Utah's First
Family Nursery
The most popular of the butterfly friendly plants are Milkweed and Russian Sage. If you plant these perennials in your garden, you can create a butterfly haven. Russian Sage attracts butterflies with it’s fragrant foliage while milkweed is actually essential to the diet of the Monarch butterfly. In fact, Monarch Butterfly caterpillars only eat milkweed and it provides all the nutrition they need to make their transformation from caterpillar to butterfly!
As with everything there are pros and cons to each of these plants but as long as you are aware of them, you'll be able to successfully plant these perennials and reap the benefits of them this spring & summer!
Besides of course attracting beautiful butterflies, Russian Sage is also a very low maintenance plant and is drought tolerant. It’s bluish lavender flowers will bloom throughout the growing season, making them great for landscapes. Russian Sage also has medicinal uses and can be steeped in tea to calm an upset stomach.
There aren’t many cons for the Russian Sage plant. The only thing to really pay attention to is If you’d like to keep the Russian Sage from spreading, you’ll need to keep an eye on it and prune when necessary. It’s a member of the mint family and spreads by runners.
Fun fact: Sometimes milkweed seeds are used for the filling of life jackets! But, if you’re not in the life jacket business, there are plenty of other pros to growing milkweed in your garden. Milkweed is easy to grow and they are water wise. It of course attracts butterflies, but it also attracts bees, hummingbirds, and is deer resistant.
Be aware of Milkweed’s seed pods and remove them before they open otherwise they’ll spread seeds all over your garden and can be quite invasive. Milkweed leaves and roots are toxic to humans and pets. You’d have to consume a large amount for there to be any real danger but it’s still worth noting especially when it comes to children and pets.
Overall both Russian Sage and Milkweed are wonderful additions to your garden especially if you’re hoping for butterflies this summer. We’d love to see your butterfly pictures too! Make sure to join our Facebook Group to share.
In honor of our 2nd Annual Father's Day Butterfly Release, here are some facts about the butterflies and moths that frequent the Wasatch Front area.
Fact Sheet Credit: Erica Schoenefeld
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
This milkweed butterfly is possibly the most well-known North American butterfly and is an iconic pollinator species. Its wings are easily recognizable with the black, orange, and white pattern shown here. The annual Monarch migration southward covering thousands of miles has been a focus of several documentaries. Populations have dwindled in recent years due to loss of habitat, reduced availability of food, and improper pesticide usage.
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Colorado Hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus citima)
The purple forewings of the Colorado Hairstreak have a broad black or dark border, and the hindwings have thin, hair-like tails. The undersides of its wings are pale brown or gray with small orange patches. You'll find this butterfly near groves of scrub oak from mid-June through August.
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Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Another famous seasonal migrant, this butterfly is known for the wide variety of host plants on which it can be found, the taller the better. The upperside of its wings are spotted with orange, brown, white and black, and the underside can have eyespots that look like eyes.
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Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus franki)
The blue-gray wings of the Gray Hairstreak are ornamented with large red or orange spots on the hindwings near the thin tails. These butterflies are best found in open, non-forested sites, especially those that are overgrown. Adults are found perching on small trees and shrubs, or feeding on nectar from an endless variety of plants.
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Weidemeyer's Admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii)
The black upperside of the wings of this species are adorned with large white bands and spots, while the underside is almost a photographic negative with white dominating over gray, brown, and orange patterns. Aspen, cottonwood, willow, and serviceberry are hosts for the caterpillars, and adults forage flower nectar wherever there is water nearby.
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Thistle Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta mylitta)
This bright orange and black butterfly is one of the most common garden butterflies in Utah. It can be found near agricultural fields, ditches, or other disturbed areas in our valley floors, as well as in neighborhoods and dry mountain canyons. Their choice of food is any member of the thistle family.
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White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata)
The forewings of this large moth are dark brown with a tan stripe running from its body to the tips, and the hind wing has a broad, pink band. You can find this moth anytime between March and October from Central America through the United States and into Canada. This moth is also referred to as the Hummingbird Moth because of its similarity to hummingbirds, rapidly beating its wings while hovering over flowers, even during daylight.
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Aholibah Underwing (Catocala aholibah)
Like most other underwing moths, the Aholibah has dull gray and black speckled forewings which help it blend into its surroundings, and bright orange underwings that it reveals to startle predators. While the larvae consume foliage of oak species, adults can be seen feeding on nectar (pollinating), sap, and rotting fruit.
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Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden
June is Perennial Gardening Month
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Updates, Sales, and Gardening Tips
9275 S. 1300 W. West Jordan, UT 84088 Phone: (801) 562-5496 Fax: (801) 562-5595 Email: [email protected]
Updates, Sales, and Gardening Tips
