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| Hello;
We were discussing hydrangeas in the earlier thread when it occurred to me that we have not had a whole thread on good shrubs for butterflies other than butterfly bush (Buddleia). Fall is a good time to put in woodies :D, and the big boxes have great dollar sales right now. So, list your favorite butterfly and moth shrubs. List why as well. Tell us anything about it, color, length of bloom, attractive to a particular species, etc. Remember no Butterfly Bushes (Buddleia). 1. Spicebush - Because it attracts and hosts the spicebush swallowtail and promethea moths. I actually like the small green blooms early in spring it has. I love the red berries in fall. I love crushing the leaves and berries and letting the kids smell them. You can eat the berries too. I have had paw paw jam flavored with the berries. 2. Blue mist shrub (Caryopteris)- beautiful purple/blue blooms at the end of summer loved by pollinators. Easy to grow hardy shrub. Blooming long after a lot of things are done. 3. Possumhaw viburnum - I don't have one yet and am seriously coveting a 'Winterthur' cultivar. It is listed as a host for lots of moths including Cecropia, Azalea and Hummingbird sphinx moths, as well as Eastern tailed blues. And how can you not like a name like "Possumhaw"? I have lots of others but I will leave them to you to list. Have fun,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by susanlynne48 OKC7a (My Page) on Sat, Oct 13, 12 at 20:33
| Larval host plants: Baptisa australis and B. australis var. minor (Wild Indigo Duskywing) Nectar: Itea virginica and cultivars, 'Henry's Garnet', 'Little Henry' Just a few that I have personally grown. Susan |
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- Posted by larry_gene USDA8b-OregonPDX (My Page) on Sat, Oct 13, 12 at 23:07
| Moth shrub: Hollywood juniper. When spraying water on this in the summer, the underwing moths come flushing out to find a dryer roosting spot. |
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- Posted by bananasinohio (My Page) on Sun, Oct 14, 12 at 10:35
| Susan, I love the Amorpha too! One of the locations I conduct surveys put in a bunch and I am waiting to see what shows up. So far a Silver Spotted Skipper Larry Gene, I didn't know that about the Hollywood Juniper. I am going to have to add that to my wish list. Keep them coming! -Elisabeth |
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- Posted by bananasinohio (My Page) on Thu, Oct 18, 12 at 19:39
| Bump.... |
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- Posted by imabirdnut 7b (My Page) on Fri, Oct 19, 12 at 12:37
| The best "shrub" or small tree here in my yard is native. 1) Mexican Plum-host plant for Tiger Swallowtails & best nectar for early flying BFs in spring! I've seen RAs, PLs, ALs, Monarchs, TSTs, GSTs, Buckeyes, Gray Hairstreaks, etc. by the droves! 2)Texas Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)-good early fall nectar plant & host for Southern Dogface (Colias cesonia) 4) Frostweed-great late summer early fall nectar plant(not really a "shrub") as well as host plant for 5) Buttonbush-first year to have bloom & lots of BFs nectared on it |
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- Posted by misssherry Z8/9MS (My Page) on Fri, Oct 19, 12 at 16:25
| I love the picture of those red admirals on the white flowers, Lila! 1. Ptelea trifoliata/wafer ash/hops tree. In my area, this is a large shrub. Giant swallowtails lay eggs on mine every year, and I also find tiger swallowtail eggs/cats on it from time to time. 2. Ruta graveolens/rue. In my area, this is a small shrub, and we all know how both giant and black swallowtails lay their eggs on it. Being small, it fits into areas where a large shrub might not. 3. Buttonbush. This is a very large, colonizing shrub here, and the flowers are SO attractive to all butterflies and bees! It's supposed to host various moths, but I've never found a caterpillar on mine. 4. Lantana. This large shrub is unsurpassed in attracting butterflies to its flowers. There are some varieties that aren't large. 5. Coral porterweed. I would have to describe this as a shrub in my area. Butterflies just LOVE the blooms - this plant is in the verbena family, like lantana, so this is obviously a plant family that produces flowers with lots of nectar! 6. Lindera benzoin/spicebush. If I can keep mine alive, they should make great shrubs. Spicebush swallowtails have already used them, even though they were very small. Sherry |
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| I planted a New Jersey tea bush this year. It is a hostplant for some butterfly I want but I cannot find my paper with my notes. I've also read that it is a good nectar shrub for butterflies. |
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| Ceanothus americanus (new jersey tea), is host to Spring and Summer Azure, Peck's Skipper and a few others that I don't know because they aren't in my area :D |
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- Posted by bananasinohio (My Page) on Tue, Oct 30, 12 at 20:44
| Ima; Great photos! I love the native plums too. Miss Sherry; KC; Great posts! |
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- Posted by butterflymomok (My Page) on Wed, Oct 31, 12 at 10:33
| I almost gave up on Ceanothus americanus, but I persisted. I don't remember how many I planted before one made it, but now it is several years old and looking great. It gets nibbled on, but I've never found any caterpillars. I found a blue cultivar--not native to US--called Marie Bleu and planted it next to the NJ tea. It is very beautiful in the spring with blue flowers. Both are thriving and worth the struggle to get them going. If I were to do it again, I would plant several of the NJ Teas to have a mass planting. They are not a large shrub. Love that the leaves were used as a replacement for tea by the colonists! |
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- Posted by misssherry Z8/9MS (My Page) on Fri, Nov 2, 12 at 20:30
| Hmmm.....New Jersey tea sounds like a plant I'd like to try sometime. Elisabeth, I should have mentioned Brazilian button as a favorite butterfly shrub. It's what I would call a sprawling, low growing shrub, and its flowers are very popular with butterflies, especially the gulf and variegated frits. Sherry |
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- Posted by susanlynne48 OKC7a (My Page) on Sun, Nov 4, 12 at 8:48
| Don't forget Lilacs that the butterflies, especially the Tiger Swallowtails. Susan |
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- Posted by butterflymomok (My Page) on Sun, Nov 4, 12 at 9:15
| And azaleas and rhododendrums in the springtime. |
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- Posted by imabirdnut 7b (My Page) on Tue, Nov 6, 12 at 0:42
| Here is one of the best late nectar sources in my yard besides my Golden Crownbeard... Eupatorium havanense or Ageratina havanensis I have had more varieties of BFs on it than any other plant in my yard right now! I even saw 2 Buckeyes for the first time today since this spring! So far I've had Queens, Monarchs, RAs, PLs, ALs, Pearl Crescents, lots of different kinds of skippers, & now Buckeyes! Take care, Lila |
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- Posted by susanlynne48 OKC7a (My Page) on Tue, Nov 6, 12 at 7:16
| Fantastic Lila! I need to get some seed of this. Is it perennial or annual. I have Coniclinum coelsistinum (sp), with the bluish purple flowers and the butterflies like it, too. Agreed that Golden Crownbeard is very popular as well right now. Susan |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Tue, Nov 6, 12 at 12:26
| Spirea. The kind of Rosemary that blooms. |
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- Posted by imabirdnut 7b (My Page) on Tue, Nov 6, 12 at 15:55
| I will hopefully have seeds to share this year & will be happy to. This is the second season I've had the plant that I bought at the Texas Discovery Gardens plant sale. I'm in 7b but what I've seen is it's listed to Zone 8 but it has survived for me. I also have Gregg's Blue Mistflower & have seeds for Chromolaena odorata. Gregg's attracts a lot of monarchs & queens but not all the other BFs I've seen on my White Mistflower! A few weeks ago I had a lot of BFs nectaring on Frostweed as well! Lila |
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