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Butterfly host plants bring life to the garden
By Urban Harvest
The words �Butterfly Garden� evoke a certain image � drifts of
color and mounds of blooms with happy butterflies flitting from
flower to flower sipping sweet nectar. We envision
coneflowers,
buddleias,
lantana,
phlox,
pentas, and
cestrum. Butterfly gardens are
lovely, and have become a necessity to support these species in
heavily urbanized areas.
Much attention is paid to providing nectar plants � food for the
adults - and this is a good thing. However, too often we are
forgetting that these jewels of our garden depend on specific
plants to feed their next generation. We need to provide host
plants for the caterpillars.
Providing host plants means that we have to change our mindset a
bit. We will have to increase our tolerance for �damage� and we
can�t run for the sprayer the minute we see �bugs� eating our
plants. We actually want the caterpillars to devour these
plants, grow, pupate, and emerge again as beautiful adults.
Happily, many of these plants are beautiful in our gardens
throughout the rest of the year after the caterpillars have had
their fill. Some may even benefit from this cycle, even though
it seems at the time that nothing could survive the onslaught of
hungry larvae.
We had a row of three
Catalpas several years ago.
Only one served as host to the Catalpa worm � larval form of the
Catalpa sphinx moth. The plant was virtually stripped of leaves
that summer but it came back with a vengeance the following year
and surpassed the untouched trees in size and vigor for several
years afterward. Nature is amazing and resilient.
One of the best known host plants in the area is the
Mexican butterfly weed (Asclepias
curassavica). This member of the milkweed family is
host to the monarch butterfly. This plant should be planted in
drifts of five to seven plants and should be located in several
places in the garden. Serious butterfly garden enthusiasts often
have a second planting growing in reserve just in case the first
crop is decimated before the larvae have reached full size. The
caterpillars can be gently lifted from one plant and moved
another. Once the plants have been eaten down, they can be cut
back by half. They will flush out again, ready for the next
round.
Citrus is host to several
swallowtail butterflies including the giant swallowtail. The
caterpillar is known as the "orange dog." It�s an odd looking
fellow with a threatening behavior when disturbed, but they are
quite harmless. Yes, it will eat a bit of citrus foliage, but
the damage is temporary and not devastating to the plant.
If you have a small yard, or wish to bring nature up close on a
patio, consider the Australian finger lime. This unique citrus
is highly ornamental in a large container and is a favorite of
the giant swallowtail. The foliage is small and airy, the tiny
blooms are fragrant, and it can be pruned to your desired height
and width. The fruit is interesting as well � long, fingerlike
fruits that contain tart, juicy pearls that are known as �citrus
caviar�. They are most often served with fish.
The
caterpillars of the sulphur butterflies caused quite a ruckus at
the nursery last year. They were plentiful and beautiful and we
visited the large cassia shrubs every day just to watch them
grow.
Flowering senna (Cassia corymbosa)
has so much going for it. It has delicate, dark green pea-like
foliage and buttery yellow flowers over a long bloom period.
It�s drought tolerant and has been tolerant of most soil types.
To get the most benefit as a host plant it is best planted in
multiples.
Passionvines (Passiflora) are
host to the Gulf fritillary caterpillars. Passionvines are
available in so many colors � white, blue, lavender, purple,
pink, red. They grow quickly to cover arbors, trellises and
fences. The caterpillars will devour the vines almost to the
roots, but they will flush back out as soon as the larvae leave
to pupate. Not all varieties attract butterflies, but opinions
differ on which are best. We have had reports that the
red-flowered varieties do not serve as host plants for various
reasons, but we have had gardeners report that they have
red-flowered vines covered with larvae. I think we write rules
that nature refuses to read.
The pipevine swallowtail is another butterfly that is easily
provided for in our area. There are a variety of
Dutchman�s pipe vines that grow
very well for us from the diminutive
Fimbriata Dutchman�s pipe (Aristolchia
fimbriata) to the
Giant Dutchman�s pipe (Aristolochia
gigantea). Fimbriata is very versatile. It will grow
in containers and hanging baskets as well as in the ground. It
will grow in filtered or part shade, but has trailed out in full
sun for us and done quite well. Swallowtails seem to prefer
fimbriata over some of the larger varieties.
There are simply too many pairings for us to cover here. A good
reference for selecting host and nectar plants for the
butterflies in your area can be found at
www.naba.org.
Go to Butterfly Gardening, click on Regional Garden Guides, then
click on Houston. You will be linked to a list of nectar and
host plants for the Central Gulf Coast.
This article is provided by Urban Harvest, Inc. To learn
about gardening classes, farmers markets, community gardens and
more go to
www.urbanharvest.org or call
713-880-5540 for more information. The article was written by:
Angela Chandler is a freelance garden writer and speaker. Heidi
Sheesley is the owner of TreeSearch Farms Inc., a wholesale
grower of perennials, natives and unique plants. Contact her at
HeidiInTheGarden@urbanharvest.org.
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