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An incredible butterfly bush - Eupatorium coelestinum or Mist Flower

No not a Buddleia. Those are pretty amazing plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I'm talking about Eupatorium coelestinum or Mist Flower.

I was at a great nursery in Austin called The Natural Gardener and took a stroll through their butterfly garden. Well down here it's still warm in November and the monarch butterflies are migrating through. This shrub doesn't have much of a scent and the blooms aren't that showy. But it is a butterfly magnet! I saw at least three species of butterflies feeding on it. At any given moment there were about 2 dozen butterflies on each of the three bushes. Nearby, the milkweed and lantana called out for the butterflies, but to no avail. They all went to the Mist Flower bushes. These are amazing little/big perennials that grow about 3-4 feet high and about 5-6 feet wide. They bloom late in the season around October for us but I'm sure that varies with climate. The thing to remember is "late season." I was told that there are a couple dwarf varieties as well which might be nice. These guys will self seed and naturalize in a bed, and that's great, but maybe you wouldn't want too many 4 feet plants crowding your beds.

Published Sunday, November 02, 2008 1:24 AM by phempton

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About me

I'm a creative weirdo living in Austin Texas with my wife. We're both from Texas and just returned to live in Austin after an 11 year adventure in Seattle Washington. We left a few wonderful friends there and miss them a ton. I like to work with plants and curious, fun people and I like to create peaceful garden spaces to escape to. I also like to play and learn music. Currently I'm learning to play guitar. My latest gardening interest is Tropical Rhododendrons. I think they're fascinating and beautiful. If you know anything about them, send me message and say hello!