Plants for Butterflies and Other Pollinators
Showing 73–80 of 223 results
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Dracocephalum rupestre in China mao jian cao Z 4-8
True deep blue, hooded flowers rise above heart-shaped, crinkled foliage in the heat of mid-summer
True deep blue, hooded flowers rise above heart-shaped, crinkled foliage in the heat of mid-summer
Size: 12’ X 12”
Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: Western China in alpine meadows and grassy slopesFirst named in the West in 1867, Journal of Botany, British and Foreign, Vol 7 p. 166. Dracocephalum means “dragonhead” in Greek. Chinese made a tea from this.
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Echinacea pallida Pale purple coneflower Z 4-8
Narrow, weeping pink rays in early to mid-summer surround its coppery-orange, hedgehog-like cone.
Narrow, weeping pink rays in early to mid-summer surround its coppery-orange, hedgehog-like cone.
Size: 2' x 14"
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: much of continental US east of Colorado
Wildlife Value: deer resistant. Nectar feeds butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds eat seeds
Awards: Great Plants for Great PlainsEchinacea is Greek meaning hedgehog referring to the bristly conehead. Used to cure many ailments – arthritis, rheumatism, burns, colds, boils, fever, sore mouths, throats & gums, toothaches, snakebites, headaches, stings and distemper in horses – by several tribes – Cheyenne, Crow, Dakota and Sioux. 1st collected by English planthunter Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) in Arkansas. Nuttall searched entire No. American continent, parts of Canada, from New England west to Oregon, the South, Midwest, the Plains, the S.E., California & Hawaii finding thousands of new plants.
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Echinacea paradoxa Bush’s coneflower Z 3-9
Sulfur yellow petals droop down below the bristly, dark-chocolate central cone, blooming in early summer
Sulfur yellow petals droop down below the bristly, dark-chocolate central cone, blooming in early summer.
Size: 2-4' x 14"
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil, drought tolerant
Native: Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies. Deer and rabbit resistant.Echinacea is Greek meaning hedgehog referring to the bristly conehead. Paradoxa because yellow petals on a Purple coneflower is a paradox. The first description of this is based on plants collected by B.F. Bush in Swan, Nichols Junction and Eagle Rock Missouri in 1878 and 1898 as well as one collected by German planthunter “Father of Texas Botany” Ferdinand Lindheimer in Texas in 1843. Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, Vol XII January to December, “Notes on Some Plants of the Southwestern United States” J.B.S. Norton 1902, p. 40.
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Echinops ritro Globe thistle Z 3-9
Mid to late summer, round, steel blue flower heads at 1st prickly then turning soft and fuzzy. Great cut flower, fresh or dried.
Mid to late summer, round, steel blue flower heads at 1st prickly then turning soft and fuzzy. Great cut flower, fresh or dried.
Size: 3-4' x 18"
Care: Sun in well-drained soil, drought tolerant
Native: Southern Europe
Wildlife Value: attracts American painted lady butterflies, deer resistantThe name Echinops is Greek meaning “like a hedgehog” describing the circular spiny thistles. Introduced to England by 1570. Popular Victorian flower. Cultivated by Washington at Mount Vernon.
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Elsholtzia stauntonii mu xiang ru in China, Chinese mint Z 4-8
Tube-shaped purple flowers ascend in spires in fall on this subshrub that dies back in colder areas to regrow from the roots in spring. Valuable for its late bloom and fragrant foliage.
Tube-shaped purple flowers ascend in spires in fall on this subshrub that dies back in colder areas to regrow from the roots in spring. Valuable for its late bloom and fragrant foliage.
Size: 3-5’ x 3-5'
Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: hills, mountainsides and river banks in Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, ChinaNaemd for name Prussian horticultulurist and doctor Johann Sigismund Elsholtz (1623-1688). This species described in 1833.
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Epilobium angustifolium syn. Chamaenerion angustifolium Fireweed Z 2-7
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-July atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
OUT OF STOCK
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-July atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
Size: 2-6’ x 3’ spreading
Care: Sun to part shade in dry to moist well drained soil
Native: Circum-polar to the temperate northern hemisphere. Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: Attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Host for Fireweed Clearwing moth and Nessus Sphinx moth. Fireweed pollen yields a honey so prized that some Canadian beekeepers drive - or even fly - their hives to areas rich in fireweed for the blossoming season.Common name comes from its quick reappearance after a wildfire. Native Americans used fireweed externally for burns and other skin conditions and made a tea for gastro-intestinal and bronchial problems. Its shoots eaten as a vegetable and young leaves added to salads. Described and named in 1753.
**LISTED AS OUT OF STOCK BECAUSE WE DO NOT SHIP THIS ITEM. IT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT OUR RETAIL LOCATION.
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Erigeron aureus Alpine yellow fleabane Z 5-8
White hairs cover frosted-looking basil leaves making this worthy of any garden even without flowers, but then its school bus yellow daisies flower from spring through fall.
OUT OF STOCK
White hairs cover frosted-looking basil leaves making this worthy of any garden even without flowers, but then its school bus yellow daisies flower from spring through fall.
Size: 3-4” x 3”
Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Cascade Mountains from Alberta to State of Washington
Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies and birds1st described in literature in 1884.
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Eryngium giganteum Miss Wilmott’s ghost SELF-SEEDING BIENNIAL Z 5-8
In summer, oval thistles top prickly green, turning steely blue, silvery, bracts – very ornamental.
In summer, oval thistles top prickly green, turning steely blue, silvery, bracts – very ornamental.
Size: 36" x 24"
Care: Full sun in moist well-drained, fertile soil. Be sure to let it drop its seeds & do not weed seedlings out the following spring.
Native: Caucasus Mountains
Awards: England's Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Eryngium is Greek for thistle. Introduced to England in 1820. Miss Ellen Willmott (1858-1934), a wealthy, eccentric English gardener reputedly dropped seeds as she passed her neighbors’ gardens. The plants came up afterwards, her “ghosts.” Recommended by Gertrude Jekyll in 1908.
