www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Wallflower Bowles Mauve is a superb nectar plant with an almost continual flowering season if kept dead-headed. Mine have been flowering all winter! It's evergreen but sterile so does not set seed. It is however ridiculous easy to propagate from soft cuttings about 8 - 10 cms long any time May to August. My method is to use rooting hormone powder, put three cuttings in a pot and enclose in a sealed transparent food storage bag (this of course stops them wilting). Keep in the shade. After a couple of weeks, let a little air into the bag and gradually increase the amount of air until after a couple of months or so, the bag can be dispensed with entirely. Then plant out in the autumn

One caution about pruning Bowles Mauve. It is perfectly OK to cut into the green growth but it will not re-grow from hard woody stems. The result is that because it can't be heavily pruned, the plant gets bigger and bigger and becomes a sizeable bush ( one metre high by one metre across) after no more than three years and eventually becomes too big unless you have a large garden. So I propagate half a dozen new ones every summer to maintain the rotation of different sizes.

Jack Harrison

I should have included a photo. This taken mid February.

Jack

Beautiful photo, Jack.

Lots more like that, including butterflies, on:

http://www.snapperjack.co.uk

Jack

Last year I bought another erysimum - a nice soft orange, but never had any butterflies on it so the fact I have forgotten it's name does not really matter Anyway on Thursday I bought Erysimum 'My old mum' described as soft primrose buds changing to cream splashed lavender purple & said to flower April to August. It looks very pretty but it's raining too hard to take a photo but I will let you all know if it attracts butterflies. I do make a bit of a hobby out of trying new plants

Whilst I was at the Garden Cente I also bought Vinca minor Atropurpurea - because it had bumble bees on it's flowers. Now here is a little tip - when you want to buy new plants go out shopping on a nice sunny day & see which ones butterflies and bees are using. I have seen vinca 'perrywinkle' recommended as a butterfly nectar plant - so watch this space.

Wow Jack,

Some absolutely brilliant shots there. Have you been hiding your light under a bushel?
Truly beautiful photos of fabulous butterflies.

Denise

jackharr wrote:Wallflower Bowles Mauve is a superb nectar plant with an almost continual flowering season if kept dead-headed.

Jack Harrison

I took your advice Jack, and planted some of these little beauties for myself.
This Large White loves 'em.



Thanks
Denise

Just a reminder to anyone else who doesn't know.

Bowles mauve does not set seed and has to be propagated by cuttings but that is very easy. This is the perfect time of year.

Trim bottom leaves off a 7 or 8 cm shoot, use rooting compound and put in a well drained sandy/gritty compost. Enclose in transparent plastic bag and after about three weeks, gradually open the bag to lower the humidity. Should be able to take out of bag completely about six weeks after making cutting. Then plant out in the autumn.

Prune gently as required but only green shoots. It will NOT regrow if cut into woody stems. This does mean that the plant inevitably gets bigger and bigger over a mere two or three years and becomes too big and then has to be replaced with one of the new cuttings.

Jack

My Bowles Mauve is now flowering again.
It flowered right up until November last year, and then I dead headed it.
A wonderful butterfly plant.
Also, my first Honesty is just starting to flower, and the Primroses are in full bloom.
Spring is just around the corner.

Denise

Yes it is Denise but which corner
Shirley
P.S Wonderful photo of the Large White

My Bowles Mauves have hardly stopped flowering throughout the winter but one large bush had a lot of dead stems. I cut them out today but I'm not too hopeful that the plant will survive. But I have some rooted cuttings ready as replacements.

Jack

I bought a couple of these last autumn. One has just started flowering again so I hope it does attract butterflies this spring.

Don't overlook how easy it is to take cuttings. See my note earlier in this thread.

Jack

Thanks, Jack. I took cuttings last autumn in case the parent plants didn't make it through the winter and you are right, they do take easily.

This is the just the BEST plant! The painted ladies love it and so do the bees.

It really is am amazing flower for attracting all sorts of insects. 25th May. Jack

And again it shows its worth. But this one insisted on keeping its head down(wards)

Jack

Lovely pictures, jack.

I wouldn't be without this plant at the moment, it is worth its weight in gold as far as the painted ladies are concerned.

A warning. My three year old plants have all died. I had anticipated this after the dry spring so had taken plenty of cuttings. But if yours haven’t died yet, put some cuttings in the “bank” just in case.

Nothing unusual in them failing after three years. They are known to be a short-lived perennial.

Jack

Thanks, Jack.