More Butterfly Gardens - notes

1/7/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Butterfly Flights in
Your Yard

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants Madrona Marsh Preserve
Project SOUND - 2009 July 7 & 11, 2009
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Our assignment: get rid of lawn & create butterfly habitat First Question: What are our assets?

 Well-draining loam soil –
can plant most native
plants
 Already have some good
‘heritage plants’
 Several small citrus trees
 Catalina Island Cherry
hedge/screen nearby
 Dense non-native screen
provides shelter, perches

 Flexible watering
system: grass area
somewhat dry in summer

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1/7/2013

Location is key for butterfly gardens
 In a sunny protected area
of your yard – we need to
check the sun/shade
patterns
 Away from traffic - not a
good choice for parking
strips.
 Out of heavy winds.
Butterflies won't stay
where they are being
blown around. Dense
screen is perfect for this.

© Project SOUND
Winter sun & shade pattern – about 11:00 a.m. © Project SOUND

Citrus –
Zone 2

Roses & existing screen
are Zone 3

Summer sun & shade pattern – about 11:00 a.m. © Project SOUND
Water Zones – the challenge of ‘heritage plants’ © Project SOUND

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1/7/2013

What do we need for a Butterfly Garden?

Zone 3 in winter/
Zone 2/3 summer Zone 2/3

Checkered Skipper

Two important first questions Participating in the annual July Butterfly Count is a
great way to learn about butterflies
 What butterfly species do
I want to attract?
 Are there particular
butterflies we really want to
attract?
 What butterflies occur
commonly in my area?

 Do I want to just attract
adult butterflies, or do I
want to create true
butterfly habitat (provide
everything the butterflies
need to live in my yard)?


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1/7/2013

The ‘S. Bay Butterflies & Their Native We’ll be e-mailing you some other
Food Sources’ list is another place to start resources

 Nectar Sources list
 Larval Food Sources
list
 List of good
butterfly resources
 Books focused on our
area
 Internet resources


We decide we really want to attract the following First we need to understand the life
butterflies – and we want them to stay cycle of butterflies
 Swallowtails
 Monarchs  If we want
 Ladies
to provide
 Blue Butterflies
 Skippers (several species already
habitat, we’ll
found in the garden) have to
provide for
all stages of
the life cycle

http://basrelief.org/NewFiles/lifecyc.html

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1/7/2013

What butterflies need: keys to providing
butterfly habitat
 Adult food: nectar plants,
fruit, sap
 Larval food plants: often
quite specific
 Water
 Minerals and salt (mud)
 Perching/sunning places;
protection from wind
 Butterflies need sunlight. They are cold-blooded, so they
 Hiding places for larvae use the sun to warm up their bodies. Pick a sunny spot for
(caterpillars) & pupae your garden and place a few flat stones around so the
(cocoons) butterflies can rest while warming up.

Butterflies also need a source of water

 Butterflies cannot drink
from deep water sources
such as a birdbath
 Provide water as:
 Damp or muddy areas of the
garden – around the roses
 A shallow dish filled with
sand or gravel & refilled
each morning – on a post or
hung from a tree
 A birdbath or fountain with
gravel/rocks to provide
 Butterflies need shelter from wind and rain, and a place to shallow water
rest at night. Planting your garden near shrubs and trees will
give them the shelter they need.

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1/7/2013

Confusion about The delicate dance between food plants
‘butterfly plants’ and butterflies
 Co-evolution of plants and
insects
 Many ‘butterfly  ‘food’ is specially formulated for
plants’ and ‘butterfly our species – and for our climate
bushes’ are from  Some non-native ‘butterfly
plants’ don’t provide all the
other parts of the
requirements – native vs. non-
http://butterflybush.net/blog/

country: native Milkweeds
 May not grow so well
here  Impact of non-native
horticultural plants – all show
 May not be
appropriate for our and no nutrition
local butterflies
 Impact of loss of habitat –
our yards are important
http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=158 © Project SOUND habitat © Project SOUND
http://www.evelynsgardens.net/Gardens/Garden_Hummingbird_Butterfly.htm

If you were a butterfly, what kind of plant Caterpillars are born to eat….
would you like?

 Lots of little flowers filled
with nectar
 Sunflower family (Asteraceae)
 Buckwheat genus (Eriogonum )
 Milkweed genus (Asclepias )
 Fiddleneck genus (Phacelia)

 Pea family (Fabaceae)
It takes a huge amount of energy
 Grasses
(food) to grow & metamorphose
into a butterfly


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1/7/2013

If you were a caterpillar what would you
like to eat?
 Readily accessible
 Succulent
 Easy to digest
 Non-toxic
 Not too
protected: hairs,
secretions, etc.

 Decide what your gardening philosophy is Larval (caterpillar) food plants are often very
specific – you need to plant the larval food plants
 Remember that providing larval food is more important (for
for the species you want to attract
survival of a species) than providing nectar plants

You become fascinated with the Fatal First, draw a base map
Metalmark Butterfly - Calephelis nemesis
 Habitat: brushy or weedy
areas along roadsides,
washes, ditches, and streams
 Adult food – any nectar plant
 Larval food – very specific
 Mule Fat – Baccharis
salicifolia
 ? Virgin’s Bower – native
Clematis species

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1637

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1/7/2013

Then add the large plants Mule Fat – Baccharis salicifolia


Mule Fat – Baccharis salicifolia Mule Fat – a large bush sunflower!
 Size:
 Western Hemisphere  8-10 ft tall
 Ca to S. America, Texas  8-10 ft wide
 Much of CA: Northwestern
California, Cascade Range  Growth form:
Foothills, Sierra Nevada
Foothills, Great Central  Shrubby; many stems
Valley, Tehachapi Mountain  Evergreen to drought deciduous
Area, Central Western
California, Southwestern  Can be pruned and shaped to fit
California, Desert needs
 Canyon bottoms, moist  Foliage:
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?609,781,789
streamsides, irrigation
ditches, often forming  Shiny green leaves, becoming
thickets darker with age
 Characteristic scent
 Common name: Mule Fat;
Mulefat; Mule-fat; Mule’s Fat;  Food for Fatal Metalmark larva
Water-Willy; Sticky
Baccharis  Roots:
 Netlike – very good for erosion
© Project SOUND control © Project SOUND

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1/7/2013

Flowers are definitely
Mule Fat’s “Willow-like” Leaves
Sunflower
 Blooms:
 Long bloom season
 Year-round, but most heavy
bloom periods spring and fall in
western L.A. Co.

 Flowers:
 Separate male & female plants
 Nectar attracts many insects,
including butterflies
http://wc.pima.edu/Bfiero/tucsonecology/plants/shrubs_sewi.htm

 Seeds:
 An example of “convergent evolution”  Small seeds with fluffy
‘parachute’
 Leaf shape helps protect riparian plants from
water damage  Vegetative reproduction:
common and easy

Mule Fat provides important
Mule Fat flowers are clearly sunflowers – even
without the ray flowers resources to the community
 Habitat considerations
 Butterfly and bee nectar plant
 Browse for deer and elk
 Shelter/nest site for birds,
small mammals and reptiles

 Human uses
 Young shoots – famine food
 Stem - charcoal (gun power and
Willow “catkin” for comparison fire starting)
 Stems – arrow shafts, paint
brushes and building material
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/whites/white21.html

(sturdy but bend)

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1/7/2013

 Soils: Mule Fat: one of our
Mule Fat is Adaptable  Texture: any
best habitat plants
 pH: any local

 Light:  Hedges & screens
 Trained as a small tree
 Full sun to light shade
 Espaliered along a wall
 Water:
 Always good habitat for
 Winter: flooding to fairly dry
insects, birds
 Summer:
 Fine with Zone 1-3 once
established (after first
summer)
 Will grow faster with more http://www.flickr.com/photo

water
s/pcoin/99549969/

 Fertilizer: adaptable; fine with an
organic mulch, light fertilizer

 Can be pruned – even radically –
to shape or renew
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73431753@N00/278039992

When you replace a lawn, access becomes an issue
Inspiration from the pros:
butterfly gardens

 Provide easy access
 Provide places to sit and
enjoy the butterflies &
other wildlife
 The garden can be either
formal or informal in style
 The garden should look
pretty – at least much of
the year

http://backtonatives.blogspot.com/2008/03/bird-of-prey-talk-hike.html
http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/48550aea-257e-4adf-83e6-d2548e740dea.jpg

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1/7/2013

Additional inspiration How to attract more Skippers
 Mass plantings – pretty &
affective  Several native species of Skippers
we might attract – see the list
 Provide some grass areas
 ? Signage (if you wanted your  Need all the normal amenities:
garden to serve an educational  Water
role) http://www.flickr.com/photos/9428166@N03/2687279040/
 Perching places
‘functional art’ – butterfly  Etc.
http://www.uky.edu/Arboretum/membership.html
 Sandhill Skipper
water source
 Adult (nectar) sources:
 Milkweeds
 Clovers
 Plants in Sunflower family (Yarrow;
Asters; many others)
 Buckwheats

 Larval food sources:
 Native and non-native grasses – no
http://www.yerbabuenagardens.com/features/gardens.html
wonder we already have Skippers
http://www.bixby.org/parkside/multimedia/butterflies/
http://a2zhomeschool.com/homeschoolmouse/category/events/
© Project SOUND Wandering Skipper © Project SOUND

Let’s add a little grass for Skippers… Saltgrass – Distichlis spicata


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1/7/2013

Saltgrass
 Stiff perennial grass
with numerous long
stems
 Warm-season grass
 Sod-forming – spreads
 Widely distributed – western
North America by rhizomes
 Found through much of CA in  May grow flat or more
Coastal salt marshes erect (4-16 inches tall)
Moist alkaline areas
 Looks somewhat like
Vernal alkaline areas Bermuda Grass

Pretty left to grow – or can be mowed
Benefits of Saltgrass
 Can withstand harsh conditions –
salt/alkali soils, seasonal flooding,
seasonal drought
 Good habitat for birds (seeds and
cover) and butterflies (Skippers)
 Good for controlling wind or water
erosion
 Highly resistant to trampling –
even for playing fields, golf
courses
 Looks like Bermuda Grass – and
can be treated like it


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1/7/2013

Saltgrass at end of dry season – no water
Keys to a successful Saltgrass lawn

 Lawns usually started from plugs or
cut sections of rhizomes
 Best done in winter
 Bury rhizomes 1-2 inches
 Keep ground moist until established

 Needs full sun

 Needs winter moisture; can water
in summer to keep green

 Mow infrequently

 Needs no/little added fertilizer


Now let’s add a little color… Sticky Monkeyflowers – like a little shade
 Flowering
perennials and sub-
shrubs make sense
in a small garden
 Choose wisely:
 Some plants provide
both adult and
larval food

 Some plants are
showier than others

 Some plants are
better suited to our
local conditions

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1/7/2013

Sticky (Bush) Monkey Flower -
Mimulus/Diplacus aurantiacus
Sticky (Bush) Monkey Flower -
Mimulus/Diplacus aurantiacus

 Much debate about what
genus it should belong to

 Much debate about how
many species – may just
be a few with much
variability

 Much of western &
southern CA to Baja


http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Mimulus-aurantiacus/

Sticky Monkeyflower in the wild Growth habit and other characteristics
 rocky hillsides
 cliffs  Size: 2-4 ft tall and wide
 Narrow glossy sticky dark
 canyon slopes green leaves
 disturbed  Summer-deciduous in hot
climates/gardens
areas
 Attractive mounding to
 borders of sprawling shape
coastal sage  Lives to 10 years – slightly
scrub, less in gardens, particularly if
given summer water
chaparral,
 Young leaves can be eaten (a
open forest bit bitter, tho’) and were
http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/monkeyb2.htm used as an antiseptic for
cuts, rope burns, etc.
Dry, open areas with
poor soils
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/diplacus-aurantiacus © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/7/2013

Many uses for Sticky Monkeyflower in
Succeeding with Sticky Monkeyflower
the garden
 Does best in sandy or rocky soils – soil
 On hillsides or banks needs to be well-drained; too much
water, particularly in winter leads to
 In rock gardens fungal disease, short life
 In garden beds with  Full sun to part-shade (best for most
other native plants that gardens)
thrive on a dry period  Give plants a dormant period at the end
of summer – no water; can give some
 In large pots or summer water before that
planters
 Prune back each fall to 18 inches or so;
 As an accent plant – or prune back to ground every third
showy flowers year. Can also prune after spring bloom
to encourage fall blooms
 In a “hummingbird” or
“butterfly garden”  Propagate new plants from cuttings to
http://www.elnativogrowers.com/Photographs_page/miau.htm replace old plants


Buckwheats like sun – and are great habitat plants
Fantastic flower colors
 Blooms: year-round in S. Bay;
most profuse in summer

 Flowers:
 Clusters of small tubular flowers
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College with the usual monkey face
appearance.
 Flower color range is salmon to
brick-red to crimson.

 Good nectar source:
 Hummingbird pollinated; but also
attracts bees, butterflies (esp.
Checkerspots & Buckeyes)

 Seeds:
 many small, in dry capsule
You can also grow Shrubby
Monkeyflowers from tip cuttings  Easy to grow from seed

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1/7/2013

California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum
 Southwestern U.S.
 to Utah, Arizona, nw Mexico
 s Sierra Nevada, Central
Western California,
Southwestern California,
East of Sierra Nevada,
Desert
 Common. Dry slopes, washes,
canyons in scrub < 2300 m.
var. fasciculatum
 fasciculatum : derived from
var. foliolosum a Latin word meaning
"bundles" and describing the
way the leaves are attached
to the leaf stem in little
bunches or 'fascicles'

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/dendrology/Syllab
us2/factsheet.cfm?ID=639

Characteristics of California Buckwheat

 Size: similar to Dune Buckwheat
 2-5 ft tall
 3-5 ft wide

 Growth form: http://www.newportbay.org/plants/index.html

 low mounded semi-evergreen
http://www.newportbay.org/plants/index.html
shrub
 Many-branched

 Foliage:
 Leave alternate, but densely clustered
at nodes, evergreen, narrow lanceolate
(nearly needle-like)
Dune Buckwheat – E. parvifolium CA Buckwheat – E. fasciculatum
http://www.birdmom.net/wildflowerspink.html

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1/7/2013

CA Buckwheat:  Great for summer color: May-
Nov. possible
CA Buckwheat cultivars make good
showy for months
groundcovers  ‘Dana Point’ - brighter green leaf, more
 As an alternative to the non-
native Rosemary mounding than species

 In perennial beds  'Bruce Dickinson' – good for
groundcover; stays close to the ground,
 On parking strips & bordering spreads nicely, and holds good form
paths and driveways throughout the year.

 For erosion control

 Larval foodsource for Morman
Metalmark, Bramble Hairstreak,
Common Hairstreak, Avalon Hairstreak

Shrubby Buckwheats can even be
sheared to shape for a more formal
‘Dana Point’ http://www.elnativogrowers.com/Photographs_page/erfabd.htm
look
‘Bruce Dickinson’

CA Buckwheat cultivars make good
Cultivars & species: choose carefully..
groundcovers
 ‘Theodore Payne' – low groundcover
(1 ft high; 1-3 ft spread)
 'Warriner Lytle' - A sprawling low
growing California buckwheat; can
grow to 2 feet tall but is often more
prostrate, hugging the ground like a
http://www.theodorepayne.org/gallery/pages/E/Eriogonum_fasciculatum_Th mat
eodorePayne.htm

‘Theodore Payne’

‘Warriner Lytle’

http://www.letsgoseeit.com/index/county/la/claremont/loc01/cultivar/cultivar.htm

 Buckwheats produce hybrids readily; plant only locally
http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=3070 obtained plants if you live near natural stands
‘Warriner Lytle’ ‘Warriner Lytle’ © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/7/2013

Managing shrubby  Most are low maintenance
 By fall, the flowers turn a
buckwheats reddish-brown
 Easily deadheaded, if desired
 Or (better) retained for the
change of color and for bird
habitat.

 Cut back in late fall to mid-winter
to encourage herbaceous growth
over woody look
 Leave several inches of woody
growth

 Cutting it back to 6” in late fall
keeps the woody growth to a
minimum and the plant looking its
 CA Buckwheat looks its best in full sun best the year round.
 Occasional summer water to keep it looking good – but  When the shrub is becoming too
very drought tolerant
© Project SOUND leggy, it needs to be replaced.
© Project SOUND

Make sure you can
enjoy your butterfly Many butterflies use CA native
garden Milkweeds
 Comfortable seating,
strategically placed
 Plan your planting based
http://lobojosden.blogspot.com/2007/12/butterfly-garden.html on your most likely views

http://www.laspilitas.com/butterfl_files/Acmon_blue
http://www.gardeningwithnatives.com/articles/su _on_narrow-leaf_milkweed.jpg
mmerplants.html

 Tiger swallowtail
 Acmon Blue
 Monarch

http://www.dunedingov.com/home.aspx?page=departments/library/library http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-
california/plants/asclepias-fascicularis

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1/7/2013

Place milkweeds in a slightly shadier area
The Milkweed family (Asclepidaceae)
 Very large family - ~ 2,000 species
 Includes perennial herbs, vines, shrubs
 The common name "milkweed" refers to
the milky, white sap produced when the
stem is broken.
 Many are poisonous if eaten by
Buckwheats
humans/animals
 The term "weed" refers to the fact that
milkweed grows in poor soil
 The principal genus in California is
grass
Asclepias, of which there are 11 species.


Narrow-leaf Milkweed - Asclepias fascicularis Showy Milkweed – Asclepias speciosa

© 2004 George W. Hartwell
http://www.insectnet.com/photos/flora1/milkweed1.htm

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1/7/2013

Milkweeds Milkweed family has unusual flowers
and seeds
 Milkweeds are found in
many areas of CA  The petals of the 5-parted
flowers are reflexed and the
 In the South Bay, Narrow-
anthers unite to the stigma in
leaf Milkweed found only
the form of a crown with 5
in S. Channel Islands
Showy Milkweed hood-like appendages.

 Sites are typically
 The numerous seeds bear tufts
 Winter wet/summer dry of silky hairs at their tips for
 Sunny to light shade efficient wind dispersal.
 Barren soil (bare areas in
chaparral/Oak woodlands;
streambeds; alluvial areas)

Narrow-leaf Milkweed
http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/pictures/a100.jpg


Milkweed pods and seeds Consider Using Milkweeds

 For butterfly gardens:
nectar source for many
seeds species; larval food for
Monarchs
 For showy white-pink
flowers in summer
 Along paths and
walkways
http://www.keiriosity.com/asclepiadaceae/asclepias_f
ascicularis02.jpg http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/PLANTS2/A  In mid-beds – would look
nice with brighter pinks
sclepiadaceae/Asclepias_fascicularis.htm

and purple flowers
How do you think these seeds are dispersed?

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1/7/2013

Let’s add some other flowering plants for interest
Tricks to gardening with Milkweeds
 Easy to grow
 Plant (seeds) in place if
possible
 Does best in well-drained soil
– but can tolerate clay if not
over-watered
 Full to part sun
Perennials & annuals Buckwheats
 Average water needs – keep
somewhat dry. Can tolerate
winter flooding
 Cut back to ground in winter
(native Californians burned it grass
to encourage healthy growth)


Common Sandaster - Corethrogyne filaginifolia
vars. californica and filaginifolia Common Sandaster - Corethrogyne filaginifolia
vars. californica and filaginifolia

 common and widespread plant in coastal
sage scrub, southern oak woodlands and
grasslands, and on dry, brushy
chaparral slopes
var. californica
 Taxonomy is confusing:
 Many still use the old name for the
species: Lessingia filaginifolia
 Highly variable species; now lumped
them all together under variant
filaginifolia - variants need further
research
 var. californica – adapted to slightly
wetter, ocean-influenced habitats
var. filaginifolia  var. filaginifolia – adapted to slightly
drier habitats

http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/californiaaster.html
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Lessingia+filaginifolia+var.+filaginifolia

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More Butterfly Gardens - notes

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