Butterfly attractors

Coral Jatropha - small, miniature tree or medium size shrub. Red flowers look like corals, followed by curious yellow fruit. Exotic looking specimen plant, easy to grow, very tropical look. Drought tolerant. Can be grown in a pot, makes a nice palm-looking house plant.

Canary Tree. Sometimes listed as Bakeridesia integerrima, Canary Tree is a showy and handsome small tree growing about 10 ft tall, with evergreen, broadly heart-shaped leaves. They are pubescent with stellate hairs and are rough to the touch on the upper surface. The flowers are 2-3" across and resemble those of a hibiscus. The five petals are bright yellow, each with a reddish blotch at the base. It is an excellent tree for container culture or for a small garden, doing best with full sun and good drainage. It has a long winter span, and blooms are attractive to bees and butterflies.

Also known as A. x hybridum Fireball, and Abutilon Biltmore Ballgown, this is one of the many lovely hybrids between A. darwinii and A. striatum, with maple-like leaves and bell-flowers whose petals are recurved, turning in slightly at the bottom. Flowers are fiery red, as one would imagine, with prominent red veins accenting the surface. Happy plants can reach 8-10 ft tall, though pruning easily adjusts the size. Best with plentiful summer water and fertilizer. Less hardy than many, preferring temperatures that only occasionally drop into the 20s F, USDA zone 9. Placement out of wind with overhead protection and plentiful mulch help in less than balmy climates.

Sweet Mimosa. One of the most useful tropical plants that is very cold tolerant, blooms all winter through spring with honey-fragrant flowers - canary yellow powder puffs, attracting bees and butterflies. This is a large size, multi-stem thorny shrub 15x15 ft that requires some space. It is very fast growing, can be used as a good screen plant. It will bring you joy with pretty flowers and sweet fragrance even during freeze snaps when other trees lose leaves and suffer. This one will continue blooming and stays evergreen - a real survivor! Tolerates poor soils and drought too. Provide regular water to establish quicker.

Golden Trumpet Vine. Big single 3" wide flowers, fast growing showy vine.

Mexican Coral Vine, Coral Creeper - fast-growing delicate vine with bright pink flowers. Cold hardy! Very fast growing, will cover a fence in one season. Blooms most of the year.

Panama Queen - a very rare plant with extremely tropical look, fragrant flowers of unusual color combination: orange and pink.