We all love to watch butterflies flitting by, but generally, we are less enthused by their babies. Caterpillars tend to have voracious appetites which tend to aggravate gardeners who don’t appreciate holes in the leaves of prize plants. A way to get around this conundrum is to plant specific wildflowers in one section of the flower garden to attract adult butterflies to lay their eggs there, rather than on the expensive imported cultivars. This is not to say that wild host plants aren’t lovely in their own right.
A favorite butterfly is the Monarch, which loves to sip nectar from milkweed flowers and also to lay its eggs on the leaves. Common Milkweed is a wonderful host not only for the monarch, but also for at least 41 other wildlife species. However, this plant has the unfortunate habit of spreading like crazy. A good alternate choice is the rose-pink Swamp Milkweed, which attracts at least 20 species of wildlife. "Ice Ballet" is a lovely white cultivar.
Bush Clover (Lespedeza capitata) is favored by both the larvae (caterpillars) and the adult Eastern Tailed Blue butterfly. Bush Clover is 2'-5' tall and unbranched with smallish white flowers. It is a good background plant which fixes nitrogen in the soil.
The larvae of the Great Spangled Fritillary (and other species of fritillaries) love violets. The adult butterflies will sip nectar from a wide variety of wild flowers. You might want to consider leaving a patch of violets somewhere as a groundcover.
The Pearly Crescentspot larvae love to nibble on New England Asters, as well as on other asters. The species form, the purple-flowered New England Aster, is a lovely 3' tall plant. A pink-flowering cultivar is "Alma Potschke". If most New England Asters prove to be too large, the cultivar "Purple Dome" is shorter and equal, if not superior, in flower power. After the larvae are done feeding and have metamorphosed into butterflies, the adults will happily sip nectar from the flowers of asters and also milkweeds.
Sunflowers are the plants of choice for the Silvery Checkerspot. Not only do these butterflies and their larvae love the annual sunflowers, but they also live on the perennial varieties of Helianthus. A nice cultivar is ‘"Lemon Yellow" (Helianthus maximilliana). The species Helianthus maximilliana is lovely, but very tall (6'), so it is appropriate for the back of the border.
Other native flowers that are favored by butterflies:
Echinacea—various species and cultivars
Erigeron------various species and cultivars
Eupatorium---various species and cultivars
Euthamia graminifolia—Lance-leaved goldenrod
Liatris---------various species and cultivars
Monarda------various species and cultivars
Solidago------various species and cultivars (non allergenic)
Happy gardening,
Jennifer Porwit
(Just a note: many butterfly hosts are actually trees-- hackberry, oaks, wild cherries and plums, aspens, elms, willows, ashes, and birches.)
Landscaping for Wildlife by Carrol L. Henderson
Gardening for Wildlife by Craig Tufts and Peter Loewer
Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota by Lynn M. Steiner
Previous Garden Sage Columns
April 2010
Eat Your Landscape
March 2010
Belles of the Border
February 2010
Superstar Seeds to Try
December 2009
New Years' Resolutions for Gardeners
November 2009
Just When You Thought You Were All Done
October 2009
Digging & Storing Dahlia Tubers for Winter
September 2009
Gardening for Wildlife
June 2009
Frond of Ferns
May 2009
All American Selections
April 2009
The fine art of borrowing ideas
March 2009
Be Seed Smart
February 2009
Some Like Them Hot
February 2009
Some Like Them Hot
Dec 2008/Jan 2009
Feeding the Birds
November 2008
Winter Damage to Evergreens
October 2008
Putting Your Flower Bed to Bed
September 2008
The Return of the Tulips
July 2008
Oh Dear, Oh Deer
June 2008
DANGER IN THE GARDEN (ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN)
May 2008
Rainwater Gardens
April 2008
Growing Peaches in Minnesota
February 2008
Insects That Might Bug Us This Summer
January 2008
Avoiding Crying After Buying... Wise Mail Order Shopping
December 2007
On Comet! On Cupid! on Donder and Blitzen! On Garden Catalogs
November 2007
Latin is for Lovers ... of Plants
October 2007
Use Those Leaves!
September 2007
The Coneflower Explosion
