Early Nectar Plants?

spaceman13

12 years ago

Id like to add some plants to my Zone 6b (South Central PA) to bring in butterflies EARLIER.

My Zinnias, Milkweed (swamp and 'tuberosa'), Yarrow, Joe Pye, Bee Balm, Sage and others are not yet blooming...

What would some good "spring" nectar plants to add to my Zone 6b garden that will really "ring the dinner bell"?

Thanks in advance,

Blessed Be,

Mark (AKA Spaceman, GreyOwl, Chowderhead)

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Comments (6)

bettyd_z7_va
12 years ago
Hi Mark,

I just started my first garden dedicated solely to butterflies last summer, so I'm looking forward to
the answers posted to your question.

I noticed the butterflies having a great time at my spring-blooming azaleas. I don't know the names of them, because they were here when I bought the house. The pink one got the most attention from the butterflies. They also like my Lamb's Ear and the wild clover in my yard.

I worked 3rd shift and my mind won't remember what other flowers I saw them nectaring on this spring. Maybe after I get some sleep I'll think of the rest.

Betty
bandjzmom
12 years ago
Hi Mark! I am in zone 7a, so I am not the best person to answer your question, but I can tell you what has bloomed early in my yard. My Lilac bloomed and attracted early butterflies. The first flowers that I had to bloom were my Blanket Flower and my Strawberry Seduction Yarrow. My Butterfly bush pannicles are just now beginning to open. The first butterfly bushes to open here were Nanho Blue, Black Knight, and Royal Red. My Hyssop is also in bloom right now. Hope that helps a little.~`Angie
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MissSherry, do you shear your Salvia Hot Lips back after the initial spring flush of bloom? Mechelle - my Coreopsis did not do much last year either, but this year, it took off and went nuts. It didn't bloom much either, OTOH, nothing did much last year in the heat and drought, and I had very few butterflies. I bought that Duranta one year to grow as an annual (not perennial here in OKC). I thought it was such a pretty plant. But, it didn't attract much at all, so I didn't include it in the succeeding year. I know that's not much of a trial run, because butterfly tastes can vary from year to year. So I probably did not give it a fair chance. A general rule of thumb in my garden for a good trial, IMHO, is 3 years. If a plant doesn't do a good job over that period of time, out it goes. I just love the blooms on this little Coreopsis and I may just go back to Precure and see if they have more of it to stuff in 20 gallon tubs. Susan
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I haven't tried to grow the Gregg's Mistflower from seed, but have noticed the clumps can get bigger and be divided over time. I agree it's a good plant for butterflies. I also like the Turk's Cap. Then there's White Mistflower, Eupatorium havanense, which especially draws them in when fall comes. There's many native salvias that are good nectar plants, Salvia coccinea and Salvia greggi, for instance. Purple Horsemint, Monardia citriodora is one of my favorites here. And I've recently discovered Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, which the butterflies love and it's xeriscape! Aromatic Aster, Symphotrichum oblongifolium is nice also. The only milkweeds that do very well here are the Tropical Milkweed (yes, not a Texas native, but native to Mexico, which is just across the Texas border, so many Texas native plant people include it) and Texas Milkweed, Asclepias texana (don't know if it would grow where you are, but it does well here). If there's a chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas nearby, they could probably help with what can actually grow in your area. I found a copy of Butterfly Gardening for the South recently to send to my daughter in Houston who is having a house built there. Very good book and has a lot of Texas natives! It seems to be out of print, so hard to find, but there might be copies in the libraries.
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MissSherry
12 years ago
There aren't many plants that bloom REAL early in spring, Spaceman, but I've seen butterflies and hummingbirds hanging upside down on blueberry blossoms, so if you've got room for a blueberry bush, that might be used. And the fruit is a great bonus!
Native/wild azaleas bloom early. I've got LOTS of them in my woods, and I really enjoy walking the paths and watching the early butterflies and hummers nectaring on them.
I ordered a winter honeysuckle, a bush whose leaves look just like Lonicera sempervirens, our native coral honeysuckle. This one is supposed to bloom in the middle of winter, we'll see. It's in a container now, and I plan to plant it out whenever the roots have filled the pot, which may be soon. It's supposed to get big, so I'll be planting it on the edge of the woods somewhere, and I wanted it to be big enough to withstand possible deer browsing.
Other than than, early blooming roadside weeds are used.
Sherry
bernergrrl
12 years ago
Chives and violets get used here. And as MissSherry said--the weeds, like clover and dandelion and cinquefoil (of which we have plenty!).
KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
12 years ago
Hoary puccoon - Lithospermum canescens

Butterflies were all over these plants when I was in southern Ohio during the first week of May a couple years ago. Last year, I planted some roots of it I got off the internet. Two came up, grew a few leaves and are dying back. Maybe they will do better next year.

KC
bernergrrl
12 years ago
KC--That is a beautiful plant! Thanks for sharing.

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Early Nectar Plants?

Comments (6)

bettyd_z7_va

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