Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Plants that Rule: White Mistflower

It has been said before, but White Mistflower rules. It the best plant for attracting swarms of butterflies and other insects. It blooms around the first of November for about 3 or 4 weeks. I swear that mine bloom in the spring as well, but no one believes me. I will pay more attention next spring.
This plant has a slew of names. I learned it as White Mistflower and Eupatorium havanense. Blue Mistflower was called E. greggii. It was a simpler time. Now both have been booted from Eupatorium and into their own genera, Ageratina and Conoclinium respectively. White Mistflower also answers to Shrubby Boneset, Havana Snakeroot, thoroughwort, and probably something else that I can't remember. It's closely related to the plant that causes "milk sickness," A. altissima, a.k.a. White Snakeroot or Tall Boneset. It killed Abe Lincoln's mom. So, don't feed it to your cows and then eat them or drink their milk. You've been warned.

The degree to which White Mistflower attracts insects can't be overstated. They swarm around it like electrons on a nucleus, or rebel ships around the Death Star. All kinds of butterflies, moths, bees, and flies. I've even seen mosquitos feeding on the nectar.
White Mistflower is also rugged. These two plants were originally planted in full sun from a couple of four-inch pots from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center's Native Plant Sale. I decided one winter that I wanted them elsewhere and dug them up and moved them to a part-shade location. There wasn't much of a rootball and I didn't think they would come back but they did. I didn't really water them much during this year's brutal summer but they didn't care. They just waited until it finally rained and then exploded into bloom.
Oh, and, as you might expect, it smells great. Rich, perfumey, and sweet.