Hi! I am Chuck in Perris, CA. I am currently building a butterfly/bird garden (with an emphasis on butterflies and hummingbirds). This spring I am planting three five gallon passifloras that I will buy locally or order online. The goal is to use all three of the passifloras to attract as many caterpillars as possible. If necessary I will plant them over again each year.
Does anybody have any ideas on what Passifloras I could plant that would do best? They would be in the sun during the growing season from 6 am to 2 pm. Is this too long? I don't expect the garden to be finished until the end of the growing season of 2006.
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck
Passifloras
Hi Chuck,
This was my first full year with passionvines and the ones I noticed eggs on were Careula, Incense and Edulis "Frederick". I have some others but do not know for sure if they were liked by the Butterflies. I think they like them all. I'm on the other side of Perris Lake, in Mo Valley so we are neighbors. Home Depot and Lowes both carry all of these in 1 gallon pots and in five gallon pots. They have Vitifolia, Incense, Lavender Lady as of yesterday.. went there for something else but checked to see what they had and found a five gallon of Granadilla that had been returned by someone, they discounted it to 5.00 at Lowes.. what a find, normally those types you cannot find in 1 gallon containers at those places anway. Welcome to Dave's this is a great place to be. A
That butterfly/bird garden is a wonderful thing. I plant for them also. I agree with Antoinette and would add P. jamesonii "Coral Seas" or "Coral Glow" and P. alato-caerulea, also called P. belotii, to the list of favorites of butterflies.
I don't think that is too much sun for your Passifloras.
You may want to also plant some butterfly bushes, called Buddleia davidii or sometimes Buddleja davidii. Butterflys and hummingbirds love them. Mexican salvia or any salvia is also a big draw for hummingbirds, and they really enjoyed my cannas this past summer as well.
Thank you both very much for answering in such a short time and to find out we are neighbors almost is great. I have so far - 3 Scarlet Hedgenettle for hummingbirds, 3-Monarda Violet Queen, 1 Monarda Jacob Cline, 1 White Swan Coneflower, 3-Scabiosa Butterfly Blue, 1 Jasmine, 1 French Lavender,1 Spanish Lavender, 1 Purple Sage (Salvia leucophylla), 1 Buddleia davidii Dark Knight and 1 Buddleia davidii Pink. I bought most of them from High Country in New Mexico and a few from Parkview Nursery in Riverside. The Buddleias I have pruned after our first frost a week ago today. They are about six inches tall now. I planted them in April so they were only 3 feet tall to begin with. Everything is doing well except for the White Swan Coneflower which I just planted on October 15.
Clare, What are cannas? I looked them up on the plant database and it didn't have any. Are they the same thing as Birds-of-Paradise?
I just started the butterfly/bird garden in April. My mother-in-law did all the gardening for the 13 years she lived with us. However, she passed away a year ago July and I was left with aloe vera taking over the backyard. I have a small backyard but it has periwinkle, Dwarf Orange tree, Crabapple, and Peach trees as well as a lily I don't know the name of.
Thanks to both of you VERY much.
Chuck
Here are Cannas for you to look at. I love them. Very tropical.
http://davesgarden.com/pdb/search.php?search_text=Canna+Lily
Chuck, it sounds like you have everything that butterflies and hummingbirds could desire. Shirley found the link for you for cannas. They can be found at any Home Depot or Target. They say hummingbirds are drawn to the color red, but my hummingbirds loved the yellow and the peach canna flowers.
Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is another winner with butterflies. Here's a link: http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/73/index.html Also, heliotrope attracts butterflies: http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/31648/index.html and lantana too.
Here's a list of shrubs/trees/perennials/annuals/vines which attract butterflies: http://www.floridata.com/lists/butterfly_plants.cfm
Have fun and Happy Gardening!
Here are my cannas last summer. I had to dig them out of this particular spot in the garden because they were just too big for that particular place. They get to be five to six feet tall.
I live in Redlands which is rather close. Zauschneria californica is a native plant that hummers adore. Salvia coccinea is another that I have and between it and the Salvia guaranitica there are times you can't get near them there are so many. As for the Passifloras the recommendations you have already received are excellent. I have large number of them that were looking like lace because of the caterpillars. Take into account that these plants grow very fast and are considered invasive in some places. Mine love the sun particularly the " Incense" but the " Lavender Lady" is a hard one to transplant. I would also like to recommend Ceanothus and Caryopteris.-Bagpypr
Bagpypr,
The problem is that I am limited on space and sunlight. I have the trellises for the passifloras already set out. I guess I really want spring to come. LOL Doesn't Ceanothus get really big? I am thinking about planting another couple of White swan Coneflowers since the one I bought in October now only has one leaf; a couple of Phlox paniculata (?) David, and a small Penstemon - all from High Country Gardens if the Parkview Nursery in Riverside doesn't have them. These are relatively small plants. Also I was thinking about Coral bells, begonias, and primroses from Parkview Nursery in Riverside. I was going to plant those in Fall too but the time aspect didn't work out. I have about ten feet by six feet ready for planting. It only gets partial sun. It doesn't get too much sun there though. Do you have any suggestions for it?
Chuck,
Welcome to Daves!
I've had many passiflora planted outside, and I break them down into two categories: ones I plant for me(the pretties), and ones I plant for them(the butterflies). They tend to like the ones I like the least for beauty, ...the best!
Also keep in mind that passiflora spread by underground runners, and can become invasive and pop up where they are not wanted. For this reason, I don't plant perennial passifloras, but rather stick to ones I can replant by choice, each year...
One of the very best for them, in my opinion, is passiflora foetida. It has a small flower, but blooms constantly, and by far attracted the most butterflies, AND caterpillars, so it serves as a great nectaring plant, and host plant. I could not even count them all....
In a great article I saved, A woman(Julie Neel, who has been butterfly gardening for 50 years, and who also works with universities, and teaches how to butterfly garden in an "outdoor classroom"), gives great advice for people wanting a butterfly garden. Here are a few of her tips from the article:
1. "If you have a small garden, or are just getting started, put in nectaring plants, first". In her opinion, the best nectaring plants are: butterfly bush(buddleia), lantana, verbena, and pentas.
2. Second, "provide host. plants, such as fennel, parsley, and passionvine, for caterpillars to feed on."
3. In addition, she recommends a "puddling place for butterflies to drink. Julie's puddling place is a simple plastic container filled with builder's sand and aquarium gravel to make it shallow. She keeps a watering can nearby so she can sprinkle it whenever she passes. Butterflies aren't looking for deep water-just a little moisture. They're also looking for nutrients and salts. Adding a small amount of pure mushroom comopost to the damp gravel gives it the special flavor, and then all you need are a few nice basking rocks where your butterflies can enjoy the sun on their wings".
In arranging your butterfly garden, she recommends "plant shorter flowers in front, and taller ones in the back for the best opportunity to view the butterflies."
"Two things Julie does are "scatter her larval host plants apart, and mass the groups of nectaring plants together. The first gives the caterpillars a natural edge over the birds and avoids having tattered skeletons of caterpillar-chewed foliage. Grouping the fragrant nectaring plants on the other hand, saves energy for butterflies seeking supper. Lantanas and porterweeds that grow 6 feet across provide their own mass."
Here is the complete list of her plant recommendations:
1. summer phlox
2. butterfly bush
3. black-eyed susan
4. Mexican sunflower
5. butterfly weed
6. southern woodbine
7. bronze fennel
8. 'homestead' purple verbena
9. marigold
10. cosmos
11. purple coneflower
12. spider flower
13. lantana
14. porterweed
She also notes that "butterflies are most attracted to yellow, orange, purple, and red".
Hope this hleps!, and have fun planning your garden!
-Taylor
This is a great thread. Thanks for posting that information, Taylor.
Ceanothus x delileanus" Topaze"&"Gloire DeVersailles only grow about 5 ft tall and wide. Look into Asclepias' as well because some butterfly will lay eggs only on this plant. Hebe is a wonderful choice as well. Calliandra californica a.k.a Baja Fairy Duster and other native plants are what you should strive for.It gets BLOODY HOT in Perris and I've made deliveries there from the nursery I used to work at when it was 115 or more in the middle of August. Hummers adore tube shaped flowers like Tecomaria capense and butterflies love spiked inflorences like Buddleia. Just remember if you don't get drought-resistant plants you could face a hefty water bill this summer. An interesting note is that Ceanothus last longer in the wild(50+yrs) than in gardens(about 20yrs) because they've adapted to living on only seasonal rainfall.I highly recommend Caesalpinia pulcherrima.-Bagpypr
P.S If you get a chance to come to Fontana, go to Thompson's on Cherry Ave. and talk to Jim in the garden. He can help you design a garden that is not only functional but gorgeous to look at.
This message was edited Dec 10, 2004 12:31 PM
Bagpypr, I am thrilled to say that I have most of the plants that you recommended. I love the blue flowers on my Ceanothus. It is covered in gorgeous blue flowers right now, but I can't seem to take a picture that does it justice. Here's one:
Here's another:
Here's a picture from last March:
Here is the C. pulcherrima:
This red Salvia gregorii is a big hit with hummingbirds:
Here's another shot of the red salvia"
This is C. californica:
This is a pomegranate bush, Punica granatum, and hummingbirds love the red flowers:
Is that the Punica granatum "Nana"? I love those. There is also a variety called " Arizona Sweet" that has brilliant yellow flowers instead of the standard orange. You have taken some very nice photos Claire_CA.-Bagpypr
Thanks, Bagpypr. I'm actually not sure which one it is. It is a seedling in any case. I grew it from seed from a fruit which came from a tree where I used to live in Buellton, CA.
I forgot to add that yellow pomegranate flowers are beautiful.
This message was edited Dec 10, 2004 6:45 PM
Hi! I was reviewing the threads that I have started and I thought that I would give you an update. I now have a Lavender Lady passiflora about seven feet tall and six feet wide. It just fits on the trellises I purchased for it beautifully. I also have 'discovered' Las Pilitas Nursery of California natives in Escondido. Between the butterfly/hummingbird plants I have purchased from High Country Gardens and the California natives that I have puirchased from Las Pilitas, I hope next year will be a very busy year for butterfies and insects as well as hummingbirds in my garden. I ordered a collection of seven different kinds of Columbines that I am experimenting with for the shady part of the house. I am hoping that two or three kinds will do well over on that side of the house. The Scarlet Hedgenettle really brings in the hummers as well as the Salvia greggii. I just planted last week three Desert Sunrise Agastache. I am hoping that all these plants will bring in more hummingbirds than last year. As far as the butterflies go, I have purchased "host" plants from Las Pilitas Nursery(buckwheat, native penstemons, asclepias, mountain mahogony, etc). I am still collecting "nectar" plants. I think in Spring I am going to plant zinnias again. They were a success in bringing in butterflies this year. Thanks for all the help and advice to get me pointed in the right direction. Take care, Chuck
Because of the record heat wave this year, I lost quite a few plants since most of my plants are sun-loving (not that much sun, however). I just planted my third passiflora today. The plant is a replacement for another passiflora that I planted last Spring. I hope that it is growing well by the time that we have one of our caterpillar season that we have late November, early December. There were many butterflies in my backyard this summer. It would be nice for the temp to be a little cooler.
Thaks again,
Chuck
Chuck sounds like you are on the right track. Congrats to you and hope you see many butterflies come fall. I sure wish we had all the different hummers you get