Butterfly garden

10 Comments

1. Joann G - March 23, 2007 at 9:56 am

   I planted 12 Liatris bulbs this spring. Only two matured enough (very tall – height to about 30″) and bloomed. The other 10 grew to a height of about five inches and did not bloom. They are all in the same area. What happened?

   Storage and size can affect the growth rate of each individual corm. Perhaps you had a mix of quality. Sometimes it takes more than a year for Liatris to get mature enough to bloom. Wait till next year. they are great for attracting butterflies.

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2. lori - October 9, 2007 at 7:16 am

   I have 2 mini sunflower plants in my flower bed and the blooms seem to dying off and new ones are about to open. Do I need to remove the dead heads?

   Mini sunflowers don’t produce much of a seed head and that would be the only reason to keep it, so I would remove the dead flower to encourage the new ones to open. Allowing a flower to mature to produce a seed head takes a lot of energy from the plant, by removing it you stimulate the plant to produce more flowers and prolong their bloom time.

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3. Sarah - November 7, 2007 at 2:47 pm

   Do you cut back Purple Coneflower in the fall for winter protection? If so, how? Any other tips for winterizing Purple Coneflower?

   There are two ways to approach wintering perennials: Purple coneflower can be left as is. The seed heads will feed the birds during the winter. It will also disperse seeds and can produce more seedlings next year which may or may not be a good thing. The other way is to cut down the stems leaving up to 6 inches of the stem. The remaining stem stubs will catch loose leaves and snow which will add some insulation and protection from extreme cold. Purple coneflower is very hardy and should easily survive the winter cold.

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4. Bridgette Trent - April 11, 2008 at 1:55 pm

   I have Sweetwilliams from seeds there are 2 Years old and have nice leaves but no flowers and there are in a container, what can I do? Thanks very much……

   Sweet william are biennials that sometimes act like short-lived perennials. They come back for a year or so but do not perform well, either the plant gets sparse, untidy looking and has very little or no flowers. On the other hand, a biennial produces green growth the first year and then blooms the second year. If your original plant died after blooming but reseeded itself, then you have a 1st year plant again which should bloom next year. Another option is: that the plants may be vigorously growing leaves and producing no flowers due to too much nitrogen fertilizer.

   pic: Butterfly garden

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5. tereysha - September 2, 2008 at 9:05 am

   hi my class is going to start to do a court yard and we get to design it i was wondering if you have any thing that we might need to do so the flowers will stay alive for a long time we are doing an, asian and butterfly theme to it . i need to now what are the things that i need so we can do it right because i want it to look nice for the spring

   Hi Tereysha
   There are certain plants that you can plant that will attract butterflies. Shrubs such as Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), Azalea, lilac and
   perennial butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)bee balm (Monarda didyma), lantana and phlox will bloom during the summer and will attract butterflies. An addition of annual flowers and vines (passion flower)will keep your courtyard in bloom all summer long. See the list above for plant suggestions. You need to research the plants to make sure that they get enough sun, moisture and are hardy enough to grow in your area.

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6. Lisa - October 28, 2008 at 11:25 am

   I grew Snapdragons for the first time this summer. Now that fall has come and I am cleaning up the flower beds I noticed the snapdragons have a bulb like root. My question is can this root be saved for the winter and replanted next summer and if so how do I store it?

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7. Christian - April 27, 2010 at 10:56 am

   This is a really cool list. I would love too have some more butterflies in my garden:) Thanks

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8. Jan - September 23, 2011 at 6:39 pm

   I started a butterfly garden two years ago and this year the milkweed did sprout and grow.
   I have two butterfly bushes that are wonderful; one pink and one purple. Are they really a bush since they seem to want to grow tall like a small tree. When is the best time to prune the butterfly bush if at all? Spring or Fall?

   Our county sprays for mosquitoes and gypsy moths. We have fewer butterflies and lightening bugs now and it makes me wonder if the spray is the reason.

   Jan from Michigan

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   1. Amanda - October 7, 2011 at 12:13 pm

      I planted a butterfly bush this year in my flower bed. And they told me to cut it back low to the ground in early spring. And it will grow rapidly in early summer.

      Hi Amanda
      If you grow butterfly bush in a cold climate, they die from winter cold but the roots can survive.

      Reply
9. Troxanna Morones - November 11, 2015 at 4:05 pm

   Hi there, I was planning on digging up my dahlias to store them for winter, and before I could get to it, my mother thought she would be helpful and dug them up first. She also dug up my stargazer lilies thinking they were dahlias. I put the bulbs in a box with peat moss and stored them in the basement, should I go ahead and replant them back into the garden and hope for the best, or should I keep them in the basement until spring? What should I be doing for them to keep the bulbs alive??

   Hi
   Lilies need a cold treatment (35F) to bloom next year, so if the soil is still workable, put them back in the garden and cover them with several inches of mulch. If not, plant them in pots and store in the frig until you can plant them outdoors. Store this pot in a bag in the refrigerator for 8 weeks. The bulb and roots should be kept slightly moist, it must not dry out or it will die. Keep away from fruit and vegetables as the ethylene gas they emit can damage the flower inside the bulb. Periodically check for molding or shriveling.

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