Marigolds and a Flight Encounter Refresh

Two or three times a year, we replant most of the pots in the enclosed Flight Encounter area of the BioWorks Exhibit. Plants in pots can be difficult to keep healthy and flowering as they age, and we rely on these blooms to feed the thousands of butterflies we raise each year. Our recent refresh included many of our favorite nectar plants, including agastache, salvia, lavendula, penta, and bacopa, but this year we also included the simple marigold – and it’s proving very popular with butterflies.

Most plants sold as “Marigolds” today are cultivars of Tagetes erecta or Tagetes patula, both of which are native to Mexico and Central America. These plants were brought back to Europe by early explorers in the 16th century and quickly became popular in gardens, maintaining that popularity right up to today. They are extremely easy to grow from seed and come in a variety of sizes and growth habits – and they make great nectar plants.

Other highlights in the Flight Encounter this spring include hanging baskets of vivid pink Trailing Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) and sunny yellow Calibrachoa; Agastache ‘Summer Love’ and ‘Summer Fiesta’; and Spider Flower (Cleome) to serve as host plants for our current population of Whites. As a bit of a guilty indulgence for the keepers, we’ve added two pots of cobalt blue delphinium – they won’t survive the heat and humidity of a Florida summer, but we’ll enjoy them for the next few months while we have them. Check out the slideshow below to see what’s blooming the Flight Encounter these days.

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