and producing pretty flowers that are loved by bees. A vigorous plant that will spread if uncontained, mint is ideal for pots or ground cover. 

Plant it: in containers or as ground cover
 

Mixed native trees or hedge

No hedge is more valuable to wildlife than a mixed native hedge, which provides for a huge range of insects, mammals and birds. Include species such as hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), hazel (Coryllus avellana) and dog rose (Rosa canina), each of which are food plants for several different moth caterpillars. If you have space for a larger native tree, oak, birch and willow all provide for several moth species, as well as a host of other wildlife.
 

Other considerations

  • Artificial light in gardens can disrupt the crepuscular (dawn/dusk) rhythms of nocturnal wildlife, so consider taking steps to minimise the impact of garden or security lighting. Find out more
  • To protect moths and other wildlife, avoid using pesticides unless absolutely necessary. Though the vast majority of the UK’s 2,500 moth species do not cause noticeable damage in gardens and should be encouraged, a handful are considered problematic. If these are present and some level of damage is not tolerable, try to use natural enemies by encouraging predators such as ground beetles and birds, and employing hand-picking and biological control methods to target caterpillars of the problem species. Find out more
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Oenothera biennis
common evening primrose
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Oenothera</em> <em>biennis</em>
Nicotiana sylvestris
woodland tobacco plant
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Nicotiana</em> <em>sylvestris</em>
Verbascum thapsus
great mullein
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Verbascum</em> <em>thapsus</em>
Oenothera biennis
common evening primrose
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Oenothera</em> <em>biennis</em>
Nicotiana sylvestris
woodland tobacco plant
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Nicotiana</em> <em>sylvestris</em>
Verbascum thapsus
great mullein
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Verbascum</em> <em>thapsus</em>
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