Does anybody actually grow thistle?

10 years ago

I ordered some seeds of pearly everlasting for winter sowing. My understanding is that they mainly attract American ladies, which should definitely be possible here. But it seems from the reading I have done that painted ladies really prefer thistle. I really don't want to bring one of those into my garden! Does anyone around here actually grow this stuff? Are there any less obnoxious varieties?

BTW, I was at one of my local parks this morning and there was a large field with many thistle plants, so I don't feel my help is exactly necessary. :D. I just would like more butterflies in my garden!
Liz

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Comments (6)

MissSherry
10 years ago
I've always been a bit confused about the painted ladies and thistle thing. They rarely ever show up here, and when they do, they're usually badly worn - I've never found any cats. Thistles grow naturally along parts of my road, but they're very ugly. When I was in Alabama earlier this year, there were some beautiful burgundy colored thistles growing. I didn't get back there to harvest any seeds, but I'd sure like to at some point. The soil over there (Wilcox and Monroe Counties) is red, I mean real red, not just reddish orange like the subsoil here. The soil over there is burgundy, like the thistles -

{{gwi:527268}}

There are other types of thistles that don't have thorns, so I'm guessing they use those. I don't think caterpillars could survive C. horridulum!

Sherry
domehomedee
10 years ago
Centaureas are thistles and so are artichokes!
So there are some that are pretty and useful.
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Liz
Original Author
10 years ago
I'm not sure Lady butterflies can grow on artichokes or centaureas, though. I'm not even sure how well they do on non-native thistles, although I suspect that is okay. My identification skills are not very good at present, but I believe I saw Lady butterflies this morning when I was out at a local park. I saw some medium-size butterflies with a herky-jerky sort of flight and some sort of triangular pattern in the forewing. There were loads of thistle plants in bloom. When I identified them last year, they were bull thistles. There were also tons of tiger swallowtails, Cabbage Whites, and sulfurs enjoying the nectar.

I think the beautiful thistle Sherry had a picture of might have been Cirsium rivulare 'atropurpureum.' I think it is from Japan. If that will serve the purpose, it certainly could be worth adding to the butterfly garden. It is very pretty.
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
10 years ago
If anyone wants I have a plethora or thistles that I would be happy to share. They are pretty in bloom and prettier off my yard.

SCG
kchd
10 years ago
There are some beautiful native thistles out there that I would certainly grow if I found seeds for them. Check out Cirsium discolor; a native host plant for painted ladies.

Here is a link that might be useful: field thistle
Leafhead
10 years ago
Try Globe Thistle. It serves the same function, provides excellent nectar and is a lot more handsome than its ugly stepsisters.
Painted Ladies will also use members of the Mallow family, esp Hollyhocks as host plants.
Painted ladies will also eat a great variety of members of the Aster Family as well, even overlapping c the American Lady's narrower diet.