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Butterfly Garden

Tall garden phlox and swallowtails

bean_counter_z4

13 years ago

This is something I've observed in my gardens and was wondering if anyone else has noticed the same thing. My tall garden phlox (phlox paniculata) is very popular with swallowtail butterflies. They prefer the pink colors, sometimes visit the reds and lavenders but almost never go to the white phlox blooms. Do your butterflies avoid the white blooms? The hawk moths seem to prefer the whites.

BC

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Comments (7)

catobsessed
13 years ago
I don't know yet, because I don't have white flowers yet, although I have lots of swallowtails (chuckle), but I am planning a moon garden with white phlox, white datura, moon flower vine clematis and others. Your phlox is beautiful! Do you have a favorite source to get those?
bean_counter_z4
Original Author
13 years ago
I have both Volcano White (Monrovia) and David purchased from a local garden center. Volcano white is under 30 inches tall and David is over 48 inches tall this year. Both are heavy bloomers and neither have trouble with disease.
BC
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If you cut the heads off of tall Phlox paniculata, often they will send out side shoots to bloom some more. If you cut them down, you will loose out on any of that extra blooming but it probably would not hurt the plants if you want to clean up the garden. It seems a bit early to me, however, to be doing this but whatever. I have never heard of burying the seedheads to get more phlox, as the seeds may not be ripe yet, and then I think they would just rot in the ground. If you cut them off the seeds will not ripen either. Even if they do come up, you are not guaranteed what color you will get as they don't come true from seed. If you want the same color, you should dig and divide your plants and replant where you want them. If you move the small plants now and relocate them, they will probably survive, and grow and may bloom next year if they are old enough to bloom.
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I like the look of dead plants and evergreens in the winter, but if you don't you can certainly cut them back whenever you like and you will not hurt the plant one bit. They are tough plants and completely hardy so cover them or not, it is up to you but likely not necessary. I assume they were still green when you planted them? If they made it through the transplant cutting back the stalks now won't impact either way. You did not need to cut them back at planting though doing so by half is what some folks do to minimize transpiration and the plant mass that the reduced root system must support...but I doubt anyone would tell you you SHOULD have done so.
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MissSherry
13 years ago
Maybe this explains why my 'David' phlox hasn't attracted many butterflies - oh well, it attracts a few, it's beautiful, and it doesn't take up much space.
Sherry
christie_sw_mo
13 years ago
I love my 'David' phlox but haven't seen any butterflies on it. I have several volunteers blooming that have reseeded from David and they aren't attracting butterflies either. None of the volunteers are white. They're all a pinkish purple color.
BC - Does your pink phlox have a name?
bean_counter_z4
Original Author
13 years ago
One phlox in my garden attracts more butterflies (swallowtails) than any other and that is Volcano Pink. Color? Location? Some unknown genetic trait? Wish I understood why. The second most attractive are the pink old fashioned ones. The old fashioned ones are plagued with ratty foliage from chronic fungal disease. The Volcano series phlox are very resistant to disease.

I also have Volcano Reds, Starfire Red, Blue Paradise and Volcano Purple and these do not have nearly as many butterfly visitors.
BC
christie_sw_mo
13 years ago
Well I'm going to add Volcano Pink to my wishlist then. : ) Apparently there is a Volcano Pink with a white eye and a Volcano Pink with a red eye. I looked at images on Google and came across a photo of a tiger swallowtail on Volcano Pink. It looked like it was the one with a white eye. Is that what you have too?
bean_counter_z4
Original Author
13 years ago
Mine seems to have a white center. My phlox are all pictured on my blogsite, you can see all the phlox at:

Here is a link that might be useful: Lilacs and Roses

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