Butterfly Gardening with Lantana: A Joy for Gardeners and Nature Lovers
Butterflies are beautiful creatures that add a touch of magic to any garden. They are also important pollinators, helping to ensure the survival of many plant species. If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, one of the best plants you can grow is lantana.
Why Butterflies Love Lantana
Butterflies have a keen sense of smell and are attracted to the sweet nectar of many plants. They are also drawn to bright colors, such as blue, purple, pink, white, yellow, and orange. Additionally, butterflies prefer plants with flat or dome-shaped clusters of small, tubular flowers that they can safely perch on while they drink nectar.
Lantana plants meet all of these criteria. They produce an abundance of sweet nectar that butterflies love. They also come in a wide variety of colors, including blue, purple, pink, white, yellow, and orange. And their flowers are arranged in flat or dome-shaped clusters that are perfect for butterflies to land on.
Types of Lantana
There are over 150 varieties of lantana, but there are two main types that are commonly grown: trailing and upright. Trailing varieties are excellent for hanging baskets, containers, or as groundcovers. Upright lantana can grow up to 6 feet tall and is a beautiful addition to any flower bed or landscape.
Benefits of Lantana in the Garden
In addition to attracting butterflies, lantana plants also attract hummingbirds and Sphinx moths. Many birds feed upon the seeds after the flowers have faded. Male weaver birds even use lantana to decorate their nests to attract female weaver birds.
Lantana is also a relatively easy plant to care for. It is heat and drought tolerant, and it can grow in a variety of soil conditions. This makes it a great choice for gardeners of all levels of experience.
How to Attract Butterflies with Lantana
If you want to see butterflies on your lantana plants, be sure to plant them in a sunny location. Butterflies need sunlight to warm their wings before they can fly. You should also plant a variety of lantana plants in different colors to attract a wider range of butterflies.
Once your lantana plants are established, you can sit back and enjoy the show. Butterflies will soon find their way to your garden and add a touch of beauty and wonder to your outdoor space.
Specific Butterflies That Visit Lantana
Some of the most common butterflies that visit lantana flowers include:
- Hairstreaks
- Swallowtails
- Monarchs
- Checkered whites
- Cloudless sulfur
- Red spotted purples
- Red admirals
- Painted ladies
- Gulf fritillaries
- Queens
- Great southern whites
- Atlas
Hairstreak butterflies and certain Lepidopteras will also use lantana as host plants. This means that they will lay their eggs on lantana leaves, and the caterpillars will hatch and feed on the leaves.
Companion Plants for Lantana
To create a truly butterfly-friendly garden, you can plant lantana with other butterfly-attracting plants, such as:
- Buddleia (butterfly bush)
- Coneflower
- Purple coneflower
- Milkweed
- Aster
- Zinnia
- Marigold
- Cosmos
- Pentas
- Salvia
By planting a variety of butterfly-attracting plants, you can create a beautiful and inviting space for these important pollinators.
