Butterflies and Hummingbirds

SBISD approved planting for Butterflies and Hummingbirds

Butterflies

When planting for butterflies, you need to provide plants for all stages of a butterfly's life cycle. To do so you need both nectar plants and host plants. Nectar plants provide food for the adult butterfly and are the blooming plants. Host plants provide a place for the butterflies to lay their eggs and as a food source for the pupae, as well as a location for the chrysalis to attach. You can plant nectar plants just to attract butterflies, but you will deprive yourself of observing their fascinating life cycle.

Nectar plants are labeled "nectar" and host plants are labeled "host." If a plant is especially attractive to a particular butterfly, that information is also provided.

Remember, if your host plant is being eaten up, THAT'S GOOD! It means that butterflies are on the way.

Butterflies need a water source. A shallow bird bath works fine, or you can place one or two rounded flat stones in the bath . They like gently sloping sides in an area of full sun and in the open. Butterflies like to drink in safety, so place the water away from places where predators can hide.

Butterflies are cold blooded and need a place to bask in the sun. Their activities are governed by the amount of heat their bodies can capture. Rocks absorb heat and butterflies will perch on them to absorb that heat. Natural flat rocks facing south or west are attractive additions to your garden and serve as a perfect basking place.

Lastly, do not place bird feeders in the area. Birds eat butterflies and their larvae.

TREES

Burr Oak - This tree is easy to grow in Houston. It has interestingly textured bark, and like most oaks, it gets tall with the years. It is a larval food for Edward's Hairstreak.

Parsley Hawthorne - This is a nectar plant. It is also a host plant for the Gray Hairstreak. It grows to 25 feet, and the blooming period is March and April.

Texas Mountain Laurel - This is a slow growing tree. It remains small (under 6 feet) for several years. Each spring it puts out blooms that smell just like grape kool- aid. It is a host plant for Henry's Elfin.

VINES

Dutchman's Pipevine - This large vine has striking blooms which are shaped like a Dutchman's pipe. It is a larval food for the Pipevine Swallowtail.

Passionflower vine - Wonderful flowers but more importantly, the leaves are larval food for the Gulf Fritillary.

SHRUBS

Butterfly Bush - This is one of the best plants for the butterfly garden. It is a nectar plant.

Glossy Abelia - This is a perennial shrub here in Houston in all but the most severe winter. Grows to about four feet tall. It is covered with vast numbers of tiny white blooms from June through October. It is a nectar plant which is favored by Swallowtails.

Four-O'Clocks - White, red and yellow blooms grow on a three foot tall shrub. Very fragrant flowers that open in the afternoon.

Mexican Oleander (Butterfly Weed) - Can grow to be three to five feet tall. Is both a nectar and host plant for the Monarch butterfly.

Texas Lantana - This is an easy-to-grow perennial. It freezes back in a hard winter, but comes back strong. Height is around two feet. It blooms from spring to frost. It has coarse leaves and lots of small, orangish blooms. It is a nectar plant.

ANNUALS

Buttercup - Full to partial sun, height varies by variety.

Impatiens - This low growing plant is a nectar plant.

Marigold - Full sun annual, dwarf to giant.

Sweet Alyssum - This is a low growing annual. It has masses of tiny flowers in red, white, and pink. Does best in the cooler months. This is a nectar plant.

Zinnia - Full sun annual, dwarf to giant.

PERENNIALS

Daylily - This is an easy to grow perennial. Although the flowers only last a day, they are much preferred by butterflies as nectar plants.

Hibiscus - This is a tropical perennial. It will not survive Houston winters. Some that are planted in the ground come back but never bloom much at all. Keep them in pots and move them inside when the weather turns cold. This is a nectar plant.

Jacobinia - Loves shade and needs winter protection. Flowers are red, pink, yellow, orange, and white.

Pentas - This is one of the easiest plants to grow in Houston. If we have a mild winter it will survive. They are nectar plants. Red, pink and white blooming plants are available, as are pentas in various heights. Do not miss the chance to plant this wonderful flower.

Plumbago - This old-fashioned plant is a reliable producer of light blue flowers that butterflies like as a source of nectar.

HERBS

Fennel - This is an easy to grow herb. It is a host plant for the Anise Swallowtail.

Mint - Very invasive perennial, best planted in a large pot set in the ground and keep runners from taking root, unless you want mint everywhere. Host and nectar.

Purple Coneflowers - Full sun, grows three to four feet tall, nectar.

Rose Mallow (Hardy Hibiscus) - Full sun. Both a nectar and host plant. Three to five feet tall, perennial herb.

HOSTS

Cabbage - All members of this family. These can be ornamental or non-ornamental.

Dill

Parsley

Carrots

Partridge Pea

Plumbago

Ruellia

Toadflax

Violets

Clover

The following alphabetical list gives the common and scientific names of some butterflies whose ranges include the Houston area:

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus communis)

Checkered White (Pontia protodice)

Cloudless Sulfur (Phoebis sennae)

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Hummingbirds

Ninety-nine percent of the hummingbirds in Houston appear only in the spring and fall while on their migratory paths to the north or south. Generally, one can expect hummingbirds to come through Houston on their spring migration around the first week of April. Hummers return to Houston on their southern migration around Labor Day. In the fall they usually stay for well over a month.

Besides a good source of nectar, hummers need a water source and a place to rest. A bird bath or an unglazed clay dish works well, make sure that the rim is narrow or that a small landing area is provided. Hummers have little feet, which brings us to a perch. These little dynamos need a place to rest. They will usually choose a tree close to a feeding site, but if you want to observe them at rest, place a pole with a small dowel or thin board attached in the feeding area.

Hummingbirds prefer red and orange flowers, shaped like trumpets. The following is a list of easy-to-grow plants suitable for the Houston area.

PLANTS

Allamanda - Perennial vine. Tropical. Prefers high humidity and temperatures above 60 degrees. Beautiful yellow flower. Even though the blooms are not red, hummers love them.

Butterfly weed - Perennial. Full sun. Growth three to four feet. Lanky. Blooms early summer.

Cape honeysuckle - Evergreen vine. Full sun or part shade. Blooms May to August.

Firebush (hummingbird bush) - Perennial to three feet. Full sun. Freezes to the ground if we get an especially cold winter. It will come back, although it does not bloom until mid-summer if it freezes. Blooms last well into fall.

Giant Turk's Cap - Perennial. This plant gets big. At least five feet across and three and a half feet tall. Hummers like it. Lots of blooms. Will freeze back but is root hardy. Prune in spring to keep it in bounds.

Lantana - Evergreen shrub to two feet tall. Full sun. Blooms from spring until frost.

Salvia, Lady-in-Red - This salvia can survive here in mild winters. Hummers love its red blooms. It blooms from spring until frost. Around two feet high.

Trumpet honeysuckle - Evergreen vine. Full sun or part shade. Blooms May to August.

Trumpet vine - Deciduous vine. Full sun. Blooms July to September.

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