Do I mean weeds? Well, yes. There are a variety of wild plants or weeds, which some of our most beautiful butterflies feed on. And if we are growing only tidy gardens, then we may lose out on seeing those butterflies. I am sure there are some new gardeners here, but many of you have been adding to your gardens for years, and maybe you did not know about these wild plants?
Well, there is always time to add to the garden. While many of these plants do grow in wild areas, like along lakesides and state parks, there is usually room along the edges of your property for them. If I have a place in my garden where some of these can grow, I leave them for the butterflies. There are also many moths which utilize these wild plants. And when we have moth caterpillars, we also have birds. Therefore, wild plants benefit the whole habitat around you.
Wild Plants Which Could be Garden Plants
Some of the wild plants which butterflies use as host plants can also be good garden plants, mixed into the landscape. But not usually something that you find wind in the garden center. These weeds can sometimes be bought from native plant nurseries or mail-order catalogs, but most garden centers would not carry them. However, there is usually a niche or hole in your garden where dropping a few of these wild plants in does not change the overall look of the garden.
Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta
Often considered a short-lived perennial or biennial, this species of Black or Brown Eyed Susan is often planted as a hybrid cultivar. There are several cultivars which have various petal colors. If you come up along a roadside or wild place in July, you will likely see spots of yellow-orange. Those are the black-eyed Susans. They typically grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. A variety of pollinators visit the flowers, while several butterflies and moths use it as a host plant. They include:
- Silvery checkerspot butterfly
- Gorgone checkerspot butterfly
- Pearl crescent butterfly
- Dainty sulphur butterfly
- Wavy-lined Emerald moth
- Zebra conchylodes moth
Tall Thistle – Cirsium altissimum
One of my favorite thistles, and wild plants, tall thistle can fit right into the garden, in a variety of places. I like to let it grow not only on my edges, but among the other plants of the meadow garden, sunny cottage garden, and my Monarch Waystation. There are a lot of benefits to letting tall thistle grow in the garden. It can get big, growing 5 to 7 feet tall and around 6 feet wide. In late summer it produces many purple-pink flower heads which are attractive to many pollinators. And no, it is not an invsaive plant! Even though the state of Iowa has labeled all thistles, invasive and native, as invasive, the tall thistle is one of our important native species.
- Painted lady butterfly
- Swamp metalmark butterfly
- Mottled pyrausta moth
- Artichoke plume moth
Wild Violets – Viola species
There are several species of wild violets, most of which are considered weeds. Except for prairie violets, which are only found in high-quality remnant prairies, the violets are wild plants in a variety of landscapes. But they do not have to be so. They make excellent groundcovers, spreading easily by seed over low areas in part shade to shade areas. Flower colors can be yellow (downy or smooth yellow violets), purple, blue, white, or pink. And the butterflies which use them are gorgeous! So let a few of them at least in your garden.
- Variegated fritillary
- Regal fritillary (prairie and birdsfoot violets)
- Great spangled fritillary
- Diana fritillary
- Meadow fritillary
Wild sunflower – Helianthus annuus
Wild sunflowers are considered beautiful wild plants, or weeds, in most areas around here. They tend to grow in masses on the edges of fields or in ditches across the Central Great Plains region. Usually, any disturbed area they will grow. The problem with them is that they often grow 6 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide. But they are covered in yellow or orange flower discs up to 6 inches across. And there are many butterflies and other insects which visit them. Just like Black-Eyed Susans, they host the checkerspot butterflies. They also host the yellow sunflower moth, zebra conchylodes moth, arge moth, confused eusarca moth, and the common pinkband moth.
Wild Carrot – Daucus carrota
I have mentioned these before. They really do make an interesting addition to the garden. Besides being a host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly and wavy-lined emerald moth, they also make great cut flowers. And the flowers attract many beneficial insects such as ichneumonid and braconid wasps, hover flies, and beetles. Wild carrot grows 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. It is best planted in a mass, but can be added to a 2-year annual flower bed, since it is a biennial.
Common Milkweed – Asclepias syriaca
For most of the farmers around my area, the name milkweed is synonymous with WEED. Because they have dealt with it creeping into their fields from the edges, and growing in the ditch, they have trouble seeing it any other way. But they are learning yet. Milkweeds are the only plant which Monarch butterflies use as a host plant (3 Genera of milkweeds). Common milkweed is one of the wilder species, growing 4 to 6 feet tall and forming large thickets. But the flowers are very fragrant, and attractive to a lot of insects. Also, the flowers can be white, pale pink, pink, or mauve in color. Besides the Monarch, the following butterflies and moths use milkweeds:
- Queen butterfly
- Milkweed tussock moth
- Delicate cycnia moth
- Unexpected cycnia moth
Wild Plants for the Edges
When it comes to the edges of your gardens, there is usually room for more weedy or wild plants. The edges may be utilized in many ways, keeping unsightly plants and spaces out of the way, yet providing for butterflies, moths, bees, and birds. It is on the edge where the brush pile goes, the snags are left, the fallen logs belong. Here you can let these wild plants go, mainly for the insects they host.
Canada Wood Nettle – Laportea canadensis
This is one of the nicest looking nettles, if nettles can be nice looking. I still would not add it directly to the landscape, because just like all nettles, it has stinging hairs which make you itch for hours. It needs some amount of shade, and can grow in slightly moist or wet soils. The reason to allow nettles to grow is for the butterflies. The eastern comma is one of the prettiest woodland butterflies, which will come out to a few flowers as well. The Question Mark butterfly and the Red Admiral butterfly are other species which use it as a host. Canada wood nettle grows 3 feet tall and wide.
Prairie Tea – Croton monanthogynus
One of the little known wild plants, this member of the Spurge Family is one of the few species which the beautiful Goatweed Leafwing butterfly uses as a host plant. Fairly common in the Central Plains, it is less so east. But there are other Croton species which the goatweed leafwing can use. Prairie tea does have attractive foliage, and grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. But it is best left to the full sun edges of the property, or mixed into a meadow garden, where it will likely be overlooked.
Lambsquarters – Chenopodium album
This is one of the wild plants that many would have a hard time believing is a native. But it is. And it is edible too! The leaves are reported to taste like spinach, but who knows? It grows 3 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. Lambsquarters grow in a variety of places, but mainly disturbed areas around farms and fields. A member of the Amaranth Family, lambsquarters are a host for 2 butterflies.
- Common Sootywing butterfly
- Hayhurst Scallopwing butterfly
- Virgin tiger moth
- Morning glory plume moth
- Flamboyant twirler moth
- Chenopodium Scythris Moth
Maryland Figwort – Scrophularia marilandica
A fairly common, yet often unheard of native woodland plant, Maryland figwort has tiny, yet unique flowers. The flowers, which are burgundy-brown and about 1/4 inch in size, have a surprising amount of nectar, attract a lot of pollinators including hummingbirds, honeybees, longhorn bees, and various wasps. The plant grows 3 to 8 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. It is a host plant for the common buckeye butterfly, which feeds on other members of the Figwort Family as well.
Pointed-Leaved Tick-Trefoil – Desmodium glutinosum
Another woodland species, this native legume has delicate pink flowers above pointed leaves. It is an airy plant, growing 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. I have never found it outside of the woods. A member of the legumes, it is one of several species of pea and bean wild plants which host a variety of butterflies. Other legumes to add to the edge planting might include the Partridge Pea, Showy Tick-trefoil, wild alfalfa, silvery scurf pea, or American licorice.
- Silver-spotted skipper
- Clouded sulphur butterfly
- Cloudless sulphur butterfly
- Little yellow sulphur butterfly
- Orange sulphur butterfly
- Sleepy orange sulphur butterfly
- Eastern tailed blue butterfly
- Gray hairstreak butterfly
- Marine blue hairstreak butterfly
- Reakirt’s blue hairstreak butterfly
- Jaguar flower moth
Conclusion
Planting wild plants among your neat and tidy garden places may not be the best choice, unless you are looking to host a larger number of butterfly species. But there is a place to put them – on the edge of the yard. Edge spaces are under-utilized by most gardeners. They can be the perfect spot for a few of those weedy wildflowers, a brush pile, some snags and downed trees, or a strip of slightly weedy meadow. The perfect spot for wildlife to come into your landscape.
Happy planting!
