Saratoga News

Gardening

Butterfly weed, sometimes called milkweed, is a perennial that attracts butterflies--especially Monarchs--to its bright flower clusters. It grows best in full sun with moderate irrigation.

Butterflies have the reputation as the gadabouts of the garden

By Tony Tomeo

Unlike most other insects, butterflies are welcome in the garden. Most are not nearly as destructive as the related moths. They do not eat as much when young, and as adults consume only flower nectar. They are happy to just fly around town, visiting any garden they like, arriving like colorful animated flowers.

Just as various flowers rely on wind, bees, ants, flies and even bats for pollination, many rely on butterflies. Some of these flowers are not as fragrant or ornate as flowers that advertise to the other pollinators. They instead entice and reward butterflies with sweet, sustaining nectar, graciously served in stylish tubular flowers that are tailored to the specialized elongated mouthparts of butterflies.

Butterflies can be attracted to the garden by their favorite foods. Their larvae, known as caterpillars, eat foliage or other plant parts just as many other insects do. After metamorphosis, adult butterflies consume only flower nectar because they lack chewing mouthparts.

Caterpillars particularly like the foliage of annuals and perennials such as nasturtium, alyssum, lupine, hollyhock, penstemon, yarrow and butterfly weed. They are also fond of such woody plants as hibiscus, lavatera, viburnum, plumbago, ceanothus and rose. Their favorite trees include poplar, willow, oak, birch, pine, sycamore (plane), citrus, apple (including flowering crabapple) and the various Prunus species (cherry, apricot, plum, prune, peach, nectarine).

Adult butterflies are particularly fond of the flowers that are most specialized to their mouthparts. This includes such annuals and perennials as snapdragon, columbine, red-hot poker, aloe, penstemon, sage, butterfly weed and Jupiter's beard, as well as woody plants such as butterfly bush (buddleja), hebe, honeysuckle, rosemary, lion's tail and horsechestnut. They also enjoy certain flowers that are not so specialized, such as yarrow, dianthus, alyssum, impatiens, pelargonium, lavender, fleabane and various daisies.

Butterflies enjoy sunny gardens with a few cool, damp areas and shelter from the wind. An abundance of both their favorite flowers and foliage invites them to dine, and then stay to start a "family," since they lay their eggs on plants that their larvae can eat when they hatch. Unfortunately, certain birds deter or eat butterflies.

Hummingbirds, however, are harmless to butterflies, and actually coexist nicely with them. They enjoy many of the same flowers that butterflies are attracted to. Like butterflies, they are equipped with narrow, elongated beaks that can lap nectar from tubular flowers and drink water, but the beak cannot eat solid food, aside from tiny insects.

Butterflies and hummingbirds are easily contented with fast food when fine floral dining is not available. Hummingbird feeders are very popular among their patrons, perhaps because hummingbirds are always in a hurry, particularly during their migration commute. Butterfly feeders are not nearly as commonly available but can sometimes be found in specialty stores, such as the Wild Bird Center of Los Gatos, that cater to trendy wildlife.

Incidentally, it is still too early to replace warm-season annuals, but cool-season annuals can be planted in any available space. Those that grow their own annuals from seed in flats, cell packs or peat pots should sow seed of viola, pansy, nemesia, calendula or stock about now so small plants will be ready for the garden by October.

Flower of the Week: butterfly weed

Butterflies west of Minnesota and north of Arizona are discovering what all the flutter is about. Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, a native to the rest of the continent, is beginning to become available outside of its natural range. Garden varieties with flat-topped clusters of small yellow, orange, pinkish orange and red flowers have been developed from the species that naturally blooms orange.

Butterfly weed is an excellent cut flower. Blooms that are not cut or dead-headed (removed as they fade) produce small, plump seedpods full of seed to share with friends and neighbors. Mature 2-foot-tall and-wide plants can be groomed of old stems as new ones emerge from the thick roots.

Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.