Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) is the host plant for Red Admiral Butterflies.
Red Admiral butterfly
Wish Upon A Butterfly has raised Red Admirals butterflies in the past, but we are always looking for new and better ways to raise butterflies more efficiently and with less effort. This year we have decided to start Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)from seeds and have Stinging Nettle in pots to feed our caterpillars. I don’t know many places that choose to raise this plant let alone try to raise it potted, so this is a new journey that we wanted to keep a journal of.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) Day one, starting the seeds
Not knowing if the seeds needed to be stratified, we planted some seeds in a pot in our greenhouse last fall from seeds we had just gathered watching to see if they would sprout or not. Surprisingly enough, they sprouted rather quickly. Finding that they would sprout easily we gathered lots of seeds and now that spring is not too far off, we have decided to start planting our seeds to be ready for the first influx of Red Admirals this spring. Stinging Nettle starts to grow by the first of April in the wild.
Follow us each day to see how our new journey goes.
To read more about this interesting plant and it’s benefits besides being the host plant for this lovely butterfly, Red Admirals, you can read about it here.