Looking to add pollinator plants to your garden? Here are two picks for surefire pollinator action: zinnias and lantana.
You can grow zinnias from seed or seedling. They’re easy as pie to grow from seed. Just start with a pack of Burpee’s Cut and Come Again seeds sown in late spring in a full sun bed and, before you long you’ll have gorgeous long stems with crayola-colored blooms.
In my home garden, the Gulf fritillaries and Eastern tiger swallowtails can’t get enough of my zinnias. In addition to Cut and Come Again, I grow several more zinnia varieties each summer, and I plant successive crops so they look their best all summer long.
If you prefer to plant seedlings, look In your favorite Garden Center for ‘Thumbelina” – type zinnias. These sweet petite blooms pack a psychadelic punch in shades of orange, hot pink and neon yellow.
Plant Lantana in Your Pollinator Garden
Lantana is another summer favorite for bringing butterflies, hummingbirds and bees to your garden. This woody plant sends out candy-colored flowers that beckon pollinators.
In my Atlanta area garden, I plant ‘Miss Huff” lantana that will come back each year. Other lantana varieties look great all summer in my garden but succumb to harsh winter temperatures. ‘Miss Huff’ is considered reliably hardy in my zone 8 a region. Get ‘Miss Huff’ if you can find her, but certainly try out other lantanas you see in your Garden Center. They grow quickly, look great in the garden, and of course, feed the pollinators.
Note: I thought that lantana’s woody stems and funky scent would repel deer, but I witnessed deer nibbling on the above garden border one evening at a golf course in North Carolina. I guess it’s true that deer will eat anything if they’re hungry.
Another note: Some varieties of lantana are considered invasive in areas like Florida. Consult your state’s invasive species list for up-to-date information.
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