Moved from Europe to zone 8b and have no idea what to plant to attract butterflies , hummers and / or birds to my back yard. All I have managed to grow so far is weeds and red tips ... I need a start and feel overwhelmed with all the different zones and plants on the internet. Not to mention all the different weeds.
What is easy to grow and maintain in zone 8b ? My soil is rich in clay and compacted.
I am trying to grow three honeysuckles at this time .... time will tell I guess.
If anyone could leed me into a direction, a starting point, I would appreciate it.
zone 8b
Hi hpv, I'm in zone 8b in Louisiana. I don't really have clay soil, but if you dig down a few inches, there it is! Anyway, right off the bat I thought of lantana, which I know will attract butterflies and is a very tough bush. Should be easy to find, too. Hummingbirds like my feeder best, LOL, but firespike, which is blooming right now, is good for luring them. Butterflies and hummers love pentas and Mexican bush sage. I'm sure others will have lots of suggestions. When I come up with more I'll post.
Peggy
Welcome to Zone 8b..
Swallowtails love Zinneas, fennel ,dill and parsley,
Monarchs need Mexican Milkweed
I am growing as many different Salvia's as I can find..They are doing well..
The Lantana's are very popular with the butterflies
I have a journal and 1 section of it is butterfly plants..They are all pretty easy.. I'll send a Hyperlink if you'd like to view it..
Good Luck
http://davesgarden.com/journal/edit/viewbycat.php?cat=40649
For Monarchs, you can't beat Blue Mist Flower (Eupatorium greggii). Native lantana (Camara or Horrida) is a great nectar source for Fritillaries and others. PassionFlower vines are hardy and easy to care for. And for ease of use and the hardiest plant I can think of (which is also well loved by hummers) you can't go wrong with Flame Acanthus.
Carla
Welcome to DG, hpv! You'll love it here. All the info you need, can probably be found here. Someone has done it, or is trying it, or knows it is a waste of time.
Seeing that you just signed up this wk, we need to tell you about our Texas Round Up that is Nov 4 in College Station. I ck'd Mapquest & you are only about 115 miles fr CS, that equates to about 2 hrs of driving.
You will meet Dave & Trish, have a great meal, & great fellowship with all of us that are plant-a-holics.
If you will come down, I will bring you New Gold Lantana & some other plants that are survivors in the different sun we have here in Texas.
Welcome! :~)
Thanks for everybodies replies. I am scheduled to work Nov the 4th, but have requested time off. Hopefully my time request off will be approved. Once again I want to thank you for your time :)
Simona
where would one fine the Zinneas, fennel ,dill and parsley plants and I also went to plant files and there are several different ones which are best?
childofgraceus,
The Zinneas are from seed that I planted in the spring..They bloomed in summer..The butterflies loved them and they reseed year after year..The fennel and dill are also
from seed..I think I found Bronze Fennel and Dill at a seed company that I found on the internet..Google Bronze Fennel seeds.. I'm putting mine in end of October.. This is the first time I've planted them so am certainly no expert..The Italian parsley can usually be found at any of the large stores with Garden Depts such as Walmart, in spring ..
I'm not familiar with files.. Tell me more about them..
Good luck..
I have the 4th of November off work!!!
So I will be there :) I just need the exact address , so I can print me a map.
What time is the round up?
This message was edited Oct 14, 2006 5:35 PM
Here is the thread for the RU at College Station. I bet your questions will be answered here.
Sheila
Isn't kinda late to plant Bronze Fennel from a seed ot any other seed as far as that goes? I have some room left in this small garden and not sure what would be best! any thoughts
Jesse
From what I have read on DG, dill, and fennel do not like our hot summers, so they are planted in late fall and overwinter, doing well until the really hot months.. I havn't planted them before so will have to learn as I go along.
It may or may not be too late for Zinnea seeds..It depends on what kind of winter we have.. I have some coming up now ..We'll see if they have time to bloom or not..
Many seeds, especially wildflowers, are planted in Fall in this part of the country..
Dill and fennel both use a lot of space so they may not be good for you..