I live in a small town that has a new Super WaMart going up as we speak...um..type. I have a mom and pop perennial nursery so I'm going to add a "Caterpillar Cafe", "Butterfly Buffet"and Hummingbird section(no cute name as of yet) section to hopefuly keep my business afloat once this blight opens it's doors.
I've been studying my caterpillar and butterfly field guides for what's in our area and their food sources. Except for a few,they mostly list what's in the wild and just say "flowers"(mud,dung,rotting fruit,etc) for the butterflies(of course milkweed being the only one Monarch cats uses) so I need to know what's your top ten annuals and top 10 perennials you'd look for in a nursery.
P
Top 10 annuals and perennials
Hi Peggy! I like your cute garden bed names! Especially the "Caterpillar Cafe". I might steal that name from you! lol
I didn't know if you have already seen and checked this website for cat and butterfly plant info. Just click on your county in the upper right-hand corner. Once it shows the list for your county, click on each butterfly by name and it should list their host and nectar plants along with more info about that particular species of butterfly/moth.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?x=191&y=156&_fc=1
My top 10 would be:
#1 - All time butterfly nectar favorite in my yard - Porterweed (Stachytarpheta urticifolia) Most any color flowers! Also a favorite of hummers or so I have been told.
#2 - Lantana (Lantana camara) - Another butterfly nectar favorite in my yard!
#3 - Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta) - Another nectar plant/shrub/small tree! I happen to love this as a small tree! It seems to bloom non-stop in my yard! Very pretty and makes a dappled shade for tender ground plants underneath it.
#4 - Milkweed - Host of course! Gotta have my Monarchs!!!
#5 - Dill/Parsley/Queen Anne's Lace - All are host plants for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
#6 - Passion Flower vine (Passiflora incarnata) - Host plant for the Gulf Fritillary and Zebra Longwing butterflies. Nice vine for covering a fence or trellis! Unusual flowers! Have heard that hummingbirds like them, too!
#7 - Cassia/Senna - I have the Privet Cassia (Senna ligustrina) in a small tree form and also Candle Bush (Cassia Alata) in bush form. The Sulphur butterflies use them as a host plant! Love the yellow butterflies!
#8 - Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) - I have two of these large bushes. One on each side of my backyard. They are evergreen here and have continuous blooms from early winter through Spring. The butterflies, bees, and also hummers love the flowers as a nectar plant.
#9 - Nasturtiums - Love this vine! It is a perennial here in Florida and blooms non-stop! The Great Southern White butterflies use it as a host plant in my yard. And the Sphinx/Hummingbird Moths use it as a nectar plant in the evenings! This has become one of my favorite plants! I grow them in several large pots and just let it trail all over the ground near my back door.
#10 - Salvia - Especially the red flowering varieties! Hummers love them (from what I am told) and I just love the burst of color in my garden beds! Black and Blue Salvia is a winner, too!
Added note, I want to mention a couple more plants that many of the flying critters love, they are: Mexican Flame Vine, Aster (any color), Fuchsia bush (Fucsia surtida), plumbago, Zinnia, and Ruellia.
Great idea for a thread, Peggy! I hope some of these help you to decide what to purchase and/or grow from seeds.
Hi Peggy!
Yeah, nice idea for a thread. Becky named a lot of winners, I will confirm some of hers and add a few I know too. I see you are in Little River County...so as Beck pointed out, lets start here>
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=1643&_dcc=1&si=4
Asters~ Pearl Crescent larval host
Sweet Pea~ Might have to wait til next year they should be started in fall and kept protected from freezes until Spring. The Gray Hairstreak uses Pea family plants and Hibiscus Malvas, among many other things.
Hardy Hibiscus or Swamp Mallow
White and Red Clover~ Gray Hairstreak and a number of whites and sulphur butterflies use this as a larval host.
Milkweed... Asclepias> " incarnata, tuberosa, curassvica for Monarchs, Lots of other butterflies love Milkweed as a nectar plant.
False Indigo~ Southern Dogface use this as a larval host, and may other bf use for nectar.
Passionflower~ Gulf Fritillary larval host.. There are several ones you can try I know for sure they use as a larval host: Passiflora caerulea, Passiflora incarnata, Passiflora incense... (Some Passifloras are not larval hosts.) I only list what I know first hand.
Peggy~ I am mainly focussing on your county and the short list they give on the above link. I am surprised it is so short compared to Tarrant County here where I live. You are not very far from us actually.
Another idea might be to check the lists (on the above site), for your neighboring counties between here and there, and check the possiblilties of luring certain ones to spread closer to Little River. Who knows, you might end up making them have to revise their list.
The more than 10 Becky listed, again, are wonderful plants and flowers to have in your garden. Most are on what I would list for you>
h=host, n=nectar
Zennias~n
Vitex~n
Hibiscus~h&n
Cosmos~n
Nasturtium~h&n
Asclepisa~h&n
False Indigo~h&n
Clover trifolium~h&n
Passionflower Vine~h
Pipevine, Aristolochia tomentosa, fimbriata, macrophylla, trilobata~h
Keep watching your garden and let us know what comes through, & try to get as many pictures as you can. We can go from there. The above referenced site has a species search and photo gallery from the menu on the left side too.
Can't wait to see what you get!!
:-Deb
Pic: One of many Gulf Fritillary chrysalids hanging from the lattice in back where the Passionvines are>
Verbena bonarienses is a mid-summer BF favorite in our BF garden.
Old fashioned Zinnias (some have more nectar than others) late summer favorite.
Tithonia
Lots of goodies in the above lists.
Good luck on fighting off Wal-mart . . . personally, I would opt to go to your nursery than them anytime, but not everyone feels that way!
Keep us posted, please.
Not sure if you know this site, but it lists butterflies in your area, and I've found it very useful.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?_fc=1&x=200&y=151
Good luck with your business! You are smart to prepare. Keep us posted!
One that I thought of is the Pipevine...Aristolochia elegans...for the Polydamas Swallowtail and A. gigantea (I just bought this one) for the Pipevine SWT. There's a lot of A. species out there, Deb listed some.
My motto is....you plant it, they will come!
I had never seen a Polydamas SWT until I planted the Pipevine elegans.
What a fabulous site - thanks for sharing!
Unfortunatly Polydamas hasn't been recorded in Peggy's county. If you look at the list in Little River you will see what I mean. It would be a long shot at best. :-(( Even here I will have to wait and see. Only my county for hundreds of miles.. I'm in Tarrant Co. That little dot there toward the northeast part of TX.
Roxanne, your so lucky to get them..that is so awesome! I have my 2 little A. elegans, and we will see what happens.
Peggy's county is right at the top right corner of TX in AK. You'd think it would be a path of some sort for all sorts of butterflies. Now that some host plants may be distributed there the numbers could broaden.
If it were me opening up a host section in a nursery, I would select the most certain of all first. Then as it went I could add more by seeing the actual visitors that fly through the town. The sure fire things will help newbies gain their confidence and patience. Many of the larval hosts might be found among the Native Arkansas Plants too. That is another thing Walmart sorely provides, and if so it's by accident, lol.
Here's something that chaps me a bit: The elementary school teachers order chrysalids to show the kids how the butterflies emerge from them. That sounds neat, except they leave off the most important thing about a butterfly's life....it's host plant as a caterpillar!! When I asked a first grade teacher at my son's school which larval host the Painted Lady used, she had no idea. This is evidently what schools have been doing for years. Unless the children know the whole process they haven't really learned it at all.
That will change now that I know... I am going to make a picture presentation the teachers can use when they teach about butterflies.
I think it's a wonderful idea to have this kind of section in a nursery. I've suggested it to several around here, ho hum.. no avail!
I said all this to say, Peggy, you might just have a great success. This is one area Walmart will not be any competition on. The nurseries that carry native plants and larval hosts get a lot of my business. I think a lot of people will be interrested. Best blessings on you and the nursery!
:-Deb
I've visited several websites and have books but I like having real people with real gardens with real experience to finalize my list. I'm at present trying to grow pipevine. Not sure which as it was sent in a trade as a bonus. Also have spicebush growing from seed that are about 3 yrs. old and not a huge supply as of yet. Prairie Moon Nursery has a lot of native seeds I need so I'll be purchasing seed for fall sewing.
There a brazillon native passion vines growing in my pasture,I'll collect seeds and start some of those. I've had verbena bonariensis in the nursery since day one and it always sells well.
Keep them coming...I'm making a list.
Worst comes to worst I can always go to mail order butterfly and caterpillar plants.
P
I didn't see fennel on the list yet, and I had a lot of little cats (BST, I think) on my bronze fennel last year. It's a showy plant, too, with a wonderful fragrance... the kids in the neighborhood liked to nibble the leaves too ("They taste exactly like black jelly beans!").
Hmmm, a cute name for the Hummingbird section... Hummingbird Haven? Hummingbird Hall? There's a chain around here called "Hamburget Hamlet," but I don't think that connotation would carry over for "Hummingbird Hamlet." DH just came up with "Hummingbird Hoffbrau" -- for German Hummingbirds!?! LOL
DH is on a roll, sort of...
"Hummingbird Helper" Hmmm, would this be for hummingbirds, or for cats (the feline kind)... sing it with us, "Hummingbird Helper helps your Hummingbird -- make -- a great meal!"
"Hummingbird Hors d'oeuvres" Hmm, again that smacks of snacking upon hummers rather than snacking by hummers!
Criterrama!! You're always so dang funny!! ROFL! And Peggy, German Hummers! LOLMBO!
Yes Fennel is another goodie. I have a bronze putting out new shoots every other day now. I kept it all winter in the bathroom, and planted it in the host beds beside the large Parsley.
Queen Anne's Lace is another lovely BST larval host. It grows on the roadsides here in Texas, and probably up toward Arkansas too. Look for the ones with the distinctive dark red bloom in the middle of the lace.
Deb
I wondered if you had considered mail order - I would think it's a lot of work, but might be worth it . . . I know many of us would buy from you in a heartbeat!
Critter - Tell your dh - THANKS for some very funny garden bed names!!! ROFL!!! I am growing Bronze Fennel for the first time this year. I forgot to mention that plant. Thanks for adding it to the Top 10 list of plants!
Deb - Love those GF! :-) The ADHD butterflies of the insect world! lol
Peggy,
All great suggestions and I'm sure you will find increased sales.BUT your up against the mom and pop killer and I'm sure there's no arguing that.What you need is an attraction ,a visual sales aid.You need a large cheap walk-in Cat house with a locked door and plenty of shelves so folks can see the host plants being eatten and the chrysalis hanging and butterflies being releashed and the cash register ringing. Then maybe depending on the size of your staff maybe you can offer installing butterfly/hummingbird gardens or hook-up with one of your landscaper customers to do the installs.
Just a thought Don
P, you do have some stiff competiton with the box stores...but I would much rather shop at a nursery and pay a little more than those 'other' places. I think there are many other gardeners like me out there. A gf and I went to The Arbor Gate in Tx and it was packed with people! They had an unbelievable selection of plants that you can't find hardly anywhere, especially WM. They were healthy and well taken care of.
Here's some things I bought, besides the A. gigantea....Tagetes lucida, Coral Porterweed, Ne'we Ya'ar Sage, Jacobian carnea 'Thelma's Pink', and Echinacea tennesseeinsis, Comfrey, and Valerian.
Sorry, I didn't realize the Polydamas SWT didn't get to your area, it was just me ramblin. I get excited when I find plants and don't have to order online...they're usually little and the shipping is outrageous!
beckygardener - I read in your post from yesterday that nasturtiums are perennial in your area of FL. I cannot manage to grow them here in south GA. - You said they are in pots - full sun? What kind of dirt, and, for that matter - what kind of nasturtiums? I love them, but have had zero success! I soak them, and they germinate fine, and grow for a bit, but then just stop, and die. What am I doing wrong? I've read that they will just grow leaves w/ few or no flowers in rich soil, so I just put some dirt in my planter, and watered them. I'd appreciate any help you could give me! Thanks! Samantha
Hi Samantha! I will try to remember from a year ago .......
I did use compost and good potting soil. They are in 5 gallon decor plastic pots with good drainage. I grow mine in shade except for morning sun of about 2 hours. I have had great success with the "Jewel Mix" of seeds that I just bought at Wally World last year. I did try to grow some other variety and have not had any success with them as of yet. I fertilize with Osmocote and water maybe once a week. (They don't like a lot of water when growing in the shade.) I didn't do any soaking or pre-germination. I just lightly buried them in the potting soil. Watered them every day until they sprouted. Not too much water, just to dampen the soil. I don't remember how long it took them to germinate, but I believe it was fairly quick like a week or two. I planted about 10 seeds in each container. Most sprouted and grew quite nicely. And the 3 pots of Nasturtiums have been growing so much that I have had to cut the vines back twice in the past year. They bloom constantly even in the shade. I don't know what the secret is. But I do think that morning sun, and then bright shade the rest of the day is what is working for me. I had them in full sun and they didn't look too good, so I moved them to the shade location and found success. Being in the shade, the leaves stay a nice green instead of the faded green/yellow they were in full sun. I think that the Florida heat was just too much for them to be in full sun all day.
One thing...... they do NOT like to be transplanted. I tried digging up and moving a couple plants and they died. So I don't think I would pre-germinate them. Just plant the seeds in the ground or a container where you plan to keep them. I may add some compost to the top of the soil this year, but other than that I don't plan to mess with them at all. Just ignore them once they start growing! They seem to like that best of all! (MY kinda plant!) LOL Good Luck!
This is how mine look a year later after being pruned back to the ground just below the container. They were out from the container about 3 feet. But they were getting trampled on!
Stephanie - If you would like some seeds from mine, d-mail me.
This message was edited Apr 22, 2007 10:54 PM
In the past I haven't had much luck with Nasturtiums either Samantha. Perseverence must be the key, because I sowed some in the gh around Feb1(Empress of India, darker foliage red-orange blooms), and then direct sowed a different kind, (Jewel Mix) about March 1. Both came up good this year.
The Empress of India bloomed first (pic), soon on the Jewels.
:-Deb
Sorry, I know this is off-topic, but that "advice" about not growing nasturtiums in rich soil seems to pop up frequently... If you add far too much high-nitrogen fertilizer, you might get lots of leaves and no blooms, but nasturtiums do just fine in regular potting mix. The peat or coir or bark based soil-less mixes have excellent drainage that you just don't get by putting regular dirt in your container, and I'm guessing poor drainage/aeration is why Samantha's nasturtiums didn't thrive.
I liked Don's idea of a cat/butterfly house, but I think you could also stir up some interest with a smaller-scale demo... A walk-in exhibit would be fabulous, but a little display of cats being raised in an enclosure such as a fish tank would let folks get an up-close look also.
Peggy, just watch the box store and sell what most can't....service. And sell plants they don't carry. We have a mom and pop nursery here that is hands down the place to buy plants. They 'teach' their customers about the plants they carry, give handouts and planting, dividing guides.
Must add, (bc Beck and I were typing at the same time) that this year I also did a lot of what Becky detailed. They are particular in the germination period, fertile loose soil like she said.. The ones I started Feb1 I used some bottom watering seed starter things from Walgreens. When you transplant you can cut them away without disurbing the roots at all!
)
Great advice on the Nasts critter!!
I like Don's idea too!
This message was edited Apr 22, 2007 10:19 PM
Don,
That "cat house" might be just the deal. My hub's will love you gave me that idea for him to build...LOL. Shouldn't take much in the way of materials.
I work my nursery alone because no.1 this town is notoriuos for not supporting it's small business people and no.2 I'm about 5 miles outside the city limits. A walk-in cat house might just be what would bring them out. I have a little shop that has a wrap around porch on 3 sides. I probably could build in part of the porch for the cat house or use one wall to build a big cage(s)on.
I always stop what I'm doing ,walk around the nursery with my customers and talk to them about the plants or what they're looking for. If I don't have it,I direct them to where I think they might find what they're looking for but not to the super stores. I will also do research on plants for customers and give/mail them the info...free of charge.
Critter,
I'm considering,
Hummingbird Haven or Heaven.
My best nasturtiums grew from seeds that didn't germinate in the pot and got dumped onto the compost pile. The whole top of the compost pile was covered with beautiful nasturtiums so that kinds flies in the face of the theroy,they don't like rich soil.
P
What a shame your town doesn't support the small business owner - do you have any idea why? Sure wish you were close to me - I'd be lovin' every minute I spent in your nursery!!!
WOW! Thanks everyone for all the advice/inspiration about nasturtiums - I am prepared to try again! I'll let you know how they do! I'm planting some Tutti Frutti Mixed & some Dwarf Cherry Rose today, in my best flower bed, and will put new potting mix in my (old) baby-bathtub planter & try there as well! I will learn how to download pics from my digital cam so I can show off my (anticipated) success! samantha
Peggy, Here are a couple old threads with cat cage construction that might help your DH build it. A big thing is to make it airy and easy to clean. The fabric mesh seems to work good, because it is bleachable and fairly see-through. The door would ideally be where it is easy to replace the host plants too. Make sure there are no nooks or crannies, they can crawl, get trapped and injured. One more thing is they will usually crawl to the top to form their chrysalis so it's good to see that area is as undisturbed as possible durring cage maintenance... You can read a lot more essentials in the following threads:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/643281/
Murmur,
Rumor has it,if your not a desendant of orginal settlers of Ashdown,your sunk...other rumor is,we have a small town "mafia" that has to give new business their approval and I know all the supposedly "goodfellows"and I find that rumor to be ridiculous.
Who knows,you'd think they'd be happy for more new businesses.
P
I guess people are strange the world over, and politics exist absolutely everywhere!!! I am soooooooooooo wishing you good luck - let us know if you decide to go mail order, too.
Ya do what ya gotta do to get the plants you want and need for your butterfly garden. I have done a lot more mail order and seed starts than previously because of the lack of availability of many host plants for sale here locally. :-/
I had 3 ladies in yesterday looking for plants for butterfly and birds. They left out with a truckfull. It's these kind of gardeners that hopefully will spread the word.
P
Now you're talkin' Peggy Congrats-amatic!!
Deb
I just ordered a bunch of seeds from Prairie Moon
Spirea tomentosa...mainly because I've always wanted this one
Glycyrrhiza lepidota
Ceanothus americanus
Rudbeckia triloba Red Spot...pretty picture
asclepias incarnata
amorpha nana
amorpha canescens
Already have some leadplants growing but I'm not sure which ones they are since I got them in trade and only label "leadplant".
Still have others on the list as well as trees and bushes for caterpillar cafe.
P
Fabulous - positive things are happening!
Here's hoping
Peggy, Are your 'Leadplants" Amorphas by any chance? I have the fruiticosa.... there is a Amorpha canescens they call leadplant.. Here's what it looks like:
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/amca6.htm
I sent a package out to you yesterday...expect it today or tomorrow. Let me know when ya get it. :-)
Deb
Deb,
yes,amorpha. I'm pretty sure it's a.canescens.
Thanks for the seeds.
P
Peggy,
When or if your spicebush gets ready to sell please do let me know.I'd like to be a mail-order customer.
Don
Don,
They've already reached a nice size. I can't wait to see cats on this plant and my paw paws.
P
Definatly 2 I want to see as well Peggy! How many Linderas do you have?
Deb