For the last 10 years we have made numerous attempts to get a grove of ongaonga nettle established in the gully to support our admiral butterfly breeding programme. The nettle is what the caterpillars feed on. The adult butterflies are nectar feeders so any domestic or native flowers will support them. Establishing a nettle grove has been challenging with a number of failed attempts. The nettles are fussy as to what conditions they like.
We have learnt:
-They do not like full sun.
-They do not like to dry out.
-They do not like wet feet.
-They do like filtered sunlight.
-They like well drained, moist but not wet ground.
Selecting a site that has restricted public access and fulfils all their growing requirements has not been easy, but we feel our latest plantings are showing very encouraging signs of success. Twenty-four nettle plants have been planted into ten tyres (as raised gardens) filled with one part compost to two-parts soil and a handful of blood and bone. The theory we are working to is that if the grove is big and thick enough the caterpillars will have a better chance of survival against all the predator wasps that they are exposed to.
We will not be raising any red admirals in the tunnel house this year until the nettle grove is established.
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