The vibrant blooms of zinnias draw a lot of butterflies, who will eat the readily available nectar. What to watch out for The taller Zinnia kinds with a clear yellow core, which are the source of nectar for pollinators like butterflies and bees, are the ones that attract butterflies the most. Even if they are spectacular, some double kinds conceal this disk floret, making it more difficult for butterflies to reach the meal fast on those plants. Here are our top 5 recommendations for planting the greatest Zinnias to entice these avian beauties:
Do zinnias harbor monarch eggs?
especially on milkweed plants, eggs. Planting milkweed will ensure that monarch caterpillars can eat it.
Eastern swamp milkweed and butterfly weed. Examine regional noxious weed listings before to planting any varieties of milkweed.
Do zinnias attract butterflies and bees?
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Although zinnia blossoms are magnificent sights in and of themselves, their true beauty resides in the appeal of the vibrant and equally lovely life forms that visit them. Zinnia flowers are a necessary annual for the butterfly garden and a favorite of monarchs, swallowtails, and those hyper-winged hummingbirds, according to the Monarch Butterfly Garden website. Bees should undoubtedly be included because they might be just as attractive as any other notable visits.
Insects and zinnias Although there are a large number of zinnia varieties available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and forms, there is no clear winner when it comes to which zinnia will draw the most attention. The majority of data is anecdotal and only includes findings from a specific region.
For instance, a gardener in Washington state thought the large-flowered garden zinnia (Zinnia elegans) dubbed “Cut and Come Again” was the greatest for large butterflies, according to interviews of gardeners performed by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A Minnesota gardener claimed that the Peruvian zinnia (Z. peruviana) does not at all attract butterflies, despite being reasonably attractive to little butterflies like skippers. Instead, those butterflies avoided the so-called Mexican zinnia (Z. haageana) completely and favored the enormous cactus-flowered and “Blue Point” (also known as Benary’s Giant) zinnias, as well as the smaller flowered “Crystal White” zinnias. Butterflies in Maryland were attracted to the dwarf Star series the most. Members of another dwarf kind known as the Profusion series, however, were not, while those of the closely related Pinwheel series were.
‘Zowie’, ‘State Fair’, ‘California Giant’, ‘Benary’s Giant’, and ‘Cut and Come Again’ are listed as the greatest zinnias for butterflies on The Monarch Butterfly Garden website, although it would seem that anecdotal experience offers little precise advice for luring winged visitors. Planting various varieties and observing the outcomes is one surefire approach to determine which zinnias produce the best results in your individual garden.
Zinnia attractiveness has little experimental support, and what little support there is is more ambiguous than anticipated. A study from the University of Kentucky, for instance, debunks the commonly held belief that single flowers are more alluring to pollinators than double blossoms. It showed that small, double-flowered zinnias like “Lilliput” were far more beautiful than small, single-flowered zinnias like the Profusion series and even huge double-flowered zinnias like the Oklahoma series using mixed-color stands of four zinnia types. The researchers hypothesized that “Lilliput” would be an appropriate “A proposal that is rarely, if ever, cited among anecdotal evidence is that butterflies are a great candidate for inclusion in butterfly gardens.
The Peter Pan series of petite, semi-double-flowered zinnias was used in testing at Clemson University in South Carolina to see if the arrangement of colors or the massing of colors was important for luring butterflies. Combining forms of white, scarlet, pink, and gold led to the discovery that placing colors at random, in rows, or in patches had no effect. All of the butterflies (14 species) visited white the most, with the exception of monarchs, who preferred scarlet and, to a lesser extent, gold and pink, to white.
In a related experiment, the effects of isolated color patches and the optimal number of plants per patch were examined using a total of 8 different colors of Peter Pan. According to the study, plots with 8 to 16 plants performed better than those with up to 64 plants. In this instance, two shades of pink were reported to have the highest number of butterflies (15), followed by white, orange and plum, scarlet, gold, and flame.
The aforementioned information, together with anecdotal comments, should serve as a general guide to the placement of zinnias in the garden, regardless of how they are organized or what color they are. However, it should only be interpreted as a modest indication of butterfly preference.
Birds, bees, and zinnias Numerous species of solitary bees are drawn to zinnia blooms in addition to honey and bumble bees. Small kinds of bees may be gathering nectar and pollen from zinnia disk flowers, but they are likely to go unnoticed because of how small they are in comparison to the size of the full flower head.
Since I’ve spent my adult life working with both bees and gardens, I can reassure the majority of readers that bees in the garden won’t cause any harm. Bees are uninterested in their surroundings when they are working. Bumble bees and carpenter bees, two of the larger species, are so absorbed in their task that you can even pet them (if you are as daft as an entomologist). However, picking up any bee is not advised because bees take offense when handled.
Joseph Breck, an American seedsman and essayist, listed birds as one of the pleasures of planting zinnias as early as 1869. He remarked, “When this flower is in bloom and ready to seed, little yellow birds cause tragic devastation. They will completely destroy blossoms in order to obtain the seeds, and the ground beneath the bushes is frequently covered in flower fragments, but who can blame them?
Hummingbirds, which eat nectar, and finches, which eat dried seed heads if the gardener has not removed them as advised, are among the birds drawn to zinnias. Because of its extraordinarily quick wingbeat and capacity to hover, hawk moths, also known as sphinx moths, are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds by gardeners. These moths, like hummingbirds, can consume nectar without touching a flower because to their extremely enlarged mouthparts.
Because very little wildlife actually consumes zinnia flowers or foliage, grasshoppers are a conspicuous exception.
Their main draws are nectar and pollen. Additionally, although pollinating guests may draw predators like spiders and praying mantids, zinnias are often free of pitched, food-related conflicts and serve as lovely meal plates for birds, bees, and butterflies.
What kinds of insects do zinnias draw?
Zinnias that are nectar-rich are excellent pollinators and will draw bees throughout their growing season, which is from May to October. They also draw wasps, hummingbirds, ladybugs, and Japanese beetles. In a garden, zinnias can be planted anyplace. Since Japanese beetles adore beans, planting zinnias around them will keep the beetles away from your beans and prevent an infestation.
Growing zinnias in your garden is a need if you prefer fresh cut flowers. When zinnias are trimmed properly and placed in a vase, they can last for days or even weeks. Zinnias’ rich hues add warmth to any room in the house.
For gardeners searching for a minimal maintenance flower, zinnias make a wonderful addition to any flower bed. Because they only live for one season, zinnias are simple to grow and you may save their seeds for further plantings and growing cycles.
Do zinnias appeal to caterpillars?
Home gardeners love zinnias (Zinnia spp.) for their vividly colorful blossoms that entice hummingbirds and butterflies to the garden. Zinnias are annuals, however in warm climates with moderate winters, they can be cultivated as perennials. They offer color to any landscape and are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11. However, zinnias’ lovely blossoms also attract pests like caterpillars that damage foliage by feasting on it.
Do zinnias in general entice butterflies?
Monarch butterflies, swallowtail butterflies, and those hummingbirds with hyper-wings all love zinnia flowers, which are a necessity to grow every year in a butterfly garden.
But not all zinnia varieties are enticing to butterflies:
- Most butterflies won’t even bother with double-bloom kinds since they make it tough to obtain nectar. such as: Peppermint Stick
- Butterfly attraction is typically lower for dwarf kinds. Possibly height? Contains Nectar? I’ll reveal one variant below that has drawn swallowtails and red admirals.
While certain butterflies are attracted to shorter zinnia species, it makes more sense to use them as a border for taller zinnias rather than a stand-alone patch.
The majority of zinnia species are available in a variety of hues, either individually or as a mix. If you want to purchase any of the orange links below, seeds or plants, click on them.
You may fill your yard with the calming sounds of butterfly wings thanks to these five larger species:
Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia
This zinnia, which has an explosion of yellow, red-orange, and passionate pink near the middle, might be considered the “beauty queen” of the bunch. Compared to other tall types, this one grows to a maximum height of about three feet.
This means that in your butterfly garden, you most likely won’t ever need to stake a zowie plant.
Because zowie seeds will cross with other zinnia kinds, only purchase them from reputable seed suppliers (not backyard growers).
Are zinnias a draw for hummingbirds?
Hummingbirds and other pollinators love zinnias because they are among the easiest annual flowers to produce and have vibrant bloom colors. The majority of garden zinnias are cultivars of a small number of species within the Zinnia genus, particularly the common zinnia, Z. elegans. There are literally hundreds of cultivars available, and they are divided into groups based on how they grow and how they produce flowers.
Height ranges from six inches to almost four feet, and there are flowers in almost every color. When the flowers reach maturity and have finished producing nectar for the hummingbirds, they will start to produce seeds, luring finches and other seed-loving birds. Also excellent as cut flowers, zinnias.
They prefer moist soil, however in humid environments or when the foliage becomes wet when watering, they may be vulnerable to fungus diseases. Give the plants plenty of room to breathe and prevent overhead watering.
Which plant is a magnet for monarch caterpillars?
The appropriate-looking swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which is a part of a pollinator waystation on a swampy hill next to our company’s headquarters’ parking lot, is seen here. It’s a component of our Company Farm initiative, which encourages businesses to provide workers with space to grow food for the undernourished and pollinators.
Monarch butterflies follow a clearly known path as they migrate from their winter habitat in Mexico to North America. These beautiful orange and black butterflies are searching for milkweed (asclepias). Additionally, it’s like putting out a welcome mat for monarch butterflies when you plant milkweed in your garden.
The monarch butterfly’s breeding season starts in the spring, and milkweed is essential to the species’ survival. Although milkweed leaves are the sole food that monarch caterpillars consume, many flowers, especially native species, are excellent providers of nectar for monarch butterflies. The milkweed plants where monarch butterflies lay their eggs ensure that the small caterpillars will have access to food as soon as they hatch.
The habitat of monarch butterflies and other significant pollinators has been lost on millions of acres due to agriculture and construction in recent years. The monarchs and other pollinators will benefit from your own tiny milkweed preserve, which you may plant. “We inform everyone that there are things they can do to protect monarchs, and the first thing is to plant milkweed,” says Katie-Lyn Bunney, coordinator of the Monarchs in the Classroom program at the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab.
Numerous pollinators can be attracted in just 5 square feet. Get the 18″x40″ garden plan that was designed for the Trough Vegtrug.
A large garden is not necessary to make an impact. In a flower pot, you can make a monarch waystation, said Bunney.
Even elementary school students can easily plant a monarch waystation, according to Bunney. Although milkweed seeds can be planted directly in the ground, germination is improved and seedling care is made possible by beginning the seeds indoors. Plants that have been raised until they are strong seedlings have a higher chance of surviving when planted in the garden, claims the organization Monarch Watch. Monarch Watch promotes these butterflies in a variety of ways, such as through a certification program for gardeners, schoolyards, community gardens, and outdoor spaces. Director Chip Taylor claims that although more are still required, more than 7,400 waystations have been certified. He continues, “We need the American gardeners to take up and help conserve the monarchs.
The most effective monarch waystations are at least 100 square feet in size, however Monarch Watch notes that even modest planting efforts can be beneficial. A waystation could be a segment of a vegetable garden, a raised bed designated for herbs, a section of a herb garden, or it could be a component of already-existing garden beds that run along a property line. Select a location that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day for butterfly plants. Almost any type of soil is suitable, however the ideal soil is light and well-drained. A good butterfly garden also offers protection from the wind; a good waystation is on the sunny side of a sturdy fence, garage, or garden shed. Along with reducing wind, dense plantings of both tall and short plants protect butterflies from predators.
Different milkweed species are included in Monarch waystation seed packs for different regions. Monarch Watch advises growing common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata, which tolerates damp conditions), and butterfly milkweed east of the Rocky Mountains (A. tuberosa). Butterfly milkweed, swamp milkweed, narrow-leaf milkweed (A. fascicularis), and showy milkweed are still acceptable options for areas west of the Rockies (A. speciosa). You may draw in monarchs and other pollinators all during the breeding season by growing at least two different milkweed varieties in addition to other nectar-rich vegetation. On Monarch Watch’s Milkweed Market, you can find a species checklist of milkweed plants arranged by states and regions as well as a directory of plant nurseries if you’re unsure what kind of milkweed is best for your area.
The female monarchs will lay their eggs on the milkweed plants when they find your waystation and pause to drink nectar. You’ll enjoy seeing the stunning black, yellow, and white caterpillars emerge and consume the plant life. The milkweed plants will start to appear a little torn as the caterpillars grow if your waystation is successful, but they are hardy perennials and will recover.
Make a monarch waystation official when you’ve built one. You can buy a Monarch Waystation sign and certify and register your waystation online for a charge of $16 that supports Monarch Watch programs. Some of your neighbors might be inspired to help the butterflies themselves after seeing the placard, the milkweed, and the monarch butterflies flying around.