pH News - Orange County Extension Education Center - University ...

Paulette Smith
Butterfly gardening does not have to end in the winter; Florida butterflies are active most of the
year and use a wide variety of plants. So keeping
your garden in bloom through all seasons is
important. Most adult butterflies feed on flower
nectar; a few feed on aphids, manure, rotting fruit,
mud, or tree sap. If you have visited the Butterfly
Garden lately, you have seen a flurry of “flying
flowers” instead of the snowflakes northern
gardeners are enjoying this month.
Kelly has provided lots of nectar plants to sustain a
variety of adult butterflies: Firespike and Mexican
Fuschia Sage.
Also in full bloom this month are Cape Honeysuckle (orange, red, and yellow varieties), Redleaved
Hibiscus, Mexican Purple Sage, Blue Plumbago, and Cigar Plant.
If you are interested in adding plants to attract
butterflies this winter, look at Table 10 in the
EDIS publication “Butterfly Gardening in
Florida.” It lists the butterfly nectar plants for
central Florida and gives the bloom season.
Table 1 shows the ʺflight seasonʺ to indicate
the months when the adult butterflies are
active. The author, Jaret C. Daniels, PhD
spoke at the Master Gardener Conference in
October; he has posted his presentation on the
Conference Agenda website.
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