skip to main content

Butterfly Garden

Naples Butterfly Garden Help

16 years ago

Hello all-

I'm a novice gardener- no green thumb. I was hoping someone could give me a list of plants that are hardy that I could plant in my back yard that would both attract and house butterflies. I have direct sun as well as shady areas (under a carrot wood tree).

Today on my walk I saw my first Malachite and decided that I should stop thinking about it and just put together a nice little garden that would attract quite a bit.

Also, suggestions on where to find or how to make butterfly boxes would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

Vincent

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

MissSherry
16 years ago
Welcome to the forum, Vincent!
Not being a carpenter myself, I can't help you with the butterfly box, but if you're talking about the type they sell in stores that butterflies are supposed to use for shelter, those things are a total waste of money and not worth your time, energy and money to build. If it's a caterpillar house you're talking about, some other posters can probably help you with that - I just buy reptile/butterfly cages.
If I saw a malachite, I'd run, not walk to a nursery or the computer to order/buy some green shrimp plant/blechum brownei or b. pyramidatum! I don't know what the growing requirements are for blechum, but I'd sure look it up!!!
Other Florida gardeners can give you better info on this, but I think some of the best nectar plants for Florida are Mexican flame vine, porterweed, and pentas - most gardeners in your state say they have trouble growing butterfly bush. The best host plants would be for first, whatever butterflies you see where you live, then second, whatever butterflies you think you might could attract. If it were me, I'd plant one of the tropical pipevines for goldrim swallowtails, some type/types of passionvine for gulf frits, zebra longwings and possibly julias, citrus or wild lime/zanthoxylum fagaria for giant swallowtails, some type of cassia - c. bicapsularis, c. alata, etc. - for sulphurs, some type of laurel - persea, lindera or cinnamomum, - for palamedes and/or spicebush swallowtails, a sweetbay/magnolia virginiana tree or two for your southern variety of tiger swallowtails, and others.
Happy gardening!
MissSherry
naplesgardener
16 years ago
I agree with misssherry's list of plants.

I have some green shrimp plant to trade you. I bought mine from Shady Oak Butterfly online hoping to attract malachites to lay eggs.
Where in Naples did you see the malachite?

To attract other butterflies I'd get a passionflower first for gulf fritillaries, julias and zebras and then get a pipevine for gold-rims and others.

Plant them in an out-of-the-way place because they will look raggedy if the caterpillars find them (that's the idea).
Related Discussions
Need help developing butterfly garden
Q
Comments (9)
Butterflies do not hear "noise", but they can feel vibrations. So unless the butterfly is perched on the flagpole it will not be a problem. Now as to a large flag waving over the garden, I don't know if that will put off butterflies or not. I don't think waving tree or shrubbery branches scares them. The light at night will not bother butterflies and will attract moths, so you will have dual-critter garden. The butterfly house will not attract or house butterflies, use it only as decoration. Look in the forum FAQ for more info on this as well as flowers for nectar, there may be some flowers in the list of the colors you want.
...See More
help setting up a butterfly garden, please.
Q
Comments (6)
If you do want to plant some taller varieties, you could separate a group by a stepping stone or two. I agree with the pentas - the pipevines are really going after mine this year. I planted the Butterfly Series red ones, and they get about 12-14" tall. You could also just grow some nectar plants in pots and people surely won't step on the pots! LOL! Lantana would be okay, but it is a plant that spreads and will overlap your 1.5' width. Look for dwarf plants of all kinds. Marigolds would be good, too, as well as the smaller zinnias. You can get a smaller lavendar plant, which is a good nectaring plant. There are a lot of Californians on this forum, so I hope they pop in here with suggestions as to what will grow and bloom all summer for you. If your area is all sun, parsley may wilt because it likes some shade, IMHO. Aristolochia fimbriata would do well in your zone and is low growing, too. It is a creeper, altho some have trained it to a trellis. That would attract the pipevine swallowtails. It is a pretty plant, too, green with white veins. Of course, you might want to plant most of your strip with it because the pipevines can demolish an entire patch! LOL! Susan
...See More
HELP - Cultural Needs in New Butterfly Garden
Q
Comments (3)
Thanks for suggestion, Jmcat. Found grownative.org and searched for "butterfly host/rabbit resistant." 2 Milkweeds I bought (tuberosa & incarnata) are deer but not rabbit resistant. 2 Milkweeds that are both deer & rabbit resistant (syriaca & cervillicata) weren't available where I bought even if I had thought of it. I was so intent on getting a good seasonal continuation of nectar sources and natives I didn't think of pesky critters. Guess I'll put up a graduated opening 3 ft. high fence with with deer netting on top. Gate essential for checking water/weeds. May leave it up through next spring while I'm fighting rabbits over plants from some bulbs I planted. Can't fight mother nature!
...See More
help finding a butterfly garden
Q
Comments (1)
The only one I am familiar with is Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. But you would have to move the party up by two weeks. Here is a link that might be useful: Brookside Gardens
...See More
wildflowerchris
16 years ago
the passion vine is certainly a winner. i have 3 of them in my yard and the gulf frit cats love them. i would look into using florida native plants for nectar and host. i try to use them as much as possible.

However, they can be more difficult to find. but thats part of the fun. Also some florida natives re-seed readily. so over time you can make several plants out of one (passionvine, tropical sage, wild petunia) to name a few.

Plus you are using native plants that most people do not use. also, whatever kind of plant you use, don't use pesticides. they will kill the eggs/cats.

good luck!

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Incarnata for a Butterfly Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Beautiful swamp milkweed makes it easy to help monarchs and other pollinators in eastern U.S. gardens

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

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Common Boneset Helps Good Bugs Thrive

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Support bees, moths and butterflies with the nectar of this low-maintenance, versatile and tactile prairie-style plant

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Steps to Creating Your Butterfly Garden

By Debbie Ballentine

Encourage these fanciful winged beauties to visit your garden while helping restore their fragmented habitat

EARTH DAY How to Help Your Town’s Beneficial Birds and Bugs

By Annie Thornton

Make a habitat using local materials to provide a home to the creatures that help our gardens

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Butterfly-Friendly Crossvine

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Colorful climber gives gardens a boost year-round with bountiful blooms

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Autumn Sage Brings Color and Butterflies

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Whether you live in the arid desert or the humid South, you'll likely find this deer-resistant beauty as irresistible as winged creatures do

GARDENING GUIDES You Don't Need Prairie to Help Pollinators

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Woodlands, marshes, deserts — pollinators are everywhere

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

EARTH DAY Create a Container Wildlife Habitat for Hummingbirds and Butterflies

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Don’t let limited space prevent you from welcoming wildlife into your garden

Sponsored

More Discussions

?what to do with this little guy?

3