Get MORE CATERPILLARS! 🐛 | 5 Butterfly Garden Host Plants | Butterfly Garden Basics

Looking for Butterfly Garden Plant ideas? If you are looking to attract more butterflies to your butterfly garden, you need caterpillars... which means you need host plants! Nothing attracts butterflies more than butterfly host plants. Join me as I talk about 5 host plants (with a focus on native plants) to get more caterpillars!
In this series, we will be covering the butterfly garden basics. I'll take you through how to attract butterflies, plants that attract butterflies, flowers that attract butterflies, how to make a butterfly garden at home, nectar plants, host plants and native butterfly garden. Come join me in my butterfly garden in Florida as we start our journey into butterfly gardening!
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:30 Host Plant #1: Milkweed
1:33 Host Plant #2: Passionvine
2:55 Host Plant #3: Frogfruit
3:45 Host Plant #4: Cassia
4:25 Host Plant #5: Citrus
5:10 Butterfly Garden Plants to Attract Butterflies? Up next...
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[@RoseOriginals]

I recently found two caterpillars on my key lime tree and got very excited! I'm going to dig up some frogfruit from my neighbor's yard right now and add it to my bed of spanish needle.

[@WildFloridian]

That is awesome! I'm so excited for you 😄 Hopefully your neighbor is ok with you taking some of their frog fruit 😂

[@jasongross4241]

My corny stem passion vine is covered in zebra longwing caterpillars right now...4/8/22

[@WildFloridian]

That is amazing!

[@laurenrhoads9712]

Great video. I love you energetic attitude. Great host plant options

[@WildFloridian]

Thank you Lauren! Thank you for the tip on the passion vine tea! That is all you 😄

[@laurenrhoads9712]

@@WildFloridian glad to help out a fellow butterfly enthusiast

[@abnormalways]

I found out red spotted purple butterfly is hosted by hog plum tree (also known as chicksaw/flatwoods plums) . Also the reticulated pawpaw is host for the zebra swallowtail. I am super lucky to have these guys wild on my land. I might try to propagate more because these 2 in particular are lovely lovely plants all around and very niche central florida ecotype. :D

[@AlannaSingsALot]

Last year I was really happy with my choice to add Milkweed to my garden. It brought Monarchs immediately! However…I got discouraged when it also brought wasps that killed the caterpillars. I tried saving some of them, but none of the Chrysalises made it. I decided to just relax & observe nature & go by a quote I created myself … “Just let the garden grow” … but is there an area of the garden you recommend to plant a pollinator garden that’s the safest spot for caterpillars & butterflies? 🦋

[@WildFloridian]

What I found was really helpful was to plant the milkweed with a ground cover like native porterweed. The caterpillars hung out there and put there chrysalis there and emerged to dry there wings. It made a nice shelter. Just yesterday I saw a monarch caterpillar hiding in blue eyed grass. So the best natural help is to give them plants that let them hide.

[@rethablair6902]

😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥

[@sunshinejenny5536]

Thanks for the tips! Just watching you makes me feel better. You have great energy. Also, I have started my butterfly garden as well but want to add to it, especially with more host plants.

[@ImproveYoSelf727]

Great info

[@floridafarmsteadlife4456]

The sky!! It’s so blue. 🦋🌺Awesome topic!

[@WildFloridian]

Thank you Carol! And yes! SO BLUE! 🌸🌼🌺

[@wingnox]

I have the red yellow milkweed and bought common and swamp milkweed seeds. Hope they get going soon.

[@WildFloridian]

OoOoOo exciting! I haven't tried milkweed from seed yet. I'm right there with you.... waiting on milkweed to come back 😂

[@kimberlyd317]

Great information! Thank you! Need to make a trip to Wilcox nursery! You’re giving me so many ideas how to layout my yard for plants!!!

[@WildFloridian]

Yay! I'm so glad!

[@GreenthumbFL]

Love it 🥰

[@laurarussell9354]

Go wild Floridian go! 🕶 👍

[@WildFloridian]

Thanks Laura!

[@jb4496]

Once again outstanding video. I will go with the milkweed and the passion vine To help the butterflies and I like the flower from the passion vine too . Thanks for so much information

[@WildFloridian]

Thank you J B! I'm so happy to help you with all your upcoming plant purchases! 😄

[@jb4496]

Your a sweetheart thank you very much

[@meriannebratu2921]

I have a lot of host plants I wasn’t expecting that

[@WildFloridian]

Yay! 😄

[@mariaescalona9647]

Please print labelsome of the plants

[@Salmiyaguy1]

apparently wild lime is not a true citrus. and I just read there are other native host plants for the Giant Swallowtail including prickly ash. The latter is in my range where most citrus trees are not, since I am in zone 5/6.

[@rosekoenig1841]

how do you keep the wasp and afids off the milkweed? btw you are so informative!

[@WildFloridian]

I don’t. 😄 They are welcome to come. I do plant the milkweed with native ground covers which give the caterpillars a chance

[@sadiqmirza4424]

I watched alot of your videos , it is so informative , thank you💓 , i am intersted in butterfly garden i want to know if it is possiple to grow a milkweed plant in a very hot weather-i am living in arabian gulf - and which type is the most hardy for hot weather

[@doantp]

Great Video! Passionvine? Is that Passion flower? I live in Atlanta GA, please recommend what passionvine could survive my climate as perenial. Thanks.

[@WildFloridian]

Thank you! And you are correct passionvine is passionflower is passion fruit. And maypop passion vine is native to Georgia so it will grow well there too! Check out Georgia Native Plant Society for other native plants that will grow well 😄 facebook.com/westgaGNPS/posts/the-more-common-passion-vine-passion-flower-or-maypop-passiflora-incarnata/648904448592843/

[@broccoligirl9019]

Some plant my grandma planted years ago has become a host plant to what I think is some type of moth

[@WildFloridian]

I hope you solve the mystery 😊

[@angelrivas9473]

Goodmorning hi quick question where can I fine milkweed 🌸 flower

[@WildFloridian]

Check out local nurseries, especially those who specialize in natives... usually you can google native plant nursery near me to find stores. Then give them a call to check. You can also look at Native Plant Societies for resources such as FNPS and Florida Wildflower Association to find businesses or they sell seeds. Best wishes!

[@shelbybusque9864]

do you have any citrus recommendation? I would like to plant one that does well here in Fl--Im in the same zone as you-helps the butterflies and that i can eat.

[@Chickmamapalletfarm]

Is the trifoliate citrus, often used as graft material, considered a native citrus? I live in far south Mississippi, and I have grapefruit that died several years ago, but the trifoliate persists. Is that enough for the giant swallowtail? I had some swallowtail caterpillars on a Jerusalem citrus I started from seed for a client last year, but have never noticed them on any of our cultivated citrus. Thoughts?

[@rebeccahempe5144]

I found and planted the orange and yellow milkweed at Lowes this Spring. Getting some monarchs to visit and noticed a couple of small caterpillars! My question is, I am noticing the leaves towards the bottom are turning yellow and dropping off. Is this something to work about and how do I correct it? Becky, St Cloud, Fl

[@nadiamatejek5121]

Can you feed Swallowtails parsley from grocery store?

[@WildFloridian]

Yes for black swallowtails. Other types of swallowtails don’t eat parsley

[@blossomgurrl356]

Hi! where is a good place to put corky stem vines? I keep having to buy every several years.

[@WildFloridian]

The one that is the happiest in my garden runs through a bush. So I would suggest a shrub. I find a lot of the wild corky hiding in shrubs. It sounds like you are doing a good job of feeding lots of caterpillars.

[@joanhughes3693]

Hi, I'm wondering what zone you are in? I'm in Zone 10 and I'm trying to find out what plants do well in Zone 10 for butterflies.

[@WildFloridian]

I'm zone 10a! So all of these should do well for you. 😄🌺

[@asdf-gh8vd]

I have a mealybug problem. How do you deal with mealybugs without killing the caterpillars too?

[@nadiamatejek5121]

Is Passion vine low maintenance?

[@maxmanx1294]

Yes for the native ones!

[@RaetheSaint]

My passion vine has sooo many zebra long wing caterpillars right now and I love it

[@WildFloridian]

YAY Rachelle! I'm a little jealous... still no Zebra Longwings for me... but TONS of Gulf Fritillary. I'm so excited for you. I do a little happy dance every time you tell me about a new flower or butterfly or caterpillar! 😄

[@RaetheSaint]

@@WildFloridian that’s so sweet! I really love your videos and you’ve inspired me so much along my own native gardening journey 😄 I’m wishing you tons of Zebra Longwings in the future (even though they eat up passion vine leaves extremely quickly 😂)

[@dumplingsfordays2980]

so im probably gonna get alot of butterflies because i already have frog fruit and im getting some passion vine seeds ,fennel and milkweed seeds because the plants are expensive where i live i might update yall when i grow the plants

[@dumplingsfordays2980]

where the fuck do you get actual may pop plants that arent expensive af

[@WildFloridian]

Very exciting! I'm sure you'll have lots of caterpillars!

[@juanpinto5743]

I planted three milkweed plants and the caterpillars ravaged them and left. How do you keep feeding these very hungry caterpillars?

[@WildFloridian]

Hi Juan! It is a challenge... in the beginning you just have to accept that you will not be able to keep up... but the more times they eat the milkweed... it will come back more and more each time! Also this is why so many butterfly gardeners end up buying tons of milkweed... because we can't stand seeing a cute little monarch caterpillar 🐛 go hungry 😋

[@juanpinto5743]

@@WildFloridian You’re absolutely right. I added 3 more milkweed plants already. I figured I need plant volume to keep up.

[@marticorpany5148]

I've heard there are poisonous caterpillars. Do we have those in Florida and how do we know which ones they are? Not that I want to hug them or anything. lol

[@WildFloridian]

LOL! Hug the caterpillars 🐛 😂 Most caterpillars are toxic to some degree. That is how they teach other animals not to eat them. But I'm thinking you are talking to the touch. Ones I wouldn't pick up but are common in butterfly gardens... Sulphur caterpillars (cloudless/orange barred), giant swallowtail (maybe). There are io moth caterpillars that you should avoid and there is one that looks super fuzzy that I always hear about people accidentally touching and having to go to hospital. Here is an article that shows the caterpillar I hear about. www.tampabay.com/news/venomous-puss-caterpillars-make-return-to-florida-20181023/

[@marticorpany5148]

@@WildFloridian You're awesome. Thank you. Going to the site now.

[@samelita007]

Where did you find the pink swan milkweed?

[@WildFloridian]

Howdy Isabel! 😄 I got my pink swamp milkweed at Wilcox in Largo. You should check out Sweet Bay in Parrish (they sell native plants). There may be a native nursery in Sarasota county.... but mostly check out native nurseries. 🌸

[@samelita007]

@@WildFloridian thank you Jacqueline! Def worth the drive. They look so pretty in your garden

[@adrienneandrews3944]

Why don’t you list the specific cultivars? Frustrating!!

[@WildFloridian]

Specific cultivars? What are you looking for? I have other videos that jump more in depth. Also this is a general video that reaches beyond Florida and the variety may not be relevant. Let me know which plant your interested in.

[@adrienneandrews3944]

@@WildFloridian you mentioned a white passionvine that you had in your shade garden

[@WildFloridian]

Passiflora multiflora aka the endangered white passionflower