Opinions about fertilizing a butterfly garden? I have a newly planted garden for butterflies which is attracting, so far, monarchs and sulphurs, and I'm concerned that any type of fertilizer may damage them??
Fertilizing a Butterfly Garden
Try mushroom composte maybe? Just add it around your plants. thats what we do.
Where can I get the mushroom composte?
You can get mushroom compost in bags at most garden centers, even Home Depot and Lowe's usually carry it.
I get GREAT results by not fertilizing. Butterfly flowers will get leafy if you fertilize and produce less flowers.
What I do is I spread leaf litter over the garden after everything flowers and it starts getting cold. Over the winter, it naturalizes and feeds the soil. In spring, before the last frost, I gently rake it off. This allows new growth to come up better.
An added bonus is it protects plants by keeping the ground warmer and you'll get better plant survival rates and many plants will come back that otherwise can't wouldn't be able to stand the winter.