Butterflies adore hardy mistflower

LITTLE ROCK — The palm-leaf mistflower is bringing in so many butterflies it is hard to get the visitors inside at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. The visitors get out of the car and then have a speechless look as they sit and stare at hundreds of butterflies that seem perched or are swirling about every blooming flower stalk.

I have been hesitant writing about this plant because it takes some searching to find it. When I saw the Missouri Botanical Garden website bragging on it, I decided it was time to tout the virtues of this incredible plant. Perhaps doing so will help get it distributed more widely throughout the trade.

The palm-leaf mistflower is native to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and is cold-hardy through zone 7. Elsewhere, treat it as an annual and perhaps even a re-seeding annual. It is amazing for the length of bloom time and its ability to attract butterflies. Known botanically as Conolinium greggii it is among the easiest perennials to grow. You’ll also notice that it brings that welcome color of blue that many search for, to use in the flower border.

Palm-leaf mistflower, sometimes known as Gregg’s mistflower, has cool blue ageratumlike flowers borne on 2-foot tall plants. The leaves are deeply dissected, giving it even more landscape appeal.

Unbelievably, it is in full bloom now at our garden, and will keep up this frenzy until fall. In colder regions such as zone 7, it will bloom during the hot summer from late June through October. They not only attract queen and monarch butterflies but all kinds of sulphurs, skippers, crescents and the beautiful Bordered Patch.

The palm-leaf mistflower is one of those perennials known to do a little spreading by roots. You won’t mind this a bit, as it will give you more plants to spread around the garden. It has virtually no pests, and the welcome Rawson’s metalmark butterfly uses it as a host plant.

With the blue flowers ever present, you may want to consider planting in combination with the yellow-orange lantana, or one of the various rudbeckias. Pink-flowered Salvia coccinea would also look great.

Since it does spread, some can be used as a blooming ground cover. Here at the National Butterfly Center we’ve planted it in bold informal drifts. We are now combining it with the yellow Silky Gold version of the tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica along with All Around Purple gomphrena and the new tall hot pink Fireworks gomphrena.

Once you get your plants or seeds, select a site with a lot of sun and prepare the soil by loosening with the addition of compost or other organic matter. This soil preparation pays dividends by letting the roots get established quickly and providing good drainage and aeration. Once established, the palm-leaf mistflower will make you wonder why it isn’t for sale at every garden center.