Articles by Lee County Master Gardeners
Gardens for Butterflies
Have you ever thought about becoming a real rock star in the garden and growing butterflies? In Mississippi, about 145 species of butterflies have been found and you can start “growing” them in your yard, starting this month.
Butterflies have a fascinating, albeit brief, life cycle. Adult females lay eggs on plants that are called host plants. These host plants are specific to each species of butterfly. When the eggs hatch a larva emerges, better known to us as a caterpillar. Thus, the first plants to consider when providing for butterflies are host plants. The very hungry caterpillar’s chief aim is to eat and grow and the host plant of his birth is his first source of food. If you want to see a certain butterfly species in your yard, provide that particular host plant.
Native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers (also known as weeds) are all largely host plants for butterflies. Dogwood, black cherry, willow, sweet bay magnolia, hackberry, tulip poplar, redbud, spicebush, and sassafras trees are examples of woody host plants. Examples of herbaceous hosts are queen Anne’s lace, wild violet, thistle, nasturtium, hibiscus, Indian paintbrush, pipe-vine, maypops, parsley, fennel, dill, hollyhock, and milkweed.
After a few weeks, the fat caterpillar will shed its skin for a final time and the chrysalis or “pupa” appears. After a one or two-week metamorphosis, the adult butterfly emerges, and the cycle begins again. Most adult butterflies live two to four weeks, and they will need nectar plants to live out their life cycle. From spring until fall, butterflies will need a continuous source of nectar. Now is your opportunity to enjoy the beauty that you have nurtured to fruition. Zinnas, pentas, hyssop, bee balm, petunias, woodland phlox, aster, lantana, purple coneflower, pansies, chaste tree, redbuds, buckeyes, buttonbush, and abelia are some great nectar plants.
Add a small pile of crossed logs covered with plastic near your flowers for a place for butterflies to roost. Several flat rocks in the sun amongst some native flowers will allow the butterflies a place for basking to raise their body temperature. A wet area of mud and sand provides needed water and salts to imbibe. Visit the Lee County Extension office on Cliff Gookin to see a super example of a butterfly garden that you can reproduce at home.
Suzanne Crow is a Lee County Master Gardener
Have you ever thought about becoming a real rock star in the garden and growing butterflies? In Mississippi, about 145 species of butterflies have been found and you can start “growing” them in your yard, starting this month.
Butterflies have a fascinating, albeit brief, life cycle. Adult females lay eggs on plants that are called host plants. These host plants are specific to each species of butterfly. When the eggs hatch a larva emerges, better known to us as a caterpillar. Thus, the first plants to consider when providing for butterflies are host plants. The very hungry caterpillar’s chief aim is to eat and grow and the host plant of his birth is his first source of food. If you want to see a certain butterfly species in your yard, provide that particular host plant.
Native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers (also known as weeds) are all largely host plants for butterflies. Dogwood, black cherry, willow, sweet bay magnolia, hackberry, tulip poplar, redbud, spicebush, and sassafras trees are examples of woody host plants. Examples of herbaceous hosts are queen Anne’s lace, wild violet, thistle, nasturtium, hibiscus, Indian paintbrush, pipe-vine, maypops, parsley, fennel, dill, hollyhock, and milkweed.
After a few weeks, the fat caterpillar will shed its skin for a final time and the chrysalis or “pupa” appears. After a one or two-week metamorphosis, the adult butterfly emerges, and the cycle begins again. Most adult butterflies live two to four weeks, and they will need nectar plants to live out their life cycle. From spring until fall, butterflies will need a continuous source of nectar. Now is your opportunity to enjoy the beauty that you have nurtured to fruition. Zinnas, pentas, hyssop, bee balm, petunias, woodland phlox, aster, lantana, purple coneflower, pansies, chaste tree, redbuds, buckeyes, buttonbush, and abelia are some great nectar plants.
Add a small pile of crossed logs covered with plastic near your flowers for a place for butterflies to roost. Several flat rocks in the sun amongst some native flowers will allow the butterflies a place for basking to raise their body temperature. A wet area of mud and sand provides needed water and salts to imbibe. Visit the Lee County Extension office on Cliff Gookin to see a super example of a butterfly garden that you can reproduce at home.
Suzanne Crow is a Lee County Master Gardener