Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects

[John3]

I have found 49 plants so far - pros and cons of these plants. Any plants you can add and the beneficial insect(s) it attracts would be appreciated. Also, places to buy seeds to grow the plants (and let me know which ones if any should not be started by seeds)


Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects (so far)
Insects attracted:
LACEWINGS/LADYBUGS/HOVERFLIES/PARASITIC MINI-WASPS/TACHINID FLIES/MINUTE PIRATE BUGS/DAMSEL BUGS/BIG EYED BUGS
1. Alfalfa
2. Alpine cinquefoil
3. Angelica
4. Basket of Gold
5. Buckwheat
6. Butter and eggs
7. Butterfly weed
8. Caraway
9. Carpet bugleweed
10. Common yarrow
11. Coriander
12. Cosmos white sensation
13. Crimson thyme
14. Dandelion
15. Dill
16. Dwarf alpine aster
17. Edging lobelia
18. English lavender
19. Fennel
20. Fern-leaf yarrow
21. Feverfew
22. Four-wing saltbush
23. Gloriosa daisy
24. Golden marguerite
25. Hairy vetch
26. Lavender globe lily
27. Lemon balm
28. Marigold - lemon gem
29. Masterwort
30. Orange stonecrop
31. Parsley
32. Pennyroyal
33. Peter Pan goldenrod
34. Phacelia
35. Poached egg plant
36. Prairie sunflower
37. Purple poppy mallow
38. Queen Anne's lace
39. Rocky Mt. penstemon
40. Spearmint
41. Spike speedwell
42. Statice
43. Stonecrops
44. Sulfur cinquefoil
45. Sweet alyssum - white
46. Tansy
47. Wild bergamot
48. Wood betony
49. Zinnia - liliput

[brokenbar]

Missing Honeysuckle...ladybugs love it. I had both the bush type and the climbing type and they were always crawling with Ladybugs (aphids like them a lot so the Ladybugs were well fed.)

[John3]

Which types do you grow?

Any Honeysuckle?
Winter Honeysuckle Bush
Northern Bush Honeysuckle Shrub
Tatarian
French
Mandarin
Harlequin
Himalayan
etc

[stonysoilseeds]

i plant alot of borage at the perimeters of garden area

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by John3

Which types do you grow?

Any Honeysuckle?
Winter Honeysuckle Bush
Northern Bush Honeysuckle Shrub
Tatarian
French
Mandarin
Harlequin
Himalayan
etc

Tartarian bush type. Loaded with berries also which the birds and chipmunks love. They get about 10' tall.

[John3]

Originally Posted by stonysoilseeds

i plant alot of borage at the perimeters of garden area

Which beneficial insect(s) does Borage attracts stonysoilseeds?

[John3]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

Tartarian bush type. Loaded with berries also which the birds and chipmunks love. They get about 10' tall.

Thanks brokenbar another one to add - Honeysuckle - Tartarian bush type.

[stonysoilseeds]

it attracts alot of bees and also parasitic wasps john 3 it has edible flowers as well and leaves that taste like cucumbers

[John3]

Thanks stonysoilseeds.
add Borage - that brings the count up to 51 plants

[Wi-sunflower]

Just thinking out loud here.

I do wonder sometimes tho about planting some of those things if they don't actually keep the good bugs on themselves and away from what you want to protect.

I'm guessing there is a tipping point. You want SOME of the attractant plants.but not so many that the good bugs are satisfied staying right there.

I know some years we plant a couple of acres of sunflowers and/or buckwheat. Both are good for the bees. But sometimes there seem to be so many bees in there that I wonder if the bees manage to even look at the squash or other crops.

Just some stuff to think about. I don't really know the answers.

Carol

[roper2008]

If you decide on lemon balm, put it in a pot, or else it will spread
everywhere. I'm getting rid of mine. It doesn't seem to attract
beneficials in my yard.
Fennel is a good one, and you can grow it from seed. I have a non-
bulbing perennial type.
Butterfly weed mostly attracts butterfly's in my yard, and monarch
caterpillars.
You don't have oregano on your list. Best to buy a plant, but you
can germinate from seed. In it's second year it starts flowering and
the bee's love it.
I have noticed that most herb flowers are very popular with all
kinds of bee's/wasps.

Here is my fennel from last year

[Tracydr]

Basil, all kinds.
Dill.
Cilantro
Any alliums allowed to flower-elephant garlic, leeks

[Mudman]

The last couple of years I have planted carrots early and some of them flowered. They were a great attraction for the ladybugs.

[John3]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

Just thinking out loud here.

I do wonder sometimes tho about planting some of those things if they don't actually keep the good bugs on themselves and away from what you want to protect.

I'm guessing there is a tipping point. You want SOME of the attractant plants.but not so many that the good bugs are satisfied staying right there.

I know some years we plant a couple of acres of sunflowers and/or buckwheat. Both are good for the bees. But sometimes there seem to be so many bees in there that I wonder if the bees manage to even look at the squash or other crops.

Just some stuff to think about. I don't really know the answers.

Carol

Good point to consider Carol - Thanks

[John3]

Originally Posted by roper2008

If you decide on lemon balm, put it in a pot, or else it will spread
everywhere. I'm getting rid of mine. It doesn't seem to attract
beneficials in my yard.
Fennel is a good one, and you can grow it from seed. I have a non-
bulbing perennial type.
Butterfly weed mostly attracts butterfly's in my yard, and monarch
caterpillars.
You don't have oregano on your list. Best to buy a plant, but you
can germinate from seed. In it's second year it starts flowering and
the bee's love it.
I have noticed that most herb flowers are very popular with all
kinds of bee's/wasps.

Here is my fennel from last year

Thanks roper2008 for the tips and the two plants you mentioned - I bold the words about them. Like your picture of fennel.