Gregg’s Mistflower
Eupatorium greggii
Characteristics
- Type: Perennial
- Zone: 7-10
- Height: 1.5 – 2 feet
- Spread: 1.5 – 2.5 feet
- Flower: Showy
- Suggested Use: Annual, Ground Cover, Naturalize
- Texas Native
- Texas Superstar®
- Bloom Time: March – November
- Bloom Description: Blue
- Foliage: Dark Green
- Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Water: Medium
- Drought Tolerant
- Attracts: Bees, Butterflies
- Maintenance: Medium
Culture
Gregg’s Mistflower is a Central Texas Native that you can enjoy all summer. Gregg’s Mist is a must for butterfly gardens. It is a good nectar source for bees, butterflies and is especially attractive to the Queen butterfly in the fall. It is drought tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping. Plant Gregg’s Mist in groupings for best results. Grow in medium moisture, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. Plants can spread somewhat aggressively by rhizomes in optimum growing conditions. This plant is root hardy to 0o F. In early spring, you may want to prune it back a little to control its height and encourage a more lush habit.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Conoclinium greggii, commonly called Gregg’s blue mistflower and Texas ageratum, is a spreading ground cover that is native to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and northern Mexico. Ageratum-like powder blue flowers bloom from summer to fall. Flowers have a misty appearance, hence the common name. Divided light green leaves. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Synonymous with and sometimes called Eupatorium greggii. Gregg’s mistflower produces a natural compound well known to ranchers, being very poisonous to livestock. However, it turns out the compound isn’t poisonous to queen butterflies, but is essential to their reproduction. When you see queens nectaring on Gregg’s mistflower, over 90% of them are males happily imbibing intermedine compound with the nectar. Then they convert part of the intermedine to a smaller molecule named danaidone which is a sex attractant pheromone that draws in the females. During mating, the male queen passes the remaining unchanged intermedine to the female as a “nuptial gift” that once again manifests itself as a toxin, this time rendering her eggs unpalatable to predators. Thus as the butterfly pollinates the flower, the flower provides a molecule that in two ways enables the butterfly to reproduce.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Garden Uses
Butterfly garden. Suitable for xeriscaping.