Butterfly Plant Care

Does coral bean (Erythrina herbacea) deserve a place in your garden? The woody root of the coral bean is massive and difficult to dig after it has been in place for a while. The tubular flowers seem made-to-order for hummers' tongues.

I've even seen containers of thecultivar offered at my local big box store. If added to their herbal pharmacy, most often is was in the form of a tea used to treat stomach ailments, however, there isn't much scientific evidence that its use helped.

Even though firebush is drought tolerant, it will benefit from a drink during periods of extreme drought. Indigenous people in regions where the plant is native have used it to treat a wide range of maladies, such as menstrual cramps, dysentery, headache,...

These tend to be larger members of the family, however they are still on the small side in the butterfly world.Below are just a few of the Skippers that visit my garden and I'm lucky to have such a selection.Skippers enjoy flowers with flat 'landing pads'...

For this reason, I'd like to create a place they can visit and grow from one generation to the next. To me, butterflies represent youth, memories and happiness. Below is a short list of flowering bushes you may want to plant in order to draw these little...

On the more mature leaves, the later instars make a silken pad about1- 1.5” wide from the leaf's edge. Some might have time to make a short migration south before a hard freeze.By far, the heaviest concentration of them in the U.S., will be in California,...

I had a suspicion that they were a Tiger Moth of the genusand that led me to suspect that they would pupate among leaf and bark litter on the ground. I knew at once that they were not Australian Admirals, but I had no idea what they were (or would become).

Many new gardeners are starting to plan their first adventure into our crazy, wonderful world. They do need about an inch of water a week, and if they are container-grown, a bit more.

We have gone there many times, usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are many wintering sites and most are accessible to the public and have become minor tourist attractions.

A word of warning on this milkweed: it sends out thick rhizomes about six inches underground. It can be a prolific seed producer. (Milkweed foliage contains toxic compounds). Swamp milkweed grows lovely green stems covered with thin leaves and topped...

Its blooms will not be as numerous and its bloom season will not be as long in partial sun, but it can live there. Remove all but one or two sets of leaves as well. In the beginning, you'll need to train it to the support because it doesn't cling like...

The tree provides the shade we wanted, but it has some drawbacks. Today the tree is approaching the height of the hundred-year-old longleaf pines that dot our property.Twenty years later, and with 20-20 hindsight vision, it is hard to determine whether...

We had no idea of the value of this plant to the native world around us, and never saw one in a garden. This makes moving and transplanting milkweed very difficult at best. Break the roots and the plant dies.

The vigorous cutting back in my garden controls growth to some extent, though the plants are still vigorous and loaded with new leaves when the pipevine swallowtails pay a visit.Wooly pipevine is hard to find in regular nurseries, but you might find it...

I plant host and nectar plants hoping they will visit my garden. But the thing that fascinates me most about butterflies is metamorphosis, that bit of biological magic that transforms a striped thing that crawls with many legs into a beautiful aerial...

The pipevine swallowtail is not a tropical butterfly, and its larvae will not survive on the tropical pipevines. Worldwide, about 49 species of pipevines exist (excluding synonyms) according to, but not all of them are suitable for cultivation.

There's no mistaking it when you see one, there is no other butterfly like it. Some butterflies are easily identified with distinctive markings and others, like the Monarch have an interesting story, but there is a whole host of little guys that may not...

There is no debate that monarch butterfly numbers are at an all-time low as well as other pollinators such as honey bees. What does this mean? This herbicide destroys milkweed, the primary plant used by Monarchs for egg laying.A request has been filed...

Males prefer to perch in the sun on low twigs or bare ground to watch for females as they fly by. Give butterflies open, sunny areas with plenty of nectar plants and they will reward you with their lovely presence.

Some local landscaping businesses donated the dirt, compost, and mulch, and delivered it by the truckload. They are all examples of the varieties planted in our butterfly garden. Three benches were donated by the PTO, First Security Bank, and the Mackinaw...

I'm speaking here of a plant that truly does everything. Then the tree blooms pink for several weeks.For its fall finale, if conditions are right, it produces red leaves.As if that's not enough, its bark exfoliates (sloughs off), revealing a light tawny...

Unwanted suckers are kept mowed. Salt tolerance makes it an excellent choice for coastal areas. A well established tree is very drought tolerant. Other gardeners appreciate the thicket and allow it to spread at will in areas where it provides shelter...

-- Attracting Monarch Butterflies to Your Landscape"by Sallyg. Native orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is more difficult to establish in gardens but may well be worth the extra effort required.

I understand that it also will adapt itself to regular gardens with less moisture, but it blooms much better in dappled sunlight or shade, and in very moist soil.rely almost exclusively on this rare wetland plant, and will rarely settle for any other...

The damp soil has compounds that healthy butterflies require, and many males of numerous species require these minerals to be able to breed, so a sunny, damp area is an excellent idea.

The group has initiated a nationwide landscape restoration project called “is also active in protecting and restoring the monarch butterfly by preserving the Mexican pine and fir forest that is the insects' winter habitat.Some of the more common North...

Where can the plant breeders go next...perhaps purple foliage with a white edge...now that would be something! Keep your eyes open...such a combination is probably not that far away!