flowers that attract wildlife

Hi!

I am looking for flowers that attract hummers and butterflies. Specially perennials.

Does anyone know if coreopsis attract butterflies?

thank you
Anna

I'm in zone 8b. These perennials attract hummers for me, but I don't know how hardy they are:

hamelia
salvia greggii
salvia microphylla
salvia guaranitica
esperanza aka yellowbells
salvia uliginosa aka bog sage - spreads by underground runners, but isn't difficult to pull out
columbine - the native yellow one
penstemons of all kinds
Texas star hibiscus
salvia farinacea
salvia madrensis (late fall bloomer)
salvia leucantha (fall bloomer)
salvia mexicana (fall bloomer)
ruellia - terrible spreader
verbenas
wild vervain
salvia darcyi
salvia miniata - tender, mine is in a pot that goes on the porch in the winter
salvia coccinea - this would be an annual in your zone, but freely reseeds itself here and comes up even after a rough winter. It sends up new plants all season long. It hasn't been a problem in my garden, but some consider it a thug. Takes dry shade.
salvia "Indigo Spires"
salvia "Blue Chiquita" - fall bloomer
duranta
flame acanthus
lion's ears
Mexican honeysuckle plant
turk's cap
obedient plant - vicious spreader
verbena rigida - spreads a lot

There are butterflies on the coreopsis in my pasture.

Thank you very much Bullnete.

Where do you get all the salvias from? Seeds or do you buy the plants?

here's my list. I've bought great Coreopsis from a roadside stand, and nice Salvias from Stop & Shop and Home Depot. The others mostly from good nurseries.
Hummers like tubular flowers, even small ones like Heuchera. Butters prefer flat flowers, tho' many have long tongues. There are lists that give plants for each species of butterfly! Don't forget caterpillar food plants like milkweed.

Butterfly plants

Achillia 'Coronation Gold' Yarrow Hybrid
Achillia 'Weser River Sandstone' Yarrow Hybrid
Aquilegia vulgaris plena Columbine
Aquilegia x Hybrida ‘Mckana Hybrids Columbine
Aquilegia ‘Songbird Series Mix’ Columbine
Asclepias tuberosa 'Ice Ballet' Butterfly weed
Aster N.A. ‘Alma Poestschke’ New England Aster
Aster Novae-Angliae ‘Purple Dome’ New England Aster
Coreopsis 'Moon Beam' Hybrid Coreopsis
Coreopsis rosea 'American Dream' Hybrid Coreopsis
Echinecia purpurea 'Kim's Knee High' Purple Coneflower
Echinecia purpurea 'Magnus' Purple Coneflower
Echinops ritro 'Taplow Blue' Globe Thistle
Heliopsis Helianthus 'New Hybrids' False Sunflower/ Oxeye
Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ Coral Bells
Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ Coral Bells
Heuchera ‘Saturn’ Coral Bells
Lobelia splendens 'Queen Victoria' Mexican Lobelia
Lobelia x gerardii 'Vedrariensis' Purple Lobelia
Monarda didyra 'Marshall's Delight' Bee Balm
Penstemon Digitalis 'Rachel's Dance' Beard Tongue
Phlox paniculata 'Etoile de Paris' Summer Phlox
Phlox paniculata 'Miss Karen' Summer Phlox
Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' Black-eyed Susan
Salvia nemerosa ‘Rose Queen’ Meadow Sage
Salvia nemerosa ’'Friesland’ Meadow Sage
Salvia nemerosa ’Plumosa’ Meadow Sage
Salvia nemerosa ’'Snow Hill’ Meadow Sage
Salvia syl. X 'May Night’ Meadow Sage
Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa columbaria ‘Pink Mist’ Pincushion Flower
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ Stonecrop
Veronica spicata ‘Sunny Border Blue Spike Speedwell #3 18-24”
Veronica spicata 'Blue Giant' Spike Speedwell
Veronica spicata 'Red Fox' Spike Speedwell 18-24”
Veronica spicata 'Royal Candles' Spike Speedwell 15-18”
Viola cornuta 'Purple Showers' Horned Violet

Thank you very much for your help! What a great list!

best wishes
Anna

Spider:

Salvia coccinea I grew from seed. The other salvias I either bought or was given cuttings by friends. I don't think I mentioned salvia lyrata, a spring bloomer that can make a nice groundcover if you get enough rain. That one I grew from seed as well. Most of the salvias are fairly easy to grow from cuttings, so if you have friends with some, root on.

Bullnettle

thank you Bullnete. Do you know a good seed catalogue for these plants? Sorry to ask but I haven't been living in the US long so everything is new!

In my yard, I find that swallowtails love the purple verbena and sweet autumn clematis. Sulphurs cluster around Mexican Bush Sage http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62077/index.html . Fritillary love passionflowers. Butterflies and bees of all kinds love the echinacea, blanket flower (gaillardia), hardy geraniums, salvia of all types, coreopsis, etc. I have even photographed a number of butterflies on roses.

I have seen "my" hummers drinking from everything from roses to morning glories. The latter is a comical site as they tend to sit on the side of the bloom and dip their bodies into the flower so that only their tails remain visible. They seem especially fond of the crimson clover I planted on the back slope. They fight over "ownership" of the honeysuckle Alabama Crimson.

How lovely! Thank you scutler!

Spider:

Seedhunt.com has seeds for many types of salvias, though not all I listed. Native American Seed (seedsource.com, I think) has seeds for salvia coccinea, listed under scarlet sage. They also sell a mix of hummer and singer seeds, all natives, that might give you more types than you want. If I remember right, when Seedhunt sends the seeds, it doesn't say much about planting them. They came in little bags. The seeds were of good quality, and she has many types available.

I don't do a lot with seeds - just don't have the time. I get lots of seed catalogs and I peruse them and daydream but rarely follow through. If I come across them again, I'll put some of the names on here.

www.AmericanMeadows.com has a hummingbird and butterfly mix. I broadcast that in the back corner of my lot sometimes. They also have wildflower mixes that are region specific.

While there are many plants listed as specificly attractive to hummers and butterflies, I've noticed that they visit all kinds of flowers that are not on the list. Here is a photo of a swallowtail on a Dutch Iris.

Here's one on a daffodil. I plant some things that I like and some things that they like. In the end, they seem to visit a little of everything. There are butterflies, bees, and hummers in my garden pretty much anytime I go out there. For several years the hummers have nested in the garden.

If you plant lots of flowers and include a number of the ones on the above lists, you will surely have butterflies.

Awww Scutler, thank you for th elovely pictures. i had no idea butterflies are as early as daffodils.

You're welcome. I just wanted to show you that they like lots of flowers that aren't even on the "list". Sometimes I have trouble getting photos of my flowers because the butterflies won't "move". lol.

I think my verbena starts blooming in February and the butterflies show up soon after that. I'll have to check for dates on some pics. That one was from April 04 2006.

Best wishes with your garden. I know that if you plant flowers, the butterflies will come.

thank you scutler!


All the best to you!

For butterflies, I like this site: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm
If you click on your state, they have a list of butterflies for your state with photos and info for each, including which plants they like for food and for "hosts".

Edited to try to remove white-space my puppy added. : )

This message was edited May 21, 2006 1:02 AM

Here is a site on gardening for butterflies. It's for SC/NC but may help: http://www.carolinabutterflysociety.org/
click on the "Gardening" tab at the top (under the photos).

spider,
You might also want to look at the Gardening for Butterflies and Hummers forum.
scutler,
The npwrc.usgs.gov site is very helpful, thanks.
Pixie

You are very welcome, Pixie. I use that site a lot when trying to ID new butterflies in my yard. Last night when I was doing so, I realized that it gives the favorite flowers and host plants of each butterfly so I thought - "Perfect".

BTW, yesterday I photographed 2 "new" butterflies in my yard. Both were on the blooms of my Privet hedge. Originally, I took the photos for spider to demonstrate my point that butterlies gravitate to all sorts of flowers. I couldn't ID either of them from the list of SC butterflies. I put the pics on Gardening for Butterflies and Hummers Forum to request ID's: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/605484/ if anyone wants to see them.
They were: Painted Lady and Red Admiral !!! As these are apparently not "SC" butterflies, I am all the more excited!

Here are some sources for info on attracting hummers. Each lists flowers:

http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/hottopics/attracting.asp
http://www.hummingbirds.net/attract.html
http://www.birdwatchers.com/debtips.html
http://www.birdsforever.com/humgard.html

Here's one specific to the ruby throat which is our hummer: http://www.rubythroat.org/FoodMain.html

I like to include 1 or more feeder as well as flowers. Hummers need to eat every 15 minutes or so just to stay alive. I figure the feeder is good for a backup source. I use 1/2 the recommended amount of water, and my hummers LOVE it. Since I started doing that they visit the feeder more often and stay longer on each visit. Before, I always had to throw some out when refilling a single feeder; after, even with 2 feeders they are dry when I go to refill them! This also helps when they get dilluted by rain.

The list goes on and on. If you don't already have hummers, they are attracted to RED so be sure to put some red in the garden to draw them in. Cool ideas I saw in addition to red flowers: decorate a small bush or tree with red bows in Spring while they are returning; put a red table cloth or similiar piece of fabric on the ground in an open area so they will see it while flying overhead.

Lastly, I know you asked about flowers, but I think it's important to mention that it's VERY important to avoid or limit use of pesticides. Butterflies and hummers will end up ingesting these substances and will be harmed or killed by them. Many may steer clear if they smell/detect pesticide residue. AND hummers actually need some insects in their diet. I believe they eat spiders, gnats, etc.

For pest probs, try naturals like: soap, pepper, horticultural oil, neem 1st.

Scutler, thank you very much for all the info and links. Lots to read and learn!

Yesterday I saw some birds going crazy over some holly berries so a holly bush is now on my list.

Do you have a big garden?

My yard is just under 1/2 acre, but I've managed to pack some 2000 plants in there! My backyard is enclosed by a privacy fence. I converted it to a cottage-type garden: lush plantings seperated by winding paths, punctuated with the occaisional arbor, bench, bird bath (6 of these, different types and heights), etc along the way; all paths ultimately culminate on a small patch of lawn with weeping willow and bird feeder. The list of 2000 plants includes small trees, shrubs, roses, perrenials, and lots and lots of bulbs, so things "pop up" and dissapear throughout the year, and are not all visible at the same time.

It is a wonderfully blissful place. I have included a number of trees and plants that provide fruit, nuts, seeds for birds/wildlife: blueberries, blackberry, elderberry, strawberries, crabapples, cherries, apples, peaches, etc. Like I mentioned, I plant a lot of what I like and some of what they like. This plan has worked very well. My garden is so packed with living things as to remind me of those Disney moments (of old) with animated deer, birds, butterflies hanging out with - was it Cinderella?

I tell you this to say that if this is what you want - lots of wildlife - it is, indeed, quite possible. They need habitat. If you provide it; they will come.

This spring was the most incredible of all so far. A cardinal couple nested (3 babies) in the rose arbor just a few feet from my patio. A finch pair nested in my porch light fixture. A robin nested in another climbing rose. Numerous other bird pairs came to my garden for their courtship - it was like Lover's Lane for birds. At the same time, butterflies were everywhere. One day I went out to find a host of birds and a hummer "playing" in the mist of the automatic sprinklers. It is really quite a magical experience and a great retreat.

About the holly, I have 1. I find that almost anything with berries is a winner. I used to prune the faded flowers off of my crepe myrtles in fall. Then I noticed all of the chickadees, wrens, and titmice crowded around the brush pile and realized that they love the seeds; now I leave them on the plant for winter food. same with the wax myrtles. The crabapples and cherries are scarfed up so fast that it's easy to miss them altogether. The blueberries are all eaten green. I bought a 6' pyracantha that was loaded with berries. I left it in the pot on the patio over night. When I came out the next day to plant it, not one single berry remained!

I have several varieties of ornamental cherries and some bush cherries. All produce small fruit and are VERY popular. They attract beautiful bluebirds, buntings, and tanagers to my garden!

If you want to attract birds and hummers to your garden, it is also important to think about "cover" plants. I'm finding that all of the birds, including hummers love the weeping willow because they can fly easily between the branches while predator birds cannot. The willow is always a busy place in my yard. The rose thickets, ramblers or climbing roses on fences or arbors are also very popular bird hangouts in my yard. Again, they can move easily between the thorns while predators cannot.

Very best wishes for your garden.

Oh Scutler, what a paradise you have there!!!

I am starting my garden from scratch. I moved here abou tthree months ago and most of it is bare (bad) soil. I am starting to collect butterfly and hummer's plants to plant out after the soil is improved.

I already have lots and lots of birds, chipmunks, little lizards, toads, turtles and squirrels. I do wildlife rehabilitation and started doing birds this spring. i want a perfect place for when i release them in to the wild. I have a little wood at the back that I am keeping "wild" so animals have a place to hide.

My garden is small, most of it is the little wood in the back and one of the reasons i moved here was to have that important bit of wildlife habitat.

I hope one day I have a little paradise of my own.

Please, post some piccies of your garden.

all the best
Anna

Oh, Anna, how wonderful that you are a wildlife rehabilitator! I'm sure they need you very much, and I know that you must also get so very much from them in return. (I didn't know that we had chipmunks aournd here.)

I bought my house in fall 2001 and started my garden shortly after. I found that the builder had left about an inch or so of soil/sod over pure clay (grey). Clay does'nt drain well so when it rained the backyard was a swamp! I sank to my mid calf walking back there after a modest rain. When I dug holes for planting, the holes would quickly fill with water! A few days after a rain the yard was like a concrete desert. My city makes wonderful, rich compost from the grass clipping, tree branches, etc that it picks up and then sell it back for $10/truck load. Over the years I brought in more than 8 tons of compost - by myself, slowly but surely, one shovelful at a time. It has made a world of difference! Now my backyard is solid, neither swampy nor like concrete, and everything (including weeds) is growing like crazy - and every shovel ful of soil is loaded with earthworms, a sure sign of goodness below!

I live in the city limits. When I 1st moved here it was all lawn, no trees, just a house with foundation hedges. I hung a feeder full of sunflower seeds, nuts, fruit and not one single bird would dare to cross that expanse of lawn. A cardinal sat on the back fence drooling over the seeds that went bad in the feeder. Now that I've packed the space with plants, it's full of life. To concur with city rules, I have to keep the front yard tidy. In the backyard I leave some places a bit "messy" for the birds: a little grassy patch here, some fallen leaves there, a small brush pile in one corner, a batch of compost brewing in another corner, dead flowers (seedheads) in fall, etc. So my place is kind of "city" in front, and "wild" in back. BTW, the butterflies are also quite fond of that brush pile. Here's a Gulf Fritillary on the brush pile last summer.

Pics to come.

Sheryl

Oh Sheryl, you have a little piece of Heaven!

Your hard work certainly paid off greatly.

Thank you for the lovely photo!

I love being a rehabber. I get the chance to experience what most peeps will never experience...but i see so much sadness as well. The number of dying babies I get, because of cats is terrible. At the moment i have a baby bunny without any skin or fur on the whole of his back and right front and back legs.

Most of animals caught by cats will die from the injury or infection.

Most of the animals I release come back for food so I have the chance to see how they are doing.

It is wonderful seeing them enjoying the garden and the flowers.

thank you very much for taking the time to build a safe place for them. they need it so bad.

anna

Hi, spider--

If you haven't already, be sure to look at the Wintersowing forum (and Wintersown.org) for ideas of all kinds of butterfly and HB seeds to grow yourself. I tried WSing and have many more plants than I could ever wish for and I am a true klutz at seed sowing usually.

I look at all the on line gardening and seed catalogs for pictures, information and ideas, but I have found "Specialty Perennials" seed site (not glamourous but easy to navigate) a great source for a huge range of varieties and also Value Seeds, Thompson and Morgan's on line outlet store, a very good 'value for money' source for seeds.

http://hardyplants.com/index.htm

http://www.valueseeds.com/

and, of course, there a loads of other seed purveyors and DG traders who are great resources too.

Keep us posted on your progress on your wildlife habitat. It will be fun to see what you are doing.

Tabasco. thank you very much for your help and links. I will keep everyone informed of my progress.