Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_40.gif)
Wednesday - February 11, 2009
From: Quitman, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Butterfly Gardens
Title: Butterfly gardening in Quitman, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We want to establish a butterfly garden in our back yard. What plants should we establish to attract the butterfly for food and host planting?ANSWER:
Please read our How-To Article Butterfly Gardening, which not only gives you details on how to go about this project, but also a list of suggested plants, all of which will do well in your area. You can follow the links on each plant in that article to find out how to propagate it, how large it gets, even what butterflies it attracts. At the bottom of that webpage is an extensive Bibliography of related publications. Click on a title to get more information about the book. Some you may find in the Library or might wish to purchase. From our Special Collections, see this list of plants for Butterflies and Moths of North America. You can go through and find a plant you are interested in, but before you plant it, check the information on states to which that plant is native on the webpage. If it is not native to Texas, it probably would not prosper in your area, nor would the butterflies it attracts be around.
One more website that has a lot of information and links on it is The Butterfly Site.com. Remember that their information will be more general, and not necessarily involve butterflies or plants that you would normally find in East Texas, but will still give you a lot of help.
More Butterfly Gardens Questions
Should Mexican milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) not be used to attract Monarch butterflies?
November 20, 2015 - Should I remove Asclepias curassavica (Mexican milkweed) in my garden for threat of OE parasitic protozoan threat to Monarch butterflies? Is this threat as widespread as Chronicle implies? I had great...
view the full question and answer
Flowers for monarch butterflies in Bastrop, Gonzales and Travis Counties of Texas
March 05, 2013 - Hi Mr./s. Smarty Plants,
What are some flowers that grow naturally on a Bastrop, Travis, or Gonzales county riverside that monarch butterflies commonly feed on?
Thank you
view the full question and answer
Listing of plants matched to specific pollinators
July 01, 2014 - Could you refer me to a listing of plants matched to specific pollinators? I have completed the conversion of a local nature center garden to a pollinator garden with all natives. We hope to
place ed...
view the full question and answer
Butterfly Plants for D.C. Garden
July 16, 2015 - I have one half of the side of the house face NE and the other half faces NW. The front of the house faces east. The back of the house faces west which is woody with native trees of Rock Creek Park of...
view the full question and answer
Butterfly egg kit from Spring Hill FL
October 27, 2011 - Could you please tell me all native plant(s) I can buy for my Sons Painted Lady Butterfly kit (eggs are going to hatch soon)and I don't know what to buy for the baby caterpillars to eat. I contacted ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |