Butterfly Lady

I’m often asked, “How do I start a butterfly garden?” and, “How can I get butterflies to come to my garden?” or, “I have lots of flowers, but why do I never see any butterflies?”

Attracting butterflies to your garden is actually quite easy. Below are ten principles to consider as you begin to plan your butterfly garden.

1. Don’t use pesticides! Yes, that means you are going to have bugs. If you don’t want bugs, then you don’t want butterflies. After all, a butterfly is a bug. Pesticides are the number-one killer of not only butterflies but also bees, moths, and other pollinators. Learn to live with the insects. Every insect serves a purpose and is part of the habitat you’re trying to create for the butterflies.

2. Plant your garden in a sunny location. It sounds simple but you would be surprised how many butterfly gardens I see that have been planted in the shade. While it is certainly OK to have some of the garden in shade or to have shade during part of the day, you will have more success if the majority of the plants are in the sun. Remember, butterflies need the warmth of the sun to be able to fly. Also, flowers need the warm sun to produce nectar.

3. Plant host plants! Host plants are those plants butterflies lay their eggs on. If you do not have host plants in your garden, butterflies may come to visit the flowers for nectar, but then they will leave. Female butterflies have hundreds of eggs to lay. If you have lots of host plants, you will have lots of butterflies. Yes, the plant will get eaten and look awful and scraggly once eaten by a caterpillar. An amazing thing happens though when you trim that plant. It grows back! And this time the plant is even bigger and bushier. (More places for the butterfly to lay eggs and more food for caterpillars.)

The most important host plant you can have in your garden is of course milkweed!

You cannot have a butterfly without the caterpillar and you cannot have the caterpillar without that host plant. So plant lots of host plants. You can never have too, many.

4. Plant nectar plants. You need to realize that not all flowers provide nectar for butterflies. While roses are quite beautiful, they do not provide nectar for butterflies. Also, many of the beautiful colorful flowers you find at the plant shops are just that, pretty. They have been cultivated to have lots of colorful blooms and in so doing have lost their ability to provide tasty nectar through the hybridization process.

A great way to determine in the plant nursery as to whether a particular bloom will have sweet nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds is to observe whether bees are visiting the plant to extract nectar. If so, you have a winner.

Annuals not only bring color and excitement to summer gardens but provide lots more pollen and nectar sources to attract many butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees to your garden.

5. Cluster the same species of plants together in groups of three or more to make it easier for the butterflies to find the plants. If you plant just one milkweed plant among other plants the butterfly might never find it. Remember that butterflies use visual clues, colors, and shapes, then smell clues to find the flowers they want to nectar on. Also, planting in clusters of 3, 5, 7, 9… makes the garden more aesthetically pleasing.

6. Plant a variety of flowers with different heights, colors, and blooming seasons. Pollinators vary in their preference for flower shape (bowl-shaped, flat-topped, tubular, etc.) and color, so include a variety of both in your landscape.

7. Provide a wet area for the butterflies. Many species of male butterflies need to feed on salts and minerals in order to reproduce. They absorb these nutrients from damp sand, dirt, and mulch.

8. Add a fruit feeder to your butterfly garden. Rotten fruit can help attract butterflies. Many butterflies do not live on flower nectar alone. Some species prefer, even require, overripe fruit to feed on. Butterflies are particularly fond of sliced, rotting oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, and bananas. For ideas on how to add a fruit feeder to your garden, click here: http://butterfly-lady.com/butterflies-and-fruit/

9. Weeds are good. Many species of butterflies feed on various grasses, clover, dandelions, and other so-called “weeds.” A chemical-lawn monoculture is not good if you want more butterflies. If you can’t get rid of the crabgrass and Bermuda grass that take over your garden, you can tell folks that you left them there for the butterflies! You can also leave a section of your yard unmowed. This is especially important in the early spring since “weeds” are some of the only flowers that are in bloom.

10. Learn about the different species of butterflies in your area. This will help you identify the visitors to your garden. There are many different websites and books that can help you.

Please note, you may have seen wooden butterfly houses placed inside butterfly gardens. They DO NOT attract butterflies, only wasps, and spiders. They are colorful, though, and can be used as garden art, if you desire.

 

Monarch butterflies not only need milkweed to lay their eggs, but they also need nectar-rich plants. Adult monarchs are dependent on nectar plants as a food source during spring and summer breeding, fall migrations, and during overwintering to fuel up and to survive.

The Xerces Society, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation and Monarch Joint Venture, developed regional monarch-specific nectar plant guides for the continental US. The plant species included in these nectar plant guides are based on monarch nectaring observations compiled from numerous sources, including published and technical reports, research datasets, and personal communications with monarch researchers, botanists, and other experts.

For gardeners who like easy-care plants, native wildflowers can be the foundation of the garden. They’re easy to grow, never weedy, and they attract and nourish wildlife, including birds, bees, beneficial insects, and butterflies.

Whether you like to start flowers from seed or transplants, these easy-growing wildflowers won’t require spraying for pests and diseases or copious amounts of chemical fertilizers to light up your landscape. Plus, they generally are quite tolerant of poor soils and dry conditions, which means you won’t need to amend the soil or be too compulsive about your watering duties.

1. Native wildflowers are extremely easy to grow. They create easy, low-maintenance color in almost any sunny spot, needing little water once established.
2. Native wildflowers help our pollinators. Native wildflowers are integral to pollinators’ survival. Planting a wildflower meadow gives bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds a nectar buffet to feed on all season long.
3. Native wildflowers are good for the environment. Native plants help reduce air pollution sequester or remove, carbon from the air.
4. Native wildflowers do not require fertilizers and require fewer pesticides than lawns. Pesticides are the number one killer of not only butterflies, but also bees, and moths and other pollinators.
5. Native wildflowers require less water and help prevent erosion.
   The deep root systems of many native plants increase the soil’s capacity to store water. Native plants can significantly reduce water runoff and, consequently, flooding.
6. Native wildflowers provide spectacular color and beauty. There’s nothing more awe-inspiring than a wildflower garden or meadow bursting in bloom.
7. Wildflowers are fun. Whether you’re a new gardener or a seasoned pro, growing, caring for, and cutting wildflowers for summer bouquets is a lot of fun.

   

Here are some of my favorite native wildflowers for butterfly gardens.

Here are resources to help you learn more about native wildflowers by state and region.

U.S. Forest Service: Gardening for Pollinators
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/gardening.shtml

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center: Plant Lists and Collections
https://www.wildflower.org/collections/

Here are books about using native plants to attract butterflies:

 

There is nothing more exciting than finding a field full of native Milkweed plants. Even more exhilarating is when you discover Monarch butterfly eggs on the leaves of those plants!

Monarchs will leave a trail of eggs as they travel north. The first generation departing overwintering sites in central Mexico only migrates as far north as Texas and Oklahoma. The second, third, and fourth generations return to their northern breeding locations in the United States and Canada as spring progresses.

Female Monarchs find milkweed on their journey north through a combination of visual and chemical cues. When they land on a plant that might be Milkweed, they drum their forelegs on the surface to release chemicals. Then, sensors on their legs and antennae called chemoreceptors to identify if it’s Milkweed and the quality of the plant.

Spring migratory routes are considerably more difficult to identify and study than fall routes because in the spring Monarchs are dispersed and consequently less noticeable than the fall migrants, which form roosts. Scientists are still learning about the Monarchs’ spring migration thanks to the help of citizen scientists from every US state and seven Canadian provinces. They report their first sightings of Monarch butterflies every spring. Through these reports, we can learn about when and where Monarchs travel as they migrate north in the spring.

High-quality habitat with abundant milkweed is critical for monarchs at this stage of their annual cycle.  Plan and plant your pollinator garden today!

Recently, I saw a post on Facebook about how to winter sow milkweed seeds using milk jugs.

Native milkweed seeds and many other perennial plants need a period of cold stratification in order to germinate. Cold stratification is simply exposing the seed to a period of cold treatment. I’ve always prepared milkweed seeds by using the artificial stratification method (click here for instructions), however, was intrigued by this unique method.

The holidays were spent at my son’s house in Michigan. I brought some milkweed seeds as a Christmas gift. He and his wife recently purchased a home and expressed an interest in planting a butterfly garden. I had planned to sow them directly into the ground but wanted to try using the “milk jug method” instead.

Using individual biodegradable planter cups to plant the milkweed seeds, I figured would make it easier to transplant the seedlings when they are ready. I placed potting soil inside the cups and watered the soil to moisten it, then three to four seeds were placed on top of the dirt and gently patted them down. (You do not cover the seeds with soil because they need light to germinate.)

To prepare the milk jugs punch four drainage holes on the bottom of the jug using an awl. (You could also use the tip of a heated glue gun or drill the holes with a small power drill.) The holes need to be about ¼ inch in diameter to allow good drainage.  Cut the milk jug in half with sharp scissors, leaving about an inch for a hinge.

Place the planter cups inside the milk jugs and use duct tape to seal them closed. Be sure to leave the caps off of the containers so the milkweed seeds will get watered from Mother Nature. I placed the milk jugs inside some planter trays for stability. Oh yes, and don’t forget to label the milk jugs! (I used a permanent marker, but a grease pencil will also work. Or you can use a planter label for each individual cup.)

Now you just leave the milk jugs outside and let Mother Nature do her magic!

Click here for more detailed instructions on how to winter sow seeds using milk jugs: https://springcreekhomesteading.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/milk-jug-sowing.pdf