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Annuals/ant on plants

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Expert: - 9/29/2008


Question
I live in Lasveggas. I just bought 3 Petunias, 1 Dahlia and a Potato plant(in an diffrent area) on 9/28/08 and I had a butterfly feeder with suger water and cantalope leaning against my flag  pole. Well ants found it and are all in the butterfly feeder and on the 4 flowers below the flag pole wich are causing them to droop and die fast so can you please tell me how to get rid of the ants but not still keep trying to attract butterflies.

Answer
Michelle,
If you have sugar water you'll have ants. No way to discourage ants but not butterflies I think. The best way to have butterflies is to plant PLANTS that they like, not sugar water, and these will attract them.  They would prefer natural food, after all.

all the best,
C.L.

Annuals

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C.L. Fornari

Expertise

Annuals suggested for specific situations (sun, shade, windowboxes etc) New or unusual annuals are a particular interest of mine, and I grow many of these from seed. I am happy to help problem solve, answer questions about maintenance, and guide you to sources of unusual plants.

Experience

I am a garden writer/speaker/consultant and host of a weekly gardening radio program in the Northeast. I have been gardening all my life for my own pleasure, and started as a professional gardener and garden communicator 15 years ago. I work part-time at a garden center, selling and tending shrubs/trees/annuals/perennials...and doing some propagation and design work. I often think that all these professional activities serve to put a somewhat legitimate framework around a serious case of plant-lust.

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