May Plants for Butterflies
Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:03 am
Well obviously some of the April ones are still blooming but I thought I would set this off so people can add in their observations of useful plants in their gardens.
Lets hope weather will warm up & butterflies will start breeding. With that in mind here are some suggestions for larval foodplants.
I grow Purging Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica succesfully in a large pot and Brimstones breed on it every year. Its worth trying various larval foodplant sin pots - Birdsfoot trefoil springs to mind too. I once had Orange Tips lay on Ladies Smock plants while they were still in the seed tray!! So I definitely think pots can work.
If you have not got holly in your garden it is worth having one of those for the Holly Blues. They need the female holly it is generally said. Not sure how they feel about variegated ones. Perhaps some one out there knows
And later in the year HBs will need ivy to lay on. They need the blooms. If you grow it up a short pole or a wall or fence less than a metre tall it will produce flowering growth more quickly.
And another climber to try if you have a bare area of fence or wall is hops - commas may breed on there.
Speckled Woods are flying in Hampshire. They do frequent gardens especialy those near natural areas & will no doubt be looking for nice areas of natural grass to lay on. If your garden does not posesss a mini meadow now is the time to think about creating one. Your butterflies deserve it!
Lets hope weather will warm up & butterflies will start breeding. With that in mind here are some suggestions for larval foodplants.
I grow Purging Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica succesfully in a large pot and Brimstones breed on it every year. Its worth trying various larval foodplant sin pots - Birdsfoot trefoil springs to mind too. I once had Orange Tips lay on Ladies Smock plants while they were still in the seed tray!! So I definitely think pots can work.
If you have not got holly in your garden it is worth having one of those for the Holly Blues. They need the female holly it is generally said. Not sure how they feel about variegated ones. Perhaps some one out there knows
And later in the year HBs will need ivy to lay on. They need the blooms. If you grow it up a short pole or a wall or fence less than a metre tall it will produce flowering growth more quickly.And another climber to try if you have a bare area of fence or wall is hops - commas may breed on there.
Speckled Woods are flying in Hampshire. They do frequent gardens especialy those near natural areas & will no doubt be looking for nice areas of natural grass to lay on. If your garden does not posesss a mini meadow now is the time to think about creating one. Your butterflies deserve it!
