Skip to Content

Do Hydrangeas Attract Bees, Butterflies, Ants & Bugs?

Hydrangeas attract pollinators from all around. They have a trick up their sleeves to attract a range of pollinators with their large flowers in an attempt to grow the next generations.

So, we are often asked whether Hydrangeas attract bees, butterflies, ants, and bugs. In this article, we will break down these questions and offer you a thorough insight into the lifestyle of hydrangea plants.

Do hydrangeas attract bees?

While most hydrangeas attract bees, the most common type of hydrangea, that is Mophead hydrangea, does not attract bees. Its beautiful and large flowers are sterile and unable to feed bees. Aside from that, varieties like Oak-leaved hydrangea, rough-leaf hydrangea make great food sources for bees.

Do endless summer hydrangeas attract bees?

Yes, endless summer hydrangea attracts bees. They have blooms in the middle of summer seasons and their flowers are a wonderful source of food for the bees. Depending on the region they are growing and the quality of soil, their flowers can be either blue or pink in color.

The endless summer hydrangea, during their blooming season, hosts a central cluster of fertile flowers. These flowers are not as showy or significant as the other breeds, but they are regularly visited by bees.

In addition, they also attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and a range of other pollinators during their blooming seasons.

How do you keep bees away from hydrangeas?

Bees can often harm your beloved hydrangea plants. If you want to learn how to keep bees away from hydrangea, here are a few things you can do:

Plant other flowers that bees love:

Bees like to visit a range of flowers, including hyacinths, snapdragons, lavenders, and crocus. If you want to keep bees away from your hydrangea, plant some of those flowers in your garden to distract the bees further away from the hydrangea.

Arrange bee-baths in your garden:

You can also host a bee bath in your garden, a little away from your hydrangea. Bees need water to survive, like all other pollinators. And sometimes, they wander around your garden looking for that.

What hydrangeas do not attract bees?

Most hydrangeas attract bees. However, you can build a bee-free environment in your garden if you plant hydrangeas that do not attract bees. Here are the most common of those varieties:

Mophead hydrangea:

Mophead hydrangea has large and beautiful flowers that bloom during late spring to the middle of summer in the southern regions. These are the most common type of hydrangea plants that can grow in a wide range of regions worldwide.

If you’re looking for hydrangea that does not attract bees, the good news is that Mophead’s flowers are sterile. So they do not attract bees at all.

Do hydrangeas attract butterflies?

The large blooms of hydrangeas attract butterflies into the gardens. These shrubs make excellent food sources for butterflies. These pollinators, in addition to the hydrangea plant itself, help enhance the beauty of a garden even more. Butterflies especially love the lacecaps variety of hydrangea.

For a long time, people did not think of hydrangea as a pollinator-friendly plant. So it was often overlooked when people were looking for plants that would attract butterflies.

However, in recent years, more and more people are discovering the fact that hydrangeas attract butterflies pretty well.

Some hydrangeas have large and colorful blooms that also make a great food source for butterflies. Especially the blooms that are centrally located on the hydrangea plants make an incredible attraction for butterflies.

Are hydrangeas good for butterflies?

Most hydrangeas are good for butterflies. Butterflies, in particular, love the lacecap variety of hydrangea plants. Its flowers are very fertile and bloom with bright colors. They also make an excellent source of food for the butterflies.

In addition, it will help you build a very pollinator-friendly garden, attracting bees and hummingbirds as well.

Why butterflies do/don’t like hydrangeas?

Butterflies like hydrangea plants. There are several reasons behind it. Let’s take a look at some of the most significant reasons why butterflies like hydrangeas:

Excellent source of food:

Most hydrangea plants have a great ratio of sterile and fertile flowers. The shrubs that have a higher number of fertile flowers, clustered in the center of the plant make a great food source for the butterflies that wander around your garden.

Showy flowers:

Butterflies love the colors playing on the body of hydrangeas. All thanks to its flowers.

Some hydrangea even has a variety of colors of flowers on the same plant, some of which are sterile while others are fertile. And that’s why butterflies like hydrangeas.

Which hydrangea for butterflies?

Butterflies love hydrangeas that host a higher number of fertile flowers during their blooming seasons. If you’re trying to attract butterflies into your garden, here are some of the hydrangeas that are good for butterflies:

Lacecaps hydrangea:

Lacecaps hydrangea is a lovely variety of hydrangea shrubs. They do not require high exposure to sunlight or even regular watering. So these shrubs are rather easy to grow if you want a butterfly-friendly garden.

Kalanchoe hydrangea:

Butterflies love to feast on the kalanchoe variety. The flowers of kalanchoe hydrangea bloom for several weeks at once. These plants bloom at the end of winter or at the start of fall.

Do hydrangeas attract ants?

Hydrangeas do not attract ants in general. However, if you find ants on your hydrangeas then it’s likely that there’s an aphid infestation. Ants feed on the sticky honeydew that aphids leave behind. Such infestations may occur during the maturing age of hydrangeas and disappear as the plant matures.

Hydrangeas do not naturally attract ants. But it is not uncommon to see ants on hydrangeas plants. Ants generally show up on a hydrangea plant when there is an aphid infestation.

Ants love to feast on the sticky honeydew that the aphids produce during their infestation. So the ant infestation is just an aftermath of an aphid infestation in your hydrangea.

You can get rid of ants by following some disinfestation methods. A mixture of borax and sugar at the base of the plant should be enough to get rid of ants.

Why are there ants all over my hydrangea?

If you see ants all over your hydrangea, then it indicates an underlying aphid infestation. When aphids infest a hydrangea plant, it leaves behind sticky honeydew. It attracts ants in turn. And that’s when ants come crawling up your hydrangea.

How do I keep ants off my hydrangeas?

Ant infestation may be a problem for your hydrangea. If you’re looking for ways to keep ants off your hydrangea, we have some solutions you can use:

Keep a mixture of borax and sugar at the base of the plant:

Mix equal parts of borax and sugar in a bowl. It works as great ant-repelling food. Drop some around the base of the plant to keep ants off your hydrangea.

Get rid of ants’ scent trail:

Ants communicate through scent. In order to keep ants off your hydrangea remove the ants’ scent trail from the plant.

In order to do that, you will have to observe the path that the ants follow. Then soak a cloth with some bleach and water, and clean the path.

Do hydrangeas attract bugs?

Hydrangeas do attract bugs. But the frequency is relatively low. There are a few problematic bugs that try to infest hydrangeas, such as aphids and mites. They can cause problems with the growth of the plant. But no need to worry, these bugs can be removed through simple disinfestation processes.

Hydrangeas attract bugs, but they attract relatively few ones. The frequency at which bugs can feed on this plant is also low.

Hydrangeas, during their blooming season, produce flowers that spread delicious odors around them. This tends to attract small flies and bugs.

The few problematic bugs that can attract hydrangeas can be controlled by following some quick disinfestation processes. Bugs such as scale, aphids, and mites may cause damage to a hydrangea.

If the bug’s infestation goes unnoticed, it can eventually lead to an ant infestation in a hydrangea. The sweet honeydew that bugs, such as aphids, leave behind tend to attract ants.

What bugs do hydrangeas attract?

Hydrangeas attract a range of bugs that can cause damage to the plant. Here is a list of some bugs that hydrangea attracts:

Aphids:

Aphids are very small bugs that like to feed on hydrangea. These bugs are typically found in the stem and sap of newly grown hydrangeas as it is relatively easier to pierce through them. 

Mites:

Mites, or spider mites, are almost invisible to the regular eyesight. These bugs live under the leaves of hydrangeas. They are likely to enter the plant’s cell for food.

How do you get rid of bugs on hydrangeas?

Bugs infestation in hydrangeas can cause serious damage to the plant. You will need to take immediate action to control bugs. Here are some methods you can follow to get rid of bugs on hydrangeas:

Spray soapy water:

Mix a spoonful of dish soap with a quarter of water. Put it in a spray bottle and spray it on the leaves, soil, and branches of the plant to get rid of bugs.

Plant trees that attract ladybugs:

Ladybugs help you control bugs infestation in hydrangea. Plant more trees and shrubs around the hydrangea that will attract ladybugs.

Do hydrangeas attract flies?

The flowers of hydrangeas produce tasty scents in the garden. It attracts small flies from all over the area. These flies may damage the leaves while feeding on them. So it is best to control flies that are attracted to a hydrangea.  

Do hydrangeas attract mosquitoes?

It has not been proven that hydrangeas attract mosquitoes. It is very unlikely for the plant to do so naturally.

However, mosquitoes are generally attracted to moisturized plants and shrubs. So the hydrangeas may make a welcoming host for mosquitoes.

Final Thoughts:

Hydrangeas produce a welcoming environment for a range of insects, bees, and birds. Most hydrangeas attract bees, butterflies, ants, and bugs with their fertile flowers and sweet scent that spreads across yards. However, some of the most common varieties of hydrangeas do not attract any of these.