I'm in the process of planting plants and shrubs that will, hopefully, attract hummers and butterflies.
I see many different species of butterflies on a daily basis in my yard, but have never seen them actually land on anything.
The newest addition to my landscape is a fairly good-sized Hamelia patens 'Compacta' or Dwarf Butterfly Bush...and it is in bloom.
No takers yet and its been over a week.
Is it normal for it to take them this long to spot a plant?
They also show no interest in the milkweed or ruellia.
There is a birdbath and 2 medium-sized fountains in that area of the yard as well.
What else can I possibly do to entice these lovely creatures?
Bring on the Flutterbys & hummers!
Just give it a little time. Once they find you have a feast for them they'll come.
Do you have any Porterweed? I'm finding that is my most popular plant lately.
Terrie
No Porterweed....yet...have off from work on Friday.
I will go in search then! :)
Thanks
I am going to have to get some porterweed also. And I feel your pain Lellie. By the way that is what my nephew used to call me when he was little, Lellie, and it stuck. I love it. I don't get to see him anymore and I really miss hearing that lellie all the time. Anyways, I have finally got a plant of Joe Pye Weed that is alive and thriving but I planted it too late to bloom this year. Hopefully it will come back. I have five butterfly bushes, Lantana, milkweed, coneflowers, passion vine, and I still have butterflies flying around and not landing on anything. Also when I release the ones I have raised they never stop at any of my plants, they go off immediately out of the yard. I am having great luck with my hummers though. They were feeder eaters all summer and finally are taking part in my plants. I bought one plant I did not know what the heck it was, it was one tall stem and had blueish flowers poking up at the top. Royal candles or something like that. The hummer loves that thing. Everytime I go out he is on it just pigging out. Also my firebush he likes a lot but it is not very big. And then he goes to several salvia for a minute or two but always goes back to the blue plant. He also takes part in the milkweed flowers. So I am at least getting to enjoy him if the butterflies are not going to take me up on my flowers. I know I need patience and next year hopefully all the plants will be much bigger and it will be a different story but I sure do wish I could get them to enjoy my flowers I planted for them. Oh and I planted two lantana bushes in the front yard about two weeks ago and I get butterflies on them all the time. I don't know why I cannot get the little guys to head to the back yard. Oh well, again I feel your pain Lellie but keep your chin up, that is what I am having to do. I am sure both our efforts will pay off eventually.
Leslie
So...your 'given' name is actually 'Leslie'?
Toooooooo funny!
So's mine! :)
Sorry your critters don't hang in your yard either.
Oh well...at least we get to enjoy them during their fly-bys...LOL
How funny is that Lellie. Yup may given name is Leslie but I guess that is a little hard to say for a 2 year old so I will always be a Lellie also. You brought back a lot of memories.
I am enjoying the flybys I just wish there were more of them. If not for my hummer I would be totall without action in my garden, except for the mysterious Monarch who keeps laying eggs and I never see her. LOL.
Leslie
Plant passion vine! Zebra longwings and Gulf Fritts will find them and lay eggs. Then you will have both. Also the adult males will hover around the vines looking for virgin butterflies to mate with. (no, I'm not joking, I read up on it and they really do) When I lived in S. FL the butterflies wouldn't lay on the red passion vine, they wanted the little native corky stemmed one. Red is the only one I have ever seen them ignore, I know they like the purple. Here in S. GA they are all over my pink Lady Margaret.
Porterweed always gets attention, and it comes in several colors. So does Vitex (chaste tree) Candlestick cassia will get Sulphurs, that's a larval food for them. Pentas are great. Lantana. (I picked the one that the butterflies were on at the garden center)Buddlia makes them happy, too. Lately both the butterflies and hummers are even paying attention to my mexican petunias- I need to move them into their own area next year because they are such garden thugs but dont have the heart to whack them right now.
Firespike is great for hummers. They die down in winter but are in their glory during the hottest days of summer.
For late summer/fall the red shrimp plant is a favorite for hummers and sulphur butterflies.
Hope this helps! -Erin
Plantnut, I just planted a chaste tree recently after seeing them all around town and loving them and then finding out they are butterfly friendly. I am also going to try the cassia next year for the sulphurs. It will not overwinter here though so I may have trouble with that one. I have the Mexican petunias also both the tall and short kind. Have not seen any butterfly action on those yet. But honestly I have not seen a lot of butterfly action at all in the yard, I just get to see the results of them being there. I have raised Gulf Frit cats found on my passion vines and am now in the process of raising Monarch cats from my milkweed. So I guess I don't have to see the BF's to experience them but would still love to see them more in my yard. I am getting a lot of hummer action though and that is always fun.
Leslie
Leslie
the candlestick cassia grows pretty quickly from seed, you could grow it as an annual and still get plenty of action in the spring & summer. The seeds stay viable for a shocking length of time- the ones I planted a month or two ago were 8 years old at least! The little plants that came up from my ancient seeds are a couple of feet tall, haven't bloomed yet, but already have sulphurs laying on them.
I was pretty surprised that the petunias got any attention. I don't think they are a first pick but they are getting noticed. Could be the quantity, it was so hot and dry this year that I got lazy and let the petunias be the bullies that they naturally are!
My salvia don't get much butterfly attention but the hummers love them, especially in the AM. They even get on my blackeyed susan vine (the peach one, not the yellow) in the very late afternoon.
from what I have seen the butterflies choose flowers that are "ready" for them, ie they will ignore a flower that isn't quite nectar-y enough one day and go for the same flower a week later. I haven't gone as far yet as some butterfly experts, I know that rotting fruit is a favorite, too. Also a very shallow dish of water or sand with water so that they can get a drink.
Maybe none of my plants are nectar ready yet. I do see the little BF's fluttering around the yard sometimes but have yet to see them land on anything. Just the hummers. Thanks for the info on the cassias. I have the seed and I am going to try it.
Leslie