By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
About 25 years ago, my next-door neighbor brought home a half-dead tangle of a plant that she called a passionflower (Passiflora). She planted it in a large trough and set to work spraying it lavishly with Miracle-Gro.
It must have been a case of the right plant in the right place because it soon tumbled over the fence and took over my yard. For the last quarter-century birds have scattered the passion fruit seeds, vines the size of boa constrictors have twined up my walnut tree, and the exuberantly beautiful blue passionflowers have provided a backdrop for family portraits.
Most importantly, the plant has provided habitat for the gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), an orange butterfly that was introduced to the Bay Area from the South American tropics around 1908 and has now spread as far north as Sacramento.
There's something so cheering about looking out the window at a cloud of orange butterflies fluttering around the blue passionflowers. It is a delightful way to begin the day.
Butterflies are important pollinators, but most people love them because they are so pretty. The fritillary larvae eat the passionflower leaves, and it's fun to watch the caterpillars creeping on the foliage. (Children find this stage especially fascinating.) The Napa climate is generally hospitable to butterflies, and most plants they like do well here. It is not at all difficult to create a butterfly habitat in your yard.
Butterfly bush (Buddleia) blooms in a variety of colors, including purple, rose, yellow and cream. It likes well-drained soil and full sun, although some varieties thrive in partial shade. It is not unusual to see a buddleia covered with butterflies, enjoying its nectar and pollen while slowly waving their wings. Some Buddleias can easily reach 15 feet. They do spread; seeds travel through a neighborhood and sprout. If you are concerned about that, prune them to a height of 10 inches after they flower but before they set seed.
Many California native plants are irresistible to butterflies, and most natives need little water to thrive. The California wild lilac (Ceanothus) can be a shrub or ground cover, with blooms in an assortment of colors, although blue is the most common. They need almost no water in summer, although some fog-belt varieties appreciate a little moisture then.
The flannel bush (Fremontodendron), which sports butter-yellow flowers, is completely drought tolerant. The foliage can irritate skin (the leaves have a felt-like texture on the underside), so wear gloves when working with it and keep the plant away from paths. It is perfect against a stone wall or on a slope, and pollinators love it.
Another garden showstopper is the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri). This perennial can grow nine feet tall and makes me think of fried eggs, sunny side up. The flowers have white crepe paper-like petals, with a fluffy yellow center, and greyish green foliage. I had no luck growing them from seed, and no wonder: they propagate by way of rhizomes. Even then, Sunset's Western Garden Book recommends that you burn pine needles on top of a foil-lined flat of sprigs from the spreading roots before planting them.
It's much easier to buy a plant from a nursery that sells natives. However, all the fuss is worth it. Butterflies love Matilija poppy, it is truly spectacular, and it requires next to no care or water once established.
The California marigold (Tagetes lemonii) is another striking native that attracts butterflies. I first noticed this plant growing out of a crack in a Berkeley sidewalk a couple of years ago, and since then I have seen it everywhere. It is a shrub-like perennial, with golden-orange flowers and dark blue-green pointed leaves that smell like a combination of citrus, lavender and mint. It needs low to moderate water and looks wonderful with red poppies and blue salvia.
Mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii) is a native shrub that is covered with sweet-smelling white blossoms that butterflies can't resist. It is drought tolerant.
Many flowers that lure butterflies can be planted from seed. Try native milkweeds if you want Monarch butterflies in your yard. The showy milkweed (Asclepius speciosa) and Mexican whorled milkweed (Asclepius fascicularis) like the sun and, again, need little water. The purple coneflower (Echinacea) and sunflower (Helianthus) are also good choices, as are native yarrows (Achillea multifolium californicum and Achillea multifolium rosea).
Cosmos and zinnias are also easy to grow from seed and are good choices for attracting pollinators. Their flowers are of differing heights, so there is lots of movement from the butterflies as they consume nectar.
To create a true habitat, grow these plants in masses, not in isolated clumps. Make sure to have water nearby, as butterflies get thirsty. While I can't guarantee a visit from Lewis Carroll's bread-and-butterfly (last seen in Through the Looking Glass), many other varieties will enjoy your efforts, and you will love watching butterflies drift around your garden.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Suddenly it feels like winter. Well, not really, but the mornings are definitely brisk now and the days have cooled off. We've had a smidgen of rain. Plants have stopped blooming. What are the butterflies and bees to do?
Any poor bees and butterflies still in my garden will have to look elsewhere for nectar. But I want to fix this problem so that, next fall, I will still have some blooms for my pollen-loving friends.
I fear the drought is not behind us, so I have been looking at seeds for drought-tolerant native plants that continue blooming into fall. Native plants and our native bees, butterflies and other fauna evolved together and have adapted to our winter rains and dry summers. My water comes from a well, and because I can't see what is going on down there, I am very frugal with it.
Bees and butterflies like flowers with flat heads that make it easy to gather nectar. Sunflowers are a good example. My plan is to scatter their seeds in different areas of my garden after a rain and stomp them into the ground. Then, I hope, they will not blow away and the birds will not find them before they have a chance to sprout. However, I have noticed that those cute little quail that I have invited to live in my yard are eating the tops off of some tender plants, so I will have to use floating row cover to protect the seedlings.
After reading about the nectar plants that bees and butterflies favor, I have gathered seeds for tansy, wild senna, meadow rue, yarrow, bee balm, prairie blazing star and sea holly. Some of these are annuals and may reseed if I just let the seeds drop.
I also plan to increase the amount and varieties of milkweed (Asclepias)I have in the garden. Their flower heads are the shape that most small bees and all butterflies appreciate. And the different types bloom at different times during spring and summer. The native Asclepias speciosa grows tall and blooms in early summer. As its flowers fade and its leaves get tougher, the butterflies move to later-blooming varieties for nectar and egg laying. Asclepias fascicularis (narrow-leaf milkweed) blooms in late July and August. The bees love those flowers, too.
Hot Lips sage (Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips') is a favorite of bumblebees. I started with a single one-gallon plant when this variety first debuted and now I have four huge plants in my garden. It needs little water and blooms almost all summer. When I visited the arboretum in Dublin, Ireland, last June, I was surprised to see it growing there. I have other salvias, too, but they do not bloom as long as ‘Hot Lips'.
Others have told me that Asclepias curvassiva, a tropical milkweed, has naturalized in some Napa Valley gardens. It has also played host to many Monarch butterflies. The plants die down in winter and renew in the spring from self-seeding. Most bees and butterflies like its nectar. Another popular milkweed isAsclepias fruticosa, sometimes called swan milkweed because of the shape of the seed pods.
Free Tree Walk: Join U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County on Saturday, October 22, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., for a guided tree walk through the lovely Alameda of Trees at the Yountville Veterans Home. Established in 1884, the Veterans Home has a unique and diverse tree collection. These majestic mature specimen trees are a focal point in the lives of the men and women who live there. Come learn more about these wonderful trees. Meet at the parking lot of the Napa Valley Museum on the Veterans Home grounds, 260 California Drive, Yountville.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
[Ed note: Pictures of their favorite flowers and the associated butterflies are posted in the order listed by Penny Pawl.)
This has been a beautiful, bountiful year for butterflies in my garden. I have been hand-raising butterflies for many years now. It's my effort towards giving them a better chance at life.
Butterflies start in March when the flowers and vines begin to put out flowers and leaves. The Dutchman's pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla ) puts out its little pipes in March. These blooms are pollinated by gnats. The leaves start to grow about the same time, and the Pipevine Swallowtailbutterflies are programmed to leave their pupae at this time. Most of them have been waiting almost a year to complete metamorphosis and are happy to be flying in the sun, gathering nectar from flowers and laying eggs.
When I see a female laying eggs, I search through the vine and usually find eight to ten little golden eggs in a cluster. Before a predator can get to them, I take the eggs in the house and put them in a small container. The container keeps them and the leaves from drying up. In less than a week, the tiny caterpillars are born. At that point, I know that I am committed for five weeks before they will make a pupa.
Once I commit to raising them, I clean their containers daily and make sure they have plenty of pipeline leaves, their preferred food. Occasionally I run out of leaves from my vine, but I know where another vine is and I will 'borrow' some of its leaves.
Monarch butterflies make their first flight through Napa Valley in April and May, heading north. To be ready for them, I grow a number of types of milkweed (Asclepias) that bloom at different times in spring and summer. The native milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is usually growing when the Monarchs pass through. They may lay eggs if the plant has tender young leaves.
This past spring I gathered about 20 Monarch eggs. They are small, white and found on the underside of milkweed leaves. When I gather the eggs, I take a piece of leaf with me so when the eggs hatch they have some food. Right now the butterflies are ignoring Asclepias speciosa as the leaves are old. Instead they are laying their eggs on narrow-leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis). I have lost count of the number of Monarchs I have raised in my house this year, but it must be around 50.
I was gone for a couple of weeks in June when another group of Monarchs came through the garden. Every milkweed variety that I grow had been munched. I found caterpillars of various sizes and took them inside to complete their growth. Monarchs take less than three weeks to mature and become a pupa. They will emerge from the pupa in another two weeks. Since they are hatching in my yard and I have plenty of flowers, they stay a while and lay more eggs.
Anise Swallowtail Butterflies feed on fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and members of the parsley and carrot family. My fennel had struggled for years as gophers love it, too. I finally put the plant in a large pot to protect the roots and sunk the pot in the ground. The roots grow out the holes in the pot and the main plant is saved. This seems to work, and I have found tiny caterpillars on the fennel. So far this year, I have more than 20 that are either in pupae or eating fennel like there is no tomorrow.
All three of these members of the Swallowtail family taste bad to birds. However, that does not stop spiders, wasps and native bugs from dining on them. Lizards also like them. A few years ago, small parasitic flies laid eggs in one group of Anise Swallowtails I was raising. This killed the caterpillars when the eggs hatched.
These butterflies live only six to eight weeks. During that time they will lay 500 to 600 eggs. Not all the eggs are fertile; some are defective and the newborns die before they mature. But by hand-raising them, I am giving more butterflies a chance to have their flying days. In nature, only a small percentage make the transition.
When I started raising the Pipevine Swallowtail, I saw only a few, but now many visit my vine all summer long. Last year, in late September, two large Pipevine caterpillars were still feeding on the vine.
You don't have to hand-raise butterflies as I do, but you can help them survive by planting nectar plants. Grow native Pipevine, native milkweeds and other plants that butterflies need to lay eggs and feed. Never use pesticides; butterflies are not immune.
Gardening for Butterflies is an excellent resource. You'll also find a lot of good information on the life cycle of butterflies online.
Tree Walk: Join U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County for a free guided tree walk through Fuller Park in Napa on Monday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registration is recommended as space is limited. Meet at Fuller Park, corner of Jefferson and Oak Streets. Online registration or call 707-253-4221. Trees to Know in Napa Valley will be available for $15. Cash or check payable to UC Regents. Sorry, we are unable to process credit cards.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.