skip to main content

Butterfly Garden

nectar source for in front of butterfly weed

17 years ago

I would like to plant a low-growing "butterfly magnet" in front of my butterfly weed. Native preferred. Any suggestions? What do YOU have growing in front of your butterfly weed??

~Jenny~

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

bigthicketgardens
17 years ago
There are lots of different types of Verbena. Lobelia, frogfruit, bronze fennel, 'Autumn Joy'Sedum, partridge pea.

Do you want real low growing, that stay under a foot?

Verbena, 'New Look' Penta, Aristolochia fimbriata, are all ground huggers and attract lots of butterfly traffic.

Also you could let passion vines ramble along in front of the milkweed as a groundcover.
MissSherry
17 years ago
There are low growing stokes asters that would do - they're about as easy to grow as you can get!
As I recall, there are some decorative oreganos that stay small and attract butterflies like crazy - the cultivar I'm talking about has a German sounding name - Sangerhausen?
MissSherry
Related Discussions
Yarrow and others as Butterfly Nectar Plants?
Q
Comments (5)
Hi, Like many others on this forum, it can be hard to figure out what to keep and get rid of because butterflies seem to change their preferences every year. The yarrow--I have a lot of it, but I don't seem to get a lot of butterflies on it. Sometimes skippers and a lot of other pollinators. Purple coneflower--that one last year did really well--years before didn't attract so many butterflies. It may be that I now have more of it. I do have other varieties, and like you, they don't seem to be that attractive to the butterflies. I have a nepeta too, but that seems to attract only skippers, which I don't mind, so I keep it. It's in a bed that gets really dry. I use those zinnias that you use, but I want to try Zowie Flame (I think it is) because of MissSherry's picture. :) Clematis, never saw any butterflies nectaring, but plenty landing on it. Just now there was a litter hummer hanging out on a loop of it; I have clematis growing up the railings on my porch. Anyway, there are so many plants you can put in that if over a couple of years you don't seen anything on it, then I would probably replace them. There are so many plants that are sure draws (like verbena bonariensis and mexican sunflower, cosmos, etc.). Don't forget fall nectar like asters. Have fun redesigning your garden!
...See More
Butterfly Weed - Asclepias tuberosa
Q
Comments (25)
Grows under pine trees? I've been going crazy looking for things that only survive in lots of sun. I'm angling to cut down some pine branches to get some more light to the only "sunny" place on the property where I had to locate the butterfly garden. Do your pines give them filtered sun or part day low light at ground level? We have a stand of White Pines and evergreen trees along the side of the driveway and nothing but weeds and that miserable invasive Chinese Wisteria grow under, around and up them. Milk"weed" qualifies but maybe it won't flower as much without too much light? The foliage is important enough to try them there. The back sides of the pines and evergreens are pretty much bare because of lack of sunlight on the north side but there are places along the south/southeast fronts of these pines to put in milkweed. They survive the root competition from Pine trees? Guess milkweed's long taproots get them the moisture they need. One more question I've been grappling with: I've got mulch all over the Butterfly garden and others to help with moisture and temperature control. Should I not have mulch so things that do will reseed themselves? Under the pine trees there's a perpetually growing layer of pine needles. I'm talking inches deep. Do I have to move mulch/needles to have things find their way to soil contact to have successful natural reseeding or do I need to clear some ground space around plants and the property to allow for natural reseeding? Guess the proper answer is to mulch, collect seeds and sow them around myself. I'm laughing thinking about my father's neighbors and their neat as a pin "lawn and boxwood" yards. People are going to have "weeds" popping up and won't have a clue what they are. Sorry for such elementary questions but all I read since I started this gardening said to mulch and get plenty of sunlight for butterfly attracting plants but I now from reading the forums there are always exceptions and you have to find a way to accomodate the natural surroundings to your purposes.
...See More
Need Nectar Ideas
Q
Comments (8)
Do you want perennials or annuals? I am assuming you are in the Chicago area? Do you know what butterflies you can attract? It can be frustrating to garden for butterflies because many of the books say the same things but don't give details. For example, many say pentas, but we find that only the tall red ones work well. Some zinnias work better than others. I have the best luck with Benary Giant Zinnias. The old fashioned french marigolds work but the newer large ones don't. Many of our newer cultivars are not bred for the butterflies, they are bred for looks only. So, wowie zowie zinnias or Benarys, french marigolds, large red pentas, are good. Go to the local arboretum and see what the butterflies are nectaring on there and ask the workers there what varieties they are using. Lantana is wonderful but people on this board have noticed differences in some varieties as well. As to perennials, Autumn joy sedum, echinacea purpurea(I have not heard a verdict on all the newer cultivars), joy pye weed (there is a smaller form called little joe pye weed), and a smaller form of new england aster as well. Phlox, there is a mildew resistant form (I forget the cultivar name) that does well attracting skippers for me. Some of the smaller milkweeds might do well. I am not sure how Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed, would do in a container. I haven't tried it. There is a small form of echinops, a thistle relative, that is both nectar and potentially a host plant. I'll let some others chime in now. Cheers, Elisabeth
...See More
Comprehensive list, nectar, perennial annual tropical
Q
Comments (2)
---To decide what species if in question, I would (and do) use an image search. 100 different pics of hummers visiting the same one should guide you in the right direction.--- Perhaps you are not aware of the practice, but many photographs of hummingbirds feeding at flowers actually have a commercial feeder hidden behind them. Those sneaky photographers! ;^) That way they can have the flash units and camera set up where the hummingbird is pre-conditioned to feed. I always chuckle when I see flowers that naturally grow upright, hanging upside-down in the photographs. This wasn't meant to take your thread off-track, but to highlight that the popular photography flowers may not be hummer favorites.
...See More
cydonia33
Original Author
17 years ago
Sorry for the delay... Thank you for the suggestions... The verbena and asters are especially interesting to me, because aren't they also host plants?? Can't wait for the ground to unfreeze, so I can start diggin' in the dirt!!!
leubafr
17 years ago
I plant Purple Homestead Verbena as a ground cover for butterflies. It is a perennial here in Louisiana. Stays low and hugs the ground with constant flowering. Also very beautiful and atractive for any kind of garden

Leubafr
MissSherry
17 years ago
Stokes asters/stokesias are a different type of aster - I don't think they host anything, but they sure attract the butterflies with their nectar, and they make a big, beautiful flower.
MissSherry
susanlynne48
17 years ago
I don't think that the Verbena is hardy in Philly, unless it is planted every year as a annual. There are low-growing phloxes that are perennial, like 'Nicky', and you could intersperse with some low growing liatris like 'Kobold', which is shorter than other liatris. I like Misssherry's idea of the Stokes Asters, and some of the newer cultivars have a longer bloom time. Some of the shorter salvias are also good, and often, if not perennial, will reseed. Monardas that are shorter are also good nectar plants.

I don't know which butterfly weed you're growing, and whether it is one that likes a lot of moisture or is pretty drought tolerant. You would probably want to choose something that would tolerate the same conditions as the milkweed. If you wanted to stick with something in the milkweed family, there are shorter growing milkweeds, like verticillata, that has feathery foliage that could make a nice contrast with other milkweeds.

Susan
cydonia33
Original Author
17 years ago
I am growing A. tuberosa, and I need something to hide the unsightly aphid attacks, which I generally don't do anything about, because I find that, except for making the plant look pretty ugly, they aren't really hurting it--- they seem to co-exist peacefully with the cats!
susanlynne48
17 years ago
Cydonia33 - a girl after my own heart! I don't either. If I leave them, I get more beneficial lady bugs and lacewings, who do the job for me. If I blast them with water, I would probably knock off tiny cats and eggs before I would do any good getting rid of them. So, I just leave them.

Susan
kizzyseeds
17 years ago
My Lantana 'Pink Dawn', a soft pink/yellow variety, looks beautiful with my A. curassavica. I also fill in with some low-growing Zinnias of all colors. The Homestead Purple Verbena is in there too, and it's the first thing to bloom in my garden each year! This year I'm adding Borage and Phacelia to attract the beneficials (my wintersown seeds have already sprouted), and they're going to go in front of the Bloodflowers too.
cydonia33
Original Author
17 years ago
Do all of these low-growing things (like the verbena and phloxes) die all the way back in the winter, because I have drifts of crocuses (blooming now!!) that I wouldn't want to cover up...
susanlynne48
17 years ago
You can trim back the dead foliage on your plants before your crocuses start blooming. I would wait until right before they bloom, though and use mulch.

Susan
ellen_s
17 years ago
It's not native, but I always seed lots of Calendula seeds in front of my Butterfly Weed...the flowers are beautiful and they attract all kinds of beneficial insects. They also have lush leaves which cover up any caterpillar damage to the milkweeds :-)

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Butterfly Milkweed, a Beacon in the Prairie

By Pollination Press LLC

Vivacious orange flowers for you, nectar for the butterflies and bees. Asclepias tuberosa is worth planting for more reasons than one

EDIBLE GARDENS Natural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Garden

By Abundant City

Use these techniques to help prevent the spread of weeds and to learn about your soil

GARDENING GUIDES American Lady Butterflies Add Delight to Summer Gardens

By Pollination Press LLC

Provide native nectar and larval host plants to welcome these migratory butterflies

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

FLOWERS AND PLANTS Help Monarchs and Other Butterflies by Planting Common Milkweed

By Pollination Press LLC

Summer-blooming Asclepias syriaca is an important larval host plant for the monarch butterfly and attracts a number of pollinating insects

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Be a Butterfly Savior — Garden for the Monarchs

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Keep hope, beauty and kindness alive in the landscape by providing a refuge for these threatened enchanters

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Butterfly Gardening: Delight the Eyes With Living Sculptures

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Surprise and thrill with a garden that attracts magical winged creatures, bringing color, movement and life

FALL GARDENING What Monarch Butterflies Taught Me About Garden Design

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Thinking like a butterfly leads to fresh perspectives in the garden and in life

GARDENING GUIDES 20 Favorite Flowers for Butterflies and Bouquets

By Marianne Lipanovich

Discover perennials and annuals that do double duty as butterfly magnets and versatile cut flowers

FLOWERS 15 Native Flowers That Attract Butterflies

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

By picking plants from this list that are right for your location, you’ll get colorful blooms and support pretty pollinators

Sponsored

Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery

233 Reviews

Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery

More Discussions

?what to do with this little guy?

3