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Texas Gardening

Butterfly host and nectar plants ...

roselee z8b S.W. Texas

8 years ago

This post is on the trade forum. It seems few people go there anymore so I'm transferring it here so more people will see it and respond.

I don't have any seeds, but a plant that's good to have on hand for winter is Winter blooming honeysuckle. It's a large evergreen shrub that blooms in Jan/Feb so it feeds any butterflies that wake up in a mild winter. Here are some photos of Pipevine swallowtails feeding on it.

Happy fall butterfly gardening!

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Comments (2)

wantonamara Z8 CenTex
8 years ago
Some people are seeing this naturalize up around Dallas and it is on the Texas invasive list. I have not seen this behavior , but then again it is not that happy in my yard. This site does list plants before they are HUGE problems. I would think that it might vary from area to area. My neighbor had one in down town Austin and I saw no babies there. A handful of sightings around Dallas, up towards NE Texas, and one in San Marcus. Maybe they are cranking out an alert a but early. I don't know. It has become a problem up further east , like in Tennessee and surrounding states. I am not trying to snub on your choice. Info is info. I got one from you at a swap.

Texas invasive list entry.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks for the information. I've never had even one pop up in my yard in 20 years or more, but if one has good soil and more rain it might not be a good idea to plant it.
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