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Dig This: Gardening Notes

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By PENNY L. CARNATHAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

Florida's blessed with lots of flowering plants that attract butterflies either hungry for nectar or in search of a food source for their larvae.

Some of the nectar plants are so common, they grow in the wild. But if you want butterflies, you should also provide plants they can eat as caterpillars.

Larval food plants are less common because their habitats are destroyed by development, and they're not a favorite of gardeners, many of whom don't like the post-dinner, chewed-up look. (Remedy that by tucking your larval food plants among other shrubs to camouflage them during the bad-foliage days.)

Butterflies will generally seek out a variety of plants for nectar, but only one or two will do for their caterpillars. The sulphur larva likes plants in the Cassia family; the monarch and queen butterflies like milkweeds; zebra longwing and the fritillaries seek passionflowers; and black swallowtail looks for plants in the carrot family, such as fennel, dill and parsley.

Go to www.floridaconservation.org/viewing/articles/butte... for a longer list of larval food plants.

For nectar sources, look for aromatic orange, yellow, pink, purple or red flowers, and choose plants that bloom through most of the year. Both you and your butterflies will benefit.

Remember — don't use pesticides or herbicides on or near your butterfly plants.

If you buy the plants at a nursery or garden center, ask whether they've been treated with chemicals, which could kill either caterpillar or butterfly. Sometimes, the chemicals can be washed off or the plant can be isolated until it has new, chemical-free growth.

Milkweed

Yellow milkweed is less common than the orange-yellow variety easily found in garden centers. It's both larval food for monarch caterpillars and a nectar source.

I found this yellow Asclepias at Green Thumb Nursery in Town 'N Country a couple of weeks ago. If they're sold out, try ordering online. One source is www.butterflybushes.com.

Get free seeds for the orange-yellow variety at www.thebutterflyfarm.com from the Live Monarch Foundation. It aims to put a milkweed in every yard.

Cassia, Or Senna

Cassia, a favorite larval food of sulphurs, can be trained to grow into a tree. It blooms just once a year here, around November, producing brilliant yellow flowers, but the playful yellow butterflies are drawn to it year-round.

Cassia obtusifolia is often listed as a favorite for sulphurs, but they seem equally attracted to other Cassias.

Gaura

This unusual, drought-tolerant bush has become a popular new choice among Southern gardeners.

It produces pink, white or fuchsia blooms on tall, feathery spikes, making it look like little butterflies are hovering above the plant.

It's a perennial that does well in full sun. Save the seeds; it's said to be easily propagated.

Cigar Plant

Another shrub fairly new to Southern gardeners, Cuphea ignea is named for the inch-long blooms that appear to glow like the end of a cigar.

It blooms through the summer, providing bright color, and likes the sun but can tolerate only short dry spells.

It grows quickly and can tend toward legginess; pinch it back to keep it bushy.

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