There are a lot of ornamental plants out there that are widely used in gardens, entirely for attracting bees and butterflies. However, some of them do not work the best in attracting them or sometimes they work over the top and also attract other unwanted guests.
Petunia is a common garden ornamental plant that can come in an array of vivid colors and shapes that can be very eye-catching. They grow fast and also work the best when you plant them on flower beds. Petunia species are mostly consistent with annual herbs.
These flowering plants are one of the most prolific and durable among the flowering plants. They are the ideal plants to pick for your summer bedding as they have abundant flowers. Not only that, but they also have a wide array of colors too.
Here we shall look at if these ornamental beauties attract bees and butterflies or not as well as explain how we can attract more of them or not.
Do petunias attract bees & butterflies?
Petunias are one of the easiest to care for flowering plants. They can be in various shapes and colors as well as unique blooms too. These easily attract butterflies and hummingbirds. But bees are not usually attracted by this flower unless food is scarce as it has very little to offer.
When it comes to Bees, they only land on certain colors, types, and scents of flowers. They don’t just go over any flower and land on them to collect nectar.
Petunias can come in a multitude of colors that could attract a bee but the blooms and petals are not wide enough for the bees to land. Furthermore, there is little nectar which is of no value to the bees.
However, unlike the bees, they avoid the Petunias unless they are desperate. Butterflies on the other hand are easily attracted to the trumpet-shaped blooms and vivid colors of petunia.
Mexican petunias:
This particular variation of the Petunias has lance-shaped and dark green for leaves. Usually, butterflies can be seen swarming these flowers.
Furthermore, the reason for it to grow so fast is that it self-seeds itself. This one, in particular, has been known to attract bees since it has a lot to offer to the wildlife. Bees seem to enjoy this particular Petunia.
Wave petunias:
These flowers are the perfect choice when we would want to add some contrasting colors to our new garden. Wave petunias are perfect to show off on hanging baskets and pots. They will thrive if we plant them directly on the flowerbeds.
When wave petunia blooms, they have a trumpet-shaped flower. Beesduring late summer when food is scarce will visit the flowers. Butterflies on the other hand are attracted to them regardless.
Do petunias have nectar?
Yes, but the amount of the nectar is very little as well as the pollen of the flower. This is one of the major reasons why the bees will avoid these flowers, to begin with.
Petunias contain so much less nectar and pollen that the bees consider them valueless. However, only during the late summer season when the bees are desperate for food, they will take the nectar from this flower.
Are petunias good for pollinators?
Petunias do not have a good amount of nectar or pollen, to begin with. They are not that good for pollinators. However, hummingbirds and butterflies do not mind them.
Bees on the other hand avoid them unless during the late summer. Petunias are most attractive and that is all they have going for themselves. Otherwise, then that they are not good for pollinators except the hummingbird.
What color petunias can attract bees and butterflies?
Bees do not usually hang around the petunias as to how little they can offer in both nectar and pollen. However, bees have a soft spot for ultra-violet, yellow, and white color flowers.
Therefore, petunias of white or yellow color are good colors to choose if we want to attract the bees. On the other hand, the butterflies love the colors red, yellow, and pink. Thus planting petunias of the above colors will easily attract the butterflies to the flowers.
Will petunias attract hummingbirds?
Petunias might not be enticing to other wildlife like the bees. However, there is this one particular bird that adores the plant that is the hummingbird. Because one thing that is unique and amazing about this flower is that it thrives in the full sun.
This leads the flower to continue to bloom repeatedly. Therefore, it can provide hummingbirds with abundant nectar that the bird needs to maintain its body’s energy throughout the day.
What insects and wildlife are attracted to petunias?
Petunias come in a wildfire of vibrant colors and other different shapes and sizes. Being so diverse and vivid in color attracts a lot of welcome guests to the flower as well as some unwanted guests too.
Let us briefly go over the insects and wildlife that are attracted by this flowering plant.
Bees:
Bees are very picky when it comes to collecting nectar. However, during late summer bees do not hesitate to land on petunias too.
Caterpillars:
Usually during the summer these critters will show up but we will not be able to notice the pests ourselves. They can harm these lovely flowering plants easily.
Butterflies:
Unlike the bees, the butterflies aren’t picky insects. They love the bright-colored plants, especially the red, yellow, and pink color variants of the plant.
Mites:
A species of mites are attracted by this plant and they cause the worst damage among the insects. Their saliva contains an element that is toxic to the Petunias.
Hummingbird:
Petunias attract these little birds. Try hanging these flower plants on hanging baskets. The flowers will provide the birds with a good source of nectar.
How to attract bees and butterflies to my garden?
Nowadays the number of butterflies and bees is coming down at an alarming rate. We need to help the environment in a way that promotes the growth of these small living things rather than diminishing their population.
Even if we are talking about a small garden as long as we take these simple steps things will be better for the little critters and it will also be beneficial for the environment as well.
Go Local:
Pay attention to what your local plants might be. Blindly planting random vivid flowering plants will not get you far. Because the local need for pollinators is usually the local plants.
Avoid pesticides:
One of the basic things we fail to understand is that many chemicals like neonicotinoid or neonic pesticides are very harmful to butterflies and bees.
Having to spray this around will cause the demise of the critters. Because the flower becomes toxic to the critters.
Plant milkweed:
This problem is nationwide because we do not and did not understand the loss of milkweed could be so devastating. These were used to lay their eggs.
Thus, the scarcity of the breeding ground itself dwindled the number of what was left of those critters. We planting milkweed will bring us to double the reward with heavenly full-bloom scent as a bonus.
Add water:
Shallow pools attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. Especially if the environment around us currently is going through a dry climate.
However, the inclusion of open water pools will introduce unwanted pests; the mosquito. All we need to do to make sure they do not start infesting our gardens is to keep the water pools clean and frequently change the water.
Final thoughts
While the butterflies are easily attracted to the vibrant colors of the beautiful flowering plant known as Petunia, the bees are not normally. The bees are picky when it comes to landing on flowers and if food is not scarce, they will not land on the petunias.