FIREFLY SUPPORT HABITAT KITS

You can choose from the following options for this kit when placing your order.

• Bountiful Kit - $85  Contains 5 plugs of each species for a total of 25 plants.
• Container Kit - $20  Contains 1 plug of each species for a total of 5 plants.

Fireflies occupy different garden spaces throughout their life cycle. Larvae spend years in cool, damp soil, hunting among grasses and leaf litter and relying on undisturbed areas for shelter, while adults signal as they fly or rest on vegetation. This kit emphasizes moisture-loving plants, including wrinkle-leaved goldenrod, purple-stemmed aster, and New York ironweed, which provide shelter and varied heights for adult fireflies. Their late-summer and fall blooms also support native butterflies, including swallowtails. Silver sedge forms a dense, moisture-retaining ground cover, while tufted hair grass adds soft texture that helps shade and cool the soil.

Solidago rugosa (Wrinkle Leaf Goldenrod)

Plant Type: Flower

Mature Height (in feet): 3-5'

Width/Spread: 2-3'

Bloom Time: Later Summer, Fall

Bloom Color: Yellow

Sun/Shade Requirement: Full Sun

Soil Moisture Requirement: Moist-Medium

Soil Texture: Loam, sand, shallow rocky

Planting Distance: 2.5-3'

Additional Details
Wrinkled‑leaf Goldenrod is a dependable native perennial that adds late‑season blooms, is a good choice for rain gardens, and strengthens garden structure. Goldenrods are particularly important to migrating monarch butterflies.

Symphyotrichum puniceus (Purple Stemmed Aster)

Plant Type: Flower

Mature Height (in feet): 4-8'

Width/Spread: 2-3'

Bloom Time: Late Summer, Fall

Bloom Color: Purple

Sun/Shade Requirement: Full Sun

Soil Moisture Requirement: Moist-Medium

Soil Texture: Clay, loam

Planting Distance: 2.5-3'

Additional Details
Purple Stemmed Aster is a tall late-season prolific bloomer with flowers that can last until first frost.

Vernonia noveboracensis (Ironweed)

Plant Type: Flower

Mature Height (in feet): 5-7'

Width/Spread: 3-4'

Bloom Time: Late Summer, Early Fall

Bloom Color: Deep Purple

Sun/Shade Requirement: Full Sun

Soil Moisture Requirement: Moist-Medium

Soil Texture: Clay, loam

Planting Distance: 3-4'

Additional Details
Ironweed has gorgeous, rich-hued flowers that complement any companion plants. It is the host plant for the ironweed borer moth caterpillars (Papaipema cerussata).

Carex laxiculmis (Silver Sedge)

Plant Type: Sedge

Mature Height (in feet): .5-1'

Width/Spread: 1-1.5'

Bloom Time: Season-long

Sun/Shade Requirement: Part Shade-Shade

Soil Moisture Requirement: Moist-Medium

Soil Texture: Clay, loam

Planting Distance: 10"-1.5'

Additional Details
Silver sedge can form dense, low-growing groundcover that suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and keeps soils cooler. It is the host plant for the caterpillars of several satyrine butterflies (subfamily Nymphalidae: Satyrinae).

Deschampsia cespitosa  (Tufted Hair Grass)

Plant Type: Grass

Mature Height (in feet): 1-3'

Width/Spread: 1-2'

Bloom Time: Season-long

Sun/Shade Requirement: Full Sun-Partial Shade

Soil Moisture Requirement: Moist-Average

Soil Texture: Clay, loam

Planting Distance: 2-2.5'

Additional Details
Tufted Hair Grass is a tough grass that can grow in moist, cool environments where few other grasses will thrive. It provides year-round interest and is tolerant of deer, rabbits, black walnut trees, salt, and drought.