Today I am here to say, let’s give up the dog days and create a celebration of the tiger days of summer. I am not talking LSU, Auburn or Clemson starting football workouts. I am, however, touting states like Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia coming together for the one thing they have in common: They have all chosen the eastern tiger swallowtail as their state butterfly.
A wingspan that can exceed 5 inches makes the eastern tiger swallowtail one of the most loved butterflies in the United States. It has a huge range, from Texas north to Canada and all states eastward. When the eastern tigers show up in the landscape, the cameras start clicking. It is indeed a cause for celebration.
They have two broods in the North and three in the South, with some of the heaviest populations occurring simultaneously with the hottest days of the summer, yes, the dog days, which officially this year were July 3 through Aug. 11. You see, the real dog days are tied to an astrological event.
The monarch butterfly gets the lion’s share of the press these days, and rightfully so. I love monarchs, and we all need to grow milkweed and be activists for the preservation of their habitat. You have to admit, though, they are a little like vagabonds, here today and gone tomorrow with their migratory habit. If the eastern tiger swallowtails fail to show, on the other hand, the heart starts to palpitate, and the summer landscape seems as though it has had a pall cast over it.
Now get out a pencil and paper for your test. Monarchs must have milkweed; what is the larval food for eastern tiger swallowtails? Lucky for us, we have several options, all trees: wild cherry (Prunus), tulip poplar (Liriodendron), sweetbay (Magnolia), birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus), willow (Salix), mountain ash (Sorbus) and basswood (Tilia). The forest is extremely important. The chrysalids even over winter in the forest.
So, the forest is doing its part; what can we do to provide nectar with the hopes of keeping eastern tiger swallowtails around during the torrid days of summer? Their average lifespan is about two weeks, and the swallowtail appreciates your efforts to grow flowers.
At The Garden Guy’s house we have had some clear eastern tiger swallowtail champion flowers that have come to the front the past few years. These flowers can take anything the summer can dish out and bring in the swallowtails as if there was a neon sign flashing "Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Eat Free."
Truffula Pink gomphrena, Luscious Royale Cosmo lantana and Superbena Whiteout verbena are all award winners and are still so new you may not have tried them. Put them on your list! This year’s new star is Augusta Lavender heliotrope, which, I assure you, will rack up awards and pollinators.
Miss Molly is a lady you need to get to know. While some buddleias have created some bad press for their reseeding, Miss Molly is certified noninvasive. This, in addition to orchid-colored blooms that are drop-dead gorgeous, a 6-foot compact perfect habit and magnetic attraction for the eastern tiger swallowtails, make the shrub a must for all butterfly lovers.
The last I want to mention is the Rockin Blue Suede Shoes salvia. We call this a two-fer, a champion with both hummingbirds and swallowtails. This one has won awards across the country and has been a reliable perennial for The Garden Guy in zone 8a Georgia.
Let’s unite in celebration for the tiger days of summer. We can all grow these tough nectar-producing flowers and celebrate the graceful flight of one of our most beautiful butterflies, the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). If you live west of Texas, you have western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) and two-tailed swallowtails (Papilio multicaudata), so join the celebration.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
