Soft Landings

Soft Landings are diverse native plantings under keystone trees (or any other regionally appropriate native tree). These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects.

What are Keystone Plants?

Keystone Plants are native plants that support a significant number of caterpillars (butterfly and moth larvae). Planting keystone plants helps build complex food webs by forming the essential foundation— native plants and insects — that provide food for other organisms, directly and indirectly.

Note: use of either of these pdf illustrations is allowed only with full attribution. Please download pdf’s for attribution/copyright notices.

Key stone plant graphic

What are Soft Landings?

Soft landings are diverse native plantings under keystone trees (or any other regionally appropriate native tree). These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects such as bumble bees, fireflies, lacewings, and beetles. In addition to plants, soft landings also include leaf litter, duff, and plant debris.

soft landings graphic

Want to Learn More?

For more information on how to plant under trees and choosing native plant species to create Soft Landings.