Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Pearly Everlasting is a nice-looking plant with gray-green, fuzzy leaves and flowers that are reminiscent of little pearls. It is drought tolerant as it prefers full sun and dry, even poor soil conditions. It is the host plant to the American Lady, Painted Lady, and 4 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org). It is also the host to the specialist bee Melissodes microstictus (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The caterpillars tend to create a silken web around the plant to feed. Do not be alarmed, this can look discouraging, but like many native plant-insect relationships, the plant generally makes a full recovery and flowers later in the summer.
Photo credit: Prairie Moon Nursery (1), John Blair (2)
Pearly Everlasting is a nice-looking plant with gray-green, fuzzy leaves and flowers that are reminiscent of little pearls. It is drought tolerant as it prefers full sun and dry, even poor soil conditions. It is the host plant to the American Lady, Painted Lady, and 4 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org). It is also the host to the specialist bee Melissodes microstictus (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The caterpillars tend to create a silken web around the plant to feed. Do not be alarmed, this can look discouraging, but like many native plant-insect relationships, the plant generally makes a full recovery and flowers later in the summer.
Photo credit: Prairie Moon Nursery (1), John Blair (2)
Pearly Everlasting is a nice-looking plant with gray-green, fuzzy leaves and flowers that are reminiscent of little pearls. It is drought tolerant as it prefers full sun and dry, even poor soil conditions. It is the host plant to the American Lady, Painted Lady, and 4 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org). It is also the host to the specialist bee Melissodes microstictus (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The caterpillars tend to create a silken web around the plant to feed. Do not be alarmed, this can look discouraging, but like many native plant-insect relationships, the plant generally makes a full recovery and flowers later in the summer.
Photo credit: Prairie Moon Nursery (1), John Blair (2)
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium-dry to Dry
Height: 2 feet
Plant Spacing: 1-3 feet
Bloom Time: June-September
Bloom Color: White
Advantages: Deer Resistant, Recommended, but can be vigorous
Host Plant: Painted Lady, American Lady, and 4 other species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Melissodes microstictus (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
