Gardening Tips
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BUTTERFLY GARDENING
Attracting butterflies to your garden is a rewarding experience.
It is important to note, though, that you must abandon the use of pesticides as they are fatal to all stages of
a butterfly's development. There are four stages to a butterfly's life cycle: egg, larva, chrysalis (pupa), and
adult. All stages of the life cycle require specific plants to ensure the attraction of butterflies. An adult butterfly
lays its eggs on a host plant. The larva (second stage) emerges after about a week and immediately begins to feed
on the host plant. When the larva is ready to begin the chrysalis stage, it moves from the host plant to a somewhat
hidden location - out of harms way. The final stage is the adult butterfly. Butterflies like sunny locations and
broad flowers.
To attract a wide variety of butterflies,
try planting some of the following plants:
Host plants (larval food):
Birch tree
Butterfly weed
Daisy
Dill (favored by Tiger Swallowtail)
Elm tree
Hollyhock
Lamb's Quarters
Lilac |
Milkweed (favored by Monarch)
Mallow
Nettle
Oak tree
Plum
Queen Anne's Lace
Snapdragon
Thistle |
Nectar plant (adults):
Ageratum
Bee Balm
Birch tree
Butterfly bush
Cherry tree
Cinquefoil
Coreopsis
Cosmos
Daylily
Heliotrope
Liatris
Lilac
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Nasturtium
Petunia
Phlox
Rudbeckia
Russian olive
Salvia
Sedum
Snapdragon
Spirea
Sunflower
Viburnum |
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