Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)

$5.00

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

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