A
successful butterfly garden
has plants that meet butterfly's
needs during all four
life stages, the egg,
caterpillar, chrysalis,
and adult. Butterflies
and moths undergo complete
metamorphosis in which
they go through these
four different stages:
- Egg - A butterfly
starts its life as an
egg.
- Larva - The larva
(caterpillar) hatches
from an egg and eats
leaves or flowers almost
constantly. The caterpillar
molts (loses its old
skin) many times as
it grows.
- Pupa - It turns into
a pupa (chrysalis);
this is a resting stage.
- Adult - A beautiful,
flying adult emerges.
There is no growth during
this stage. This adult
will continue the cycle
and reproduce.
You can attract butterflies
to your garden by providing
them with food (plants
and flowers), water, shelter,
and places to lay their
eggs (host plants). Butterflies
drink nectar, so growing
nectar-rich flowers
will attract butterflies
to your garden. Also,
when their eggs hatch,
the caterpillars eat the
foliage of the plant they
were laid on, so growing
the right type of plants
to feed caterpillars is
important, since it will
allow female butterflies
to lay their eggs in your
garden.
There are two different
functions that plants
serve for butterflies:
nectaring plants, plants
that the butterflies will
sip nectar from, and host
plants, species specific
plants that they will
lay their eggs on.
NECTARING
PLANTS
Most butterflies only
eat flower nectar. Different
species of butterfly usually
prefer different flowers,
but they will generally
feed on many types of
flowers from plants, shrubs,
vines, and trees.
HOST
PLANTS
When it comes to laying
their eggs, however, butterflies
only lay them on the plant
that the caterpillar will
eventually eat (this differs
from species to species).
The eggs are frequently
laid on the underside
of leaves.
Caterpillars mostly eat
leaves; usually the leaves
that they were laid on.
Plants will grow foliage
back.
GOOD
PLANTS FOR BUTTERFLIES
Host
Plants
- The first step
is to determine which
species thrive in your
area, then determine what
host plant the butterfly
needs. Many of the host
plants are found in the
wild so don't worry too
much about incorporating
these into your garden
if you can't find them.
The following is a listing
of butterfly families
that live in or visit
Georgia and the host plants
they need:
- Swallowtails
(Family Papilionidae)
- snake root, parsley,
carrots, parsnips, fennel
to name a few
- Whites
and Sulphurs
(Family Pieridae) -
sassia, and the pea
family, wild senna,
mustards to name a few
- Gossamer-wing
Butterflies
(Family Lycaenidae)
- witchazel, sheep sorrel,
curled dock, mistletoe,
wild plum to name a
few
Metalmarks
(Family
Riodinidae) - yellow
thistle
- Brush-footed
Butterflies
(Family Nymphalidae)
- hackberry, passion
vine, violets, purslane,
and sedums to name a
few
- Skippers
(Family Hesperiidae)
- wisteria
For a more complete listing
of butterfly species of
Georgia and further more
extensive detail information
about all the sub-families,
what they eat, and host
plants visit: USGS
'Butterflies of Georgia'
Nectar
Producing Plants
- These plants are much
easier to find. We sell
many species and varieties
of butterfly attracting
plants. We call the best
ones 'butterfly magnets'.
|
Buddleia
(pronounced BUD-lee-ah),
also called 'butterfly
bush', is one of the
most popular selections
for butterfly gardens.
It produces an abundance
of elongated cone-shaped
blossoms whose sweet
nectar attracts many
species of butterflies,
moths, hummingbirds,
and bees. This easy-to-grow
deciduous shrub blooms
from mid to late summer
and is a magnet for
many butterflies.
There are many different
varieties of butterfly
bush available. |
|
'Miss
Huff's Hardy' Lantana
(left) attracts and
feeds more butterflies
than any plant we
know of. Most lantanas
are annuals or tender
perennials at best
but this one has come
back for 17 years
in our front bed at
the nursery. Just
remember not to prune
it during the fall
or winter. Doing so
will ensure death
of the plant. Prune
back in spring just
after new grwoth begins
to emerge. Remove
all dead stems. |
To view
a complete listing of
other hardy plants for
Zone 8 that are attractive
to butterflies visit Perennials
For Butterflies.
Planning
Your Butterfly Garden
Plan your garden so that
there are flowers much
of the year - so that
there is a steady supply
of nectar for the butterflies.
We have provided a few
Free
Butterfly Garden Designs
using some of the most
hardy and attractive 'butterfly
magnets'. Use the plans
as they are or take ideas
from them and design your
own.
If you can find a site
on your property that
provides full sun in one
area and some afternnon
shade in another, the
butterflies will appreciate
this. Butterflies like
to feed in cooler places
during the hottest part
of the day in summer.
Some of the plants in
our Perennials
For Butterflies section
tolerate afternoon shade.
Planting
Your Perennial Butterfly
Garden
There are different
methods for planting
butterfly perennials
in the garden. Visit
Instructions
For Planting Perennials
to find the way we like
to plant them.
Some folks say its
best to till up the
entire garden area,
however, we've found
that this usually brings
lots of buried weeds
seeds to the surface
and also promotes invasiveness
of certain types of
perennials. Of course,
you can till the entire
area if you like. We
prefer not to disturb
all the soil in the
garden. Instead we do
the following:
-
Plot
the perimeter of the
garden out with marker
paint, flour or a
garden hose.
-
Then
spray to kill any
existing weeds or
grass in the area
with Killzall Super
Concentrate (you'll
have to wait a week
or so to make sure
you killed all the
weeds). Respray if
necessary. For tough
to kill grass such
as burmuda you should
use Over-The-Top spray
by Fertilome.
-
While
waiting the week or
so for the weeds to
die use this time
to develop a plan
by investigating what
kinds of butterfly
perennials you
want to see in your
garden. While investigating
make sure to write
down a list of perennials
that you like. Note
height and width so
that you'll know how
to space them in the
garden.
-
Once
all the weeds are
dead cut the dead
growth away with a
lawn mower or weed
eater. Now you are
ready to begin planting.
- Before planting, arrange
the plants you have
selected and purchased
in the garden area placing
taller varieties (48"'
+ height) towards the
back (Center if the
garden will be viewed
from all sides). Place
mid-size plants (18-48'
height) in front or
nestled bewteen taller
ones. (Ouside and around
taller plants in gardens
that will be viewed
from all sides.) Place
lower plants at the
front, or along the
outside edge of the
bed. NOTE:
When setting the plants
out in the bed make
sure to space them properly.
If a plant grows 18
inches wide mark out
a circle on the ground
with an 18" diameter
(orange marker paint
works great for this.)
Set the plant in the
center of the circle.
After placing all of
the plants step back
to take a look.
-
When
you are satisfied
that everything is
in place, remove one
plant at a time from
its container and
plant it. For planting,
dig holes three times
or more as wide as
the container the
plant came in. Mix
in a good soil ammendment
such as Claycutter
or mushroom compost
at a 50/50 ratio with
the soil removed from
the hole. Add a little
Bloom Start flower
fertilzer to the mix.
-
Give
your newly planted
perennials a good
soaking when you have
finished planting
them.
- Mulch the garden with
pinestraw or wood mulch.
We prefer wood mulch
at about an inch deep
or so.
-
Make
sure you check every
day for a period of
two weeks to see if
plants need water.
The base of your perennial
butterfly garden is
now complete. The first
year, you might want
to plant some annuals
here and there in the
garden for extra-added
season-long color.
Maintaining
Your Buttefly Garden
Summer
Care of the Butterfly
Garden - Your
butterfly garden will
need attention throughout
the growing season.
Weed control and provision
for adequate moisture
are two important cultural
necessities.
When rainfall
is less than 1 inch
per week, provide additional
moisture to the plants
that are not drought
tolerant. You will be
happy to find that many
of the perennials in
our Perennials
For Butterflies listing
are extremely drought
tolerant.
The use
of a mulch is an attractive
and effective means
of controlling weeds
and maintaining constant
soil moisture and temperature
for the root systems
of your plants. Mulches
that you might consider
include bark chips or
shredded bark. Mulch
should be applied at
least 2 inches deep.
NOTE:
Perennial
Rock Gardens will
require less maintenance
as most of these types
of plants are extremely
drought tolerant.
Fertilization
- Fertilize
your butterfly plants
about every 6 to 8 weeks
during the growing season
with a good granular
flower food such as
Bloom Start. If you
make
your own compost
you can substitute fertilizer
with it. Discontinue
fertilization in late
summer to allow the
plants to go into dormancy
for the winter.
Pruning
and Deadheading
- You may deadhead (remove
spent or faded flowers)
all season long. Deadheading
encourages the development
of new flowers. In late
fall or early winter,
when your perennials
have died back, you
may remove dead foliage.
WARNING:
Do not prune back Lantanas
in the Fall, doing so
will ensure death of
the plant. Wait until
spring when new growth
begins to emerge to
prune back Lantanas.
At this time prune them
back to just above where
new growth has stopped
emerging.
After
cuting back dead foliage
you may want to winterize
your perennial garden
by applying an inch
or two of loose mulch
over the perennials.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do
not use insecticides in
your garden! They will
kill butterflies and caterpillars.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perennials
For Butterflies
Instructions
For Planting Perennials
Free
Butterfly Garden Designs
For a more complete listing
of butterfly species of
Georgia and further more
extensive detail information
about all the sub-families,
what they eat, and host
plants visit: USGS
Butterflies of Georgia
|