I am setting up an area in my backyard to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. What are some easy, readily available plants that I can start out with? I can't spend a ton, but I am guessing maybe there are some plants that I can find at Lowe's or a local nursery.
Thanks for your help. Jennifer
New to Butterfly / Hummingbird gardening and need some help
Hi Jennifer,
Fennel is the host plant for black swallowtails, and is sure to bring them around. It is fairly easy to grow from seed, and pretty fast growing. You should also be able to get the plants at the nursery. Any type of citrus can be used as the host plant by giant swallowtails, and if you have a citrus tree in your yard, they will find it. Asclepius curvassica is the host plant for Monarchs--they are more migratory, but we get them in the late summer down in Laplace. Just about any type of passion vine will bring the gulf fritillaries around. And any type of pipevine should attract the pipevine swallowtails.
The best nectar plants for the butterflies are lantana, porterweed, pentas, asclepius, zennias, and verbenas. The hummers like cypress vine, honeysuckle, mimosa trees, and salvias (feeders work pretty good too).
It is kinda late to start seeds, but I have several of the above if you want some. Just D-mail me your address.
Good luck!
Mark
Great advice! also add Butterfly bush to that....also Monarda ( bee balm ) great for butterflys and hummers...Black Eye Susan as well....In my mothers garden, the Lantana gets hit on more than anything else.....Oh and Cone Flowers as well....
TJB
P.S. parsley and dill are great host plants also
Great! I have some lantana, salvia, pentas, verbena, and honeysuckle. I will add the others to th elist.
Thank you for your kind offer of the seeds, but I am going to buy plants that are already established instead. Thanks Mark : )
Thanks TJB also for your help. Jennifer
Very good advice for the beginner. Thanks. Does anyone know if Monarchs will visit asclepias fascicularis (sp?) also? I started with one new plant about three years ago; now I have about ten of them. They are around the other side of the yard from the patio so I don't see if they attract any butterflies at all!!
Thanks again,
Chuck
One of the things I did this year was edge my regular flower beds with parsley, instead of with something like alyssum, or other small annual flower. I've learned you can never have too much parsley if you want butterflies, and it makes a great edging plant.
Oh wow, I had no idea!
Bordersandjacks,
That is a great idea! I have one large parsley plant that wintered over in my front walkway, and didn't know where to put all the others. Next year, I am going to line the outside of the walkway - that also helps with the lawn mover guys, who aren't careful about cutting any plants that lean over. I won't feel as badly if the parsley is snipped.
Once those cats start hatching, they just eat and eat. They can eat a fennel, dill, or parsley plant to the ground in a day if there are enough of them. The more host plants you have, the higher your success rate will be in raising them. As Borders has edged with parsley, I've tucked in fennel and dill between my black-eyed susans and cone flowers. It looks pretty to see that feathery and fern-like foliage and doesn't deprive the flowers of sunlight as it grows. I have a volunteer carrot from the compost that is just about to bloom. So far no swallowtail eggs, but it's there if they need it. Good luck jlp, butterflies bring such life to a garden.
What a fantastic Idea about the Parsly as an edger! and the Fennel as well! I have a large amount of both that I grew from seeds.....I was wondering where I was going to put all of them....lol I am really stoked about putting the Fennel in with the coneflowers.....Thanks!
If you go for Fennel (just found out that is what I am growing) make sure you have lots of room for it. Mine is just short of 6'
Hey, how long does it take for butterflies to find host plants to lay eggs? I'm not seeing any on my plants. I mentioned this in the herb forum (dill) and someone suggested predators, but I haven't seen any praying mantis either. Last year I only saw monarchs on the butterfly weed.
I am not sure as to how long before it happens, but I had swallowtails Caterpillars on my Dill and Parsley....quite a few as a matter of fact. I put in a lot more this year as well as a whole host of other host plants.....
have they frequented your place before this year? I wonder if more plants need to be blooming. Lots of things are just getting ready.
Irishsoul, I see you have a BST chrysalis on the left side of that huge fennel plant. Good job!
Last year We had skads of SwallowTails, but only a few Host plants. This is the first year of serious planning, ergo becoming a member of this fine community. B....U....T.... I here stories of SwalloTails being seen here and there in Illinois, and have had only 1 so far and she was on my privet hedge. A few Cabbages and one intsy bisty lavender butterfly yesterday. I am sure things will just explode in July though....
Well here's hoping. I'd just be happy to have them use my nectar plants so I can get some pictures. I'm not raising them yet, maybe next year.
Ya....baby steps. Do you have a Butterfly bush? The one I saw tiger SwallowTails hitting on last year was the BlackNight....and again....Lantana is a fantastic attractant....There are so many. I looked up the Butterflies that actually occur in our state and started from there. I thought there was no use putting in a plant that predominantly attracts a Butterfly that is only a native of California...lol
No, I dont' have a Butterfly bush. I have a bunch of other stuff though. I have always had a lantana plant. For some reason I forgot to put one in this year. Never too late though!!
The Butterfly bush is a staple....as far as I know they all go crazy over this. And you may want to search about the Mixture of fermented and rotten fruits that the people on this site make.....I here it draws them in.....I will be doing that as well this year.
here is a link to the site for Illinois Butterflies
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/hp/Desktop/illinois-butterflies.shtml
There are about 50 on the plant. We have Black Swallowtails everywhere in the yard. Also, Cassia Plant is providing homes for the very large Yellow butterfly (name escapes me at the moment) The yellow blooms in the fall are so beautiful.
Hello! I am also new to this forum. I have seen blues, cabbages whites,Tiger Swallowtails and Golden Swallowtails. I have never seen any Monarchs. I live in the Sierra Foothills in northern California. The winters bring snow, and the summers are hot, but fortunately not as hot as the valley regions in Sacramento. This year I have planted a lot of Asclepious tuberosa 'Gay Butterflies', and 3 Buddleia. I have an existing orange Asclepius just coming into bloom, but I have cut it back slightly for it to bloom later.
I have a question. Will fennel cross-pollinate with dill? I don't think that parsley is a close enough relative. Also, I will have a "bumper crop" of yarrow, as they got transplanted from inside the "Peach of a Garden" to the edges, and I will probably be pulling more out of the main garden. I had 2 varieties, but the "peach" Achillea millifolium was everywhere. The was another one with gray foliage, I think A. 'Terra Cotta', but there were only a few. The other one was rather invasive, but at the time, it didn't matter, as there weren't many plant in there. The deer ate them to the ground every year, but this year I have sprayed with deer repellant. Will that deter the butterflies as well?
It has been 4 years since I have been unabled to garden - knee replacement, and 3 shoulder surgeries, so I have gone "all out" to clean out the weed patches that used to be gardens, so I am behind already as the spring was cold, then very hot, and now summer is here. For the last 3 weeks our weather was warm-springlike, so I ordered a lot of plants and seeds as well. Now it is hot so I water, water, water.
So for my 2 questions, as reading through all of that might have been a bit boring - will dill and fennel cross-pollinate, and will the deer repellant repel the butterfiles? I have seen a few butterflies, but I haven't seen them on the flowers.
Thanks!
Evelyn
I'm not sure about the cross polinate. But, to have Monarchs, you really need Milkweed. I only have 4 plants and they haven't eaten them down to numbs yet. They really get to eating about September on their way back south. I saw 2 Monarchs yesterday laying eggs on the Milkweed, so we should have more soon.
I've had lots of dill and fennel over the years and am not aware of it cross-polinating, but I'm no expert. My butterfly population can be counted on one hand this year. They fly over, but I guess there's not enough in our new garden to stay around for. Monarchs, I've seen none, even though we have plenty of milkweed around. Since this is the first time I've lived in this area, I'm not sure they come this far inland.
For two days in a row I have seen (from inside the house) a monarch at my flowers. At least I think it is a monarch, could be a viceroy. By the time I get outside it is gone. These are my first sightings too!!