Fast, easy native nectar plant for North Texas

13 years ago

Hello,

I'm trying to get an NWF Community Habitat certification project going for my little town of Lucas, TX. One of the hard things about these kinds of projects is fund raising so we are looking at trying a small plant sale as a dual purpose project.

Longterm, selling things like milkweed woud be really cool, but I think it can be harder to transplant so I'm not sure it's the best choice for beginners. Anyone have experience along those lines? I know tropical is really easy to grow from seed, but we'd really like to stick to native plants.

A lot of this will be aimed at schools and I think for the first year, the kids will want instant gratification. This project isn't aimed specifically at monarchs, but at all wildlife.

So I'm looking for suggestions for a fast growing early blooming native that could make an immediate impact. We're in zone 7b, blackland prairie. The lots are all 1+ acres (no sewer system :-) so something largish would be OK. I'm assuming it would be an annual but maybe not? Conoclinium greggii (Gregg's mistflower) is a butterfly magnet in my yard, but I'm not sure it would bloom as early. I've never started it from seed, does anyone have any comment on doing that?

A sgguestion that doesn't require stratification would be great, but if it does, I could try to get some and start right away and hopefully have enough time.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Teri

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Comments (6)

butterflyman
13 years ago
There is no "instant gratification" with butterfly native plants unless you buy large plants from nurseries.

I put it about four butterfly gardens for schools every year. There are five ways to get new free plants.
1. Plant natives in the fall which require cold stratification. Milkweed, echinacea, maltese cross, rue, and many more.
2. Dig up seedlings which appear in the spring garden. I have a lot.
3. Take cuttings in the fall from favorite plants.
4. Divide perennials in spring.
5. Plant seeds in early spring from annual seeds saved in the fall.

Best of luck.
lucas_tx_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
>>

Which annuals do best for you?
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butterflymomok
13 years ago
Some good easy nectar plants include:

Verbena bonairiensis - native to SA

Gaillardia - perennial that comes back; needs to be started early

Cosmos

Liatris - perennial from bulbs; blooms first season

Phlox
Asters
Turk's cap
Ironweed
Coneflowers
Dianthus
Verbenas

Prairie Moon Nursery is a good source for seed and has information on requirements for all the seeds/plants they sell.

Many of my plants have taken several years to get to blooming size. The very best immediate nectar plant is the tropical milkweed. Easy to start, and easy to transplant. I grow a lot of this for teachers.

Just thought about several that do well in one season:

Golden Crownbeard
Partridge Pea
Cassias
Rudbeckia - Black eyed Susans

These would be great for cup/pot growth by students, or direct sowing.

Sandy
linda_tx8
13 years ago
I haven't tried to grow the Gregg's Mistflower from seed, but have noticed the clumps can get bigger and be divided over time. I agree it's a good plant for butterflies. I also like the Turk's Cap. Then there's White Mistflower, Eupatorium havanense, which especially draws them in when fall comes. There's many native salvias that are good nectar plants, Salvia coccinea and Salvia greggi, for instance. Purple Horsemint, Monardia citriodora is one of my favorites here. And I've recently discovered Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, which the butterflies love and it's xeriscape! Aromatic Aster, Symphotrichum oblongifolium is nice also. The only milkweeds that do very well here are the Tropical Milkweed (yes, not a Texas native, but native to Mexico, which is just across the Texas border, so many Texas native plant people include it) and Texas Milkweed, Asclepias texana (don't know if it would grow where you are, but it does well here). If there's a chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas nearby, they could probably help with what can actually grow in your area. I found a copy of Butterfly Gardening for the South recently to send to my daughter in Houston who is having a house built there. Very good book and has a lot of Texas natives! It seems to be out of print, so hard to find, but there might be copies in the libraries.
perennialfan273
13 years ago
All great suggestions. I also recommend caryopteris (bluebeard/blue mist spirea etc.). Very easy to grow and the butterflies go CRAZY over this thing!
imabirdnut
13 years ago
I am in North Texas & am no expert because I just started Butterfly gardening a couple of years ago but I have found the best source for me to research Butterfly plants is from the "Butterfly Man"...Dale Clark. He designed the Butterfly Garden at Texas Discovery Gardens & has a website for the Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society.
I can't seem to link the site so here is the website you can paste into your address bar...
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/
Check out the link on the left for Butterfly Gardening. It lists a ton of nectar & host plants that grow for our area.