Establishing a butterfly habitat is as simple as choosing the right plants.
Your garden will need host plants, which caterpillars feed on, and nectar plants, the food of adult butterflies.
"Butterflies like waves of plants, not onesies and twosies," said Peggy Singlemann, horticulture director at Maymont in Richmond, Va. "With a mass grouping, they don't destroy your one plant. They have more food to choose from."
Gardeners should plant for all-season bloom. Butterflies are active from early spring until late fall and need a continuous supply of nectar.
They also love sunny open spaces, shelter from the wind and fresh water.
Experts at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond don't recommend butterfly boxes because they're more likely to shelter wasps and spiders than butterflies.
What should be included in a butterfly garden?
Host plants, nectar plants, flat stones for basking in the sun, a water source such as damp sand or a "puddle station" that provides moisture and dried plant stalks or twigs for caterpillars to latch onto before they pupate.
What are the best host plants? Nectar plants?
Good host plants include asters, butterfly weed, milkweed, roses, fennel, dill, parsley, violas, hibiscus, viburnum, spirea, mulberry, crabapple and sassafras. The best nectar plants feature flat landing surfaces, clusters of tubular blossoms, bright colors and fragrances. These include asters, bee balm, black-eyed Susans, butterfly weed, globe amaranth, goldenrod, oregano, lantana, coneflowers, zinnias, sedum, roses, passion vines, spirea, sage and shrub salvia.
Avoid using pesticides, which will kill butterfly caterpillars.
What species will I see?
Native North American butterflies include swallowtail, monarch, viceroy, American Painted Lady and skippers.
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