Ironweed – Iron Butterfly (gallon pot)

Description

Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’ is a very well-branched, shorter variety that can really handle the heat and tolerate dry soil.
Fine foliage with butterfly-attracting purple flowers in late summer. Great texture and color for the late-season garden.
A great combo – Lavender Culver’s Root, Giant Meadow Rue, and Ironweed – check out our Tall Pink Native Collection

Foliage is bitter and repels mammals from browsing, but plants in the Vernonia genus are host plants for a variety of moth and butterfly larvae and other insects, including: American Lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis), Parthenice Tiger Moth (Grammia parthenice), Ironweed Borer Moth (Papaipema cerussata and Papaipema limpida), Eupatorium Borer Moth (Carmenta bassiformis), Red Groundling moth (Perigea xanthioides), Pyralid Moths (Polygrammodes flavidalis and Polygrammodes langdonalis), Ironweed Plume Moth (Hellinsia paleaceus), Ironweed Curculio Weevil (he larvae of this weevil feed on the pith of ironweeds), Midges (including Asphondylia vernoniae and Youngomyia podophyllae) which form galls on the plant’s buds and flower heads. Many of the larval species bore into / eat the roots and stems, perhaps helping to balance the aggressive nature of Common Ironweed’s rhizomes.