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Butterfly Buffet—Late-Flowering Plants That Lure Pollinators to the Fall Garden
Plants & Gardens News Volume 17, Number 3 | Fall 2002
by Claire Hagen Dole
Autumn, with its invigorating weather, has always been my favorite season. I love to putter in the garden, stopping to gaze at a skipper as it flits from marigold to oregano, or to listen to the call of a flicker high in the apple tree. What makes these fall days so poignant is my keen sense that each one is a gift, maybe the last before winter storms blow in. I want to savor the sight of each late-season butterfly before it, too, disappears.
Fall is a time when many adult butterflies are reaching the end of their life cycles. Having sired offspring that will overwinter and carry on their legacy in the spring, adults continue moving from flower to flower, savoring whatever nectar they can find. But fall is also a time when several butterfly species migrate to more favorable climes and are diligently seeking to build up their energy reserves.
To lure these ephemeral visitors to my yard and make their task a little easier, I grow flowers, herbs, and shrubs with nectar-rich blossoms that linger, sometimes until the frosty nights of late October. I also leave some apples under the tree to attract the red admiral butterfly, which takes minerals and amino acids from the rotting fruit.
In The Garden in Autumn, Allen Lacy describes fall as a time of "great harmony between the garden and the larger landscape of fields and meadows and roadsides." North American natives such as aster, goldenrod, and joe-pye weed lean and mingle in "sweet disorder" against the brilliant leaves of oak and maple. These are also some of the best plants for fall butterfly gardening. In general, regionally native species-plants (rather than hybrids or cultivars) with single-petaled flowers offer the best chances for success. But there are many other choices too, as we shall see.
Late-Season Nectar
Fall-blooming plants are invaluable nectar sources for migrating butterflies and hummingbirds. Monarchs, which cover great distances en route to winter homes in Mexico or California, need to rest, refuel, and wait out bad weather. Painted ladies and buckeyes also head south to escape the cold weather. At the same time, gulf fritillaries and cloudless sulphurs are flying north, perhaps due to a sudden population boom in the South.
At Cape May Bird Observatory on the New Jersey coast, this two-way butterfly migration can be an impressive sight. According to CMBO naturalist Pat Sutton, one of the best fall nectar plants for monarchs is seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens). This species grows wild along the coastal dunes of New Jersey. Clusters of yellow flowers bloom on its five- to seven-foot stalks. The plant likes full sun and lean, well-drained soil.
Migrants from Canada begin to arrive at Cape May as early as the last week of July, while monarchs in the region are still mating and laying eggs. Stands of milkweed do double duty in late summer, providing leaves for this new generation of monarch larvae and nectar for the butterflies that are migrating south.
Early-fall nectar plants in CMBO's "Model Backyard Habitat" garden include New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), sedum (Sedum spectabile 'Meteor'), mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and bloodflower (A. curassavica).
Plants of the Prairie
Migrating monarchs and other fall butterflies have definite favorites among the wildflowers at Prairie Nursery in Westfield, Wisconsin. Neil Diboll, proprietor, lists New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), meadow blazing star (Liatris ligulistylus), and stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) as the most popular nectar sources in early fall.
Most gardeners are familiar with New England aster. Growing up to six feet high, it produces orange-centered purple flowers that persist into October. The plant requires fertile soil and regular watering.
Unlike other Liatris species, which produce single flower spikes, meadow blazing star produces branched inflorescence with individual, buttonlike flowers—perfect landing pads for butterflies. The bright purple flowers bloom from midsummer to fall. The plant grows up to four feet high and prefers moist, rich soil in full sun.
Stiff goldenrod bears flat-topped clusters of bright yellow flowers on three- to five-foot stalks. It's not fussy about soil type but likes full sun and good drainage. Birds relish the seeds. Other goldenrods with flat flower clusters include Ohio goldenrod (Solidago ohioensis) and showy goldenrod (S. speciosa). All goldenrods are attractive to butterflies and to a multitude of beneficial insects. Check a wildflower guidebook for regional choices.
California Choices
John Whittlesey, owner of Canyon Creek Nursery in Oroville, California, notices fall butterfly activity on small-flowered asters. Aster cordifolius forms a cloud of small violet-blue flowers on four-foot stalks in September. Aster pringlei 'Monte Cassino' has white flowers on 30-inch stalks and makes a good cut flower.
Hummingbirds and butterflies, especially swallowtails, often visit anise hyssop (Agastache species), a member of the mint family. Whittlesey's favorite, Agastache 'Summer Breeze', bears peach-pink flowers on five- to six-foot-tall stems through October. It's easy to grow in full sun and well-drained soil.
Long-Blooming Annuals
Many butterfly-friendly flowers found in seed catalogs will bridge the season from summer to fall, or even later. Start with colorful, easy-to-grow cosmos. Territorial Seeds in Cottage Grove, Oregon, offers Cosmos sulphureus 'Red Crest', a two-foot plant with reddish-orange blooms, and C. bipinnatus 'Picotee', a 30-inch-high plant with pink-tinged white flowers.
Single-flowered zinnias in sultry shades of mahogany and gold look wonderful in the fall garden, and they're virtually carefree. Try Zinnia haageana 'Chippendale' or Z. pauciflora 'Bonita Red'.
French marigold (Tagetes patula) blooms into fall, attracting skippers and other late butterflies. Striped in gold and mahogany, single flowers of 'Naughty Marietta' and 'Mr. Majestic' are 12 inches high; 'Striped Marvel' is 24 inches high. All are widely available.
Herb Garden Favorites
Among the hundreds of herbs that are garden regulars, some stand out as fall-blooming butterfly magnets. Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) has violet-green flowers that attract skippers, buckeye butterflies, and bumblebees. The dark purple blossoms of the ornamental oregano cultivar Origanum laevigatum 'Herrenhausen' look stunning when lit up by slanting rays of afternoon sun and covered with tawny skippers.
A host of salvias, irresistible to hummingbirds and butterflies, wait until fall to bloom: anise-scented sage (Salvia guaranitica), with dark blue flowers; Mexican bush sage (S. leucantha), with fuzzy stems and purple flowers; tropical sage (S. coccinea), covered with small red flowers; and Salvia 'Indigo Spires', with dark purple flowers.
Shrubs for Fall Butterflies
In early fall, drought-tolerant blue mist (Caryopteris x clandonensis) is covered with clusters of small blue flowers, which attract butterflies and many bees. Canyon Creek Nursery offers C. incana, whose felted gray leaves and violet-blue flowers attract butterflies through September.
Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora) blooms from early summer until frost. Swallowtails are especially attracted to abelia's bell-like flowers of pale pink or white. Abelia 'Edward Goucher' has lilac-pink flowers; Abelia x grandiflora 'Prostrata' and 'Sherwood' are low-growing shrubs with white blossoms.
In the arid West, rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosis) and deerweed (Lotus scoparius) are beacons for butterflies well into fall. When the deciduous, silvery leafed rabbitbrush bursts into bright yellow bloom in late summer, its pungent flowers quickly become covered with butterflies and other insects. A major nectar source for fall-migrating monarchs, the plant grows up to five feet high and wide, and likes full sun.
Deerweed blossoms resemble sweet peas. They darken from yellow to red during their long bloom season. The small shrub is attractive to butterflies and is the larval host for several species.
Winter Preparations
One brisk autumn day, you will be seized by a powerful urge to tidy up the garden. Resist that urge! Whether a butterfly spends the winter as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult, it needs an undisturbed place to wait out the cold months. Tiny larvae may be curled up in a dead leaf or seed pod, or attached to a grass blade. Check fennel stalks for swallowtail chrysalides, and let leaf litter become mulch, where skippers and the showy Polyphemus moth can pupate. Anglewings and tortoiseshells overwinter as adults, finding shelter under loose tree bark and in brush piles. A bright winter's day may bring them out of hibernation for a few hours to bask in the sunshine.
Nursery Sources:
3527 Dry Creek Road
Oroville, CA 95965
530-533-2166
www.canyoncreeknursery.com Forestfarm
990 Tetherow Road
Williams, OR 97544-9599
541-846-7269
www.forestfarm.com
P.O. Box 306
Westfield, WI 53964
800-476-9453
www.prairienursery.com Territorial Seed Company
P.O. Box 157
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-9547
www.territorial-seed.com
Claire Hagen Dole, a Seattle-based master gardener, writes about wildlife gardening for numerous national publications and is editing BBG's summer 2003 handbook, The Butterfly Gardener's Guide.