flowers

[Pottypotter]

whats the best wild flowers or non wild to atract the right kind of insects onto my allotment?

[SueA]

Hi Pottypotter, I'd suggest calendulas, marigolds, lavenders, cornflowers,sunflowers & poppies but you might need to keep some of them a bit away from your crops or they'll invade!

[Pottypotter]

thank you will plant them, I was planning on planting a few rows along the allotment, do you think I should keep them in one area instead?

[clarelouise4]

Hi
I've read somewhere that growing some sweet peas up with your runner beans is a good idea. I'm going to try it this year and see how it goes.
Clare

[smallblueplanet]

Stay away from flowers with 'double' blooms they're not so good for insects collecting nectar.

We always plant French marigolds in the g/h with the toms (and some basil).

[nick the grief]

Stay away from flowers with 'double' blooms they're not so good for insects collecting nectar.

We always plant French marigolds in the g/h with the toms (and some basil).

I always grow Tagetes rather than Marigolds they are bushier and you get loads more flowers albeit smaller plus the foliage is nice & citrusy (is that a word?).

Two other good ones are poached egg plant ( Limnanthes douglasii) and for a blue version a plant very similar is Baby blue eyes (Nemophilia).

If its birds you want you can't go wrong with teasels & sunflowers and for bees either buddliea or Eryngium (sea holly) there are some stunning cultivars around Miss Wilmots ghost starts off green & gradually turns silvery white and there are several blue ones - Blue Steel is a good one.

[Two_Sheds]

I'd go with Nick The Grief's suggestions....my Poached Eggs already have mating ladybirds on them, ready to gobble up all the blackflies. I interplant them with broad beans for that very reason....no point having the flowers miles away from the crops.
Nasturtiums are a brilliant but underrated crop...lovely edible (peppery, related to watercress) plant, flowers and all. They do attract blackfly, so you may want to check before eating!

To attract bees: cornflower, comfrey and hollyhocks

[wellie]

I find Verbena bonariensis invaluable for attracting beneficial insects. It's tall-growing, spindly, but self-supporting, and will grow quite happily in amongst the other flowers that have been suggested so far. It's easy from seed, and will self-seed 'politely'...

[smallblueplanet]

I always grow Tagetes rather than Marigolds they are bushier and you get loads more flowers albeit smaller plus the foliage is nice & citrusy (is that a word?).

Two other good ones are poached egg plant ( Limnanthes douglasii)....

I thought French marigolds were Tagetes patula?

Only thing with poached egg plant is it can be very prolific - once you've got it, you got it...

[Sue]

SBP
I'd agree about the poached egg plant, it's everywhere, I don't really mind, it has been such a lovely patch of green all winter, and I've been uprooting bits to put round the allotment for all the hoverflies to enjoy.
Not too much of a problem though as it seems quite localised unlike the wretched rosebay willow herb which has blown in from nearby uncultivated plots that has got everywhere, even in my hanging baskets, spent hours weeding it out.
best wishes
Sue

[HappyMouffe]

Verbena bonariensis ... will self-seed 'politely'

- I've got the lager lout version then - mine come up like weeds everywhere! I like the fact that Crocus sell one plant for �5 - my front garden must be worth a fortune! The insects do love it though.

[nick the grief]

I thought French marigolds were Tagetes patula?

Only thing with poached egg plant is it can be very prolific - once you've got it, you got it...

It is, but I grow what is sold in the seed packet as Tagetes (Tenuifolia ) as opposed to French Marigold (Patula or Erecta). I just didn't want to confuse folks

[smallblueplanet]

....I just didn't want to confuse folks

Too late Nick - you've confused me! I think what we grow are French Marigolds, but we've also grown some 'Lemon Gem' which are Tagetes. I like the stripey ones that don't grow too big, can you tell a FM from a Tagetes by size or what?

[nick the grief]

Hi SBP,

it's another case of geranium & pelargonium thats the trouble

Tagetes
Lemon Gem is the one I normally grow ( I think I;ve got Golden Gem as well). Taggies tend to be bushy with light sort of foliage ( as opposed to dense that is) they have loads of flowers about 3/4" across and usually single flowers. (See the link Below)

http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/acatal...hunbergia.html

French Marigold
Thes are the ones that are bigger than a tagetes but smaller than an African ( there's also an Afro-frog hybrid but thats just even more confusion) They have floweres around 1"+ and can be Single, Double or Semi Double. These are the Stipey ones that you mentioned (see the link below - Naughty Marietta or Tall Scotch)
http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/acatal...ing_glory.html

[Snadger]

Tagetes foliage smells quite unpleasant to me so I would imagine its aroma has something to do with it being used as a companion plant? Maybe to disguise the smell of onions or carrots to respective flies? And of course hoverflies and bees love the flowers!