Night Blooming Moth Garden

Planting Tips

• Include native plants in your moth garden, as the insects are familiar with these plants and flock to them easily. Include a mixture of annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs so that you draw the largest number of moth species. Whenever possible, choose white-flowered cultivars of plants, which are easier for moths to find in the dim evening light. Trumpet-shaped flowers attract hovering moths, while perching moths prefer flat-topped flowers and clusters. Avoid the use of insecticides as much as possible and don't position a bug zapper near the garden, since male moths are as attracted to the device as are mosquitoes.

Annuals

• Four o'clocks (Mirabilis spp. and hybrids), also known as marvel of Peru, are reliable annuals for attracting night-feeding moths. Their colorful, white-splotched flowers open in late afternoon and last for one night only, but are replaced by new blooms each night from midsummer to fall. Moths are also attracted to marigolds (Tagetes app.), pentas (Pentas lanceolata) and petunias (Petunia x hybrida).

Perennials

• Two native species of evening primrose (Oenothera spp.) are good moth attractors. The pink or common evening primrose (O. speciosa) has cup-shaped, light pink flowers with white centers that open in late afternoon, while O. lamarckiana has bright yellow flowers that are open only at night. Angel trumpets (Brugmansia spp.) have large, fragrant trumpets on bushy plants; these plants are poisonous, so use them with care in gardens accessible to children. Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum) bloom in summer and stay open day and night, while night-blooming cereus (Epiphyllum spp.), a relative of the Christmas cactus, opens its flowers only from around 9 p.m. until dawn. Scarlet gaura (Gaura coccinea) is a good attractor for the smaller, daintier moths that perch rather than hover.

Vines

• Night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is just one of the vines that attract moths into your garden. Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a good choice, as well. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a rampant spreader and needs regular pruning to keep manageable, but the flowers are especially fragrant on warm, humid nights. Sweet peas (Lathyrus odorous) and moon flower vines (Ipomoea alba) are easy-to-grow annual vines with sweetly scented flowers that moths like.

Trees and Shrubs

• Many common landscape shrubs attract moths as well as butterflies and birds. Butterfly bush (Buddleia app.) grows 6 to 8 feet tall and blooms for most of the summer. Glossy abelia (Abelia x grand flora) has trumpet flowers in small clusters and is easy to grow. Weigelas (Weigela florida) also have small, trumpet-shaped flowers that attract hovering moths. White-flowered cultivars are available for all these shrubs.