Don’t forget the gulf fritillaries!
Charlie Neumeyer/Victoria County Master Gardener
Sep 28, 2024
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY CHARLIE NEUMEYER/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
The vibrant flowers of the Pride of Barbados flower attract many species of butterflies
One of the many Queen Butterflies on my Blue Mist patch/
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY CHARLIE NEUMEYER/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
While Monarch butterflies receive a lot of press, and rightly so, we are fortunate enough to have other butterflies which migrate through this area or overwinter here. They too seek nectar from a variety of plants, which generally aren’t as widely available in the fall.
Plan Your Garden with Autumn in Mind
When deciding on which plants to include in your garden, be sure to include plants that bloom late in the season. There are many native and adapted plants that bloom up to the first frost by which time most migratory butterflies are safely in their overwintering area. While there are some annuals, many of the fall-blooming nectar plants are perennials.
I have several species in my garden that start blooming in late summer and continue into the fall. I have the blue mist flower mixed in with John Fanick phlox. The phlox bloom early to mid-summer and the mist flowers start blooming after the phlox have finished.
The mist flower comes in several varieties both blue and white and require little maintenance; however, they do spread both by seed and by underground runners, so be prepared to do some pulling! Along the same lines is a plant called a blue mist shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis). Butterflies love both of them.
Once panned as a noxious plant, the goldenrod is sort of having its day. There are over 100 cultivars, including several new ones, and they provide brilliant gold color to the garden. Their nectar is favored by several species of butterflies, including the monarch.
Another perennial favored by several species is frostweed. It is an important nectar source for the Pipevine butterfly, the Great Purple Hairstreak and Monarchs. It produces heads of white flowers in late summer and can grow to 6 feet tall.
One more perennial is Salvia greggii or autumn sage. This herbaceous plant comes in about 10 different colors. It can grow 2-3 ft tall and wide and really blooms from spring to fall. They attract several species of butterflies including Gulf fritillaries, monarchs, sulphurs, and skippers.
If you are looking for a punch of color, consider the pride of Barbados. This Texas Superstar plant needs little to no care once established and the butterflies love it.
Long Blooming Annuals
Depending on the species, some annuals have a long enough blooming season to provide nectar for butterflies into the fall. According to Texas AgriLife Extension in Travis County and Costa Farms, some annuals that will sustain butterflies are marigolds, zinnias, pentas, ageratum, sunflowers and petunias. All of these plants will do well in our area.
You can start these plants from seed if you are patient, but purchasing bedding plants offers instant gratification and an earlier bloom time. Keeping them alive so that they are available into the fall may be problematic, but if you water consistently and monitor for insects, they should bloom until the first frost.
So Many Choices
When I was mulling over this topic prior to doing any research, I thought I would find tons of annuals and a few perennials that serve as nectar plants for butterflies. Boy, was I wrong. To provide consistent, long-term nectar sources for butterflies and pollinators, look to perennials.
According to the University of Maryland Extension, “In general, members of the aster, mint, rose, milkweed, and vervain families are pollinator favorites because they offer flower heads where butterflies can sit, and tiny flowers close together for maximum nectar access”. All of the sages, and there are more than 900 varieties, have extended blooming seasons. They are magnets for various species of butterflies.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County.
REFERENCES
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Education in Travis County “Butterfly Plants for Austin”
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Education in Travis County “Don’t Give Up on Pride of Barbados Plants”
“12 Plants That Attract Butterflies in Your Yard” at Martha Stewart
“10 colorful Annual Flowers That Attract Butterflies” at Costa Farms
Butterfly Gardening at wikipedia
“Butterflies in the Garden” at Aggie Horticulture