Hi Tom,

I agree with you regarding the various types of Pentas. In my experience, the butterfly series Pentas (newer and shorter version usually found in the big box stores) just don't attract the butterflies or hummingbirds like the old fashioned, taller Pentas lanceolata do. My theory is they don't produce the nectar content of the older variety of Pentas. I planted a bright red (newer, shorter variety) Penta one year and can't recall ever seeing anything feeding on it. It was covered in pretty blooms all season but nothing seemed to care for it. On the other hand, the old fashioned Pentas seem to attract all the little guys that nectar.

I have a dark rose I've had for years and used to have a white and a lovely bright red but I waited too late one season to move them into the greenhouse and an early frost killed all but the rose colored one. I bought a bright red Pentas lanceolata 'Ruby Red'
just before I left for the summer and both colors are going strong and are heavily
favored as a nectar plant in my late summer garden.

Below is a photo of the Pentas 'Ruby Red' taken just before I left for Alaska.

Based on where I live, this is one of four
nectar plants I would not want to be without; old
fashioned Pentas lanceolata, Butterfly Bush - Buddleja, Tall Verbena and Lantana.

Good luck with your new colors. Please let us know how well they are received by the little wild things. The nursery you mention is new to me. I'll have to have a look. The old fashioned red Penta I bought earlier this summer came from Almost Eden Nursery in Louisiana. I don't often purchase mail order but I've been quite pleased with their plants. Thank goodness there are still nurseries who carry some of these older varieties. I originally purchased mine from a local nursery but it has since gone out of business.

Mary

Too bad this is another annual around here, I love them. Seems these and the cypress vine are the only thing the sulphurs around here like. I placed 3 orders from Almost Eden this year....

They are very easy to grow from cuttings. I now always have some small ones in pots. I put them inside when a cold front is coming.

Rhonda recently sent me a list of plants that were available in a sale sponsored, I believe, by the U. of Florida. The plants were rated from 1 to 5 for their nectar content. The Pentas Lanceolatas were the only ones that I saw with the highest rating of 5.

These are just terrific pollinator plants. They are ever-blooming, don't need dead-heading, are quite attractive, easy to grow from cuttings and the butterflies really love them.

Thank you, Tom, for this nectar content information for the Pentas Lanceolatas. I'd not ever come across this information and have added it to my garden notes. No wonder they are such a draw with the pollinators and our lovely butterflies!

Mary