Re: Monarch Supporter

mschaef 8/12/2015, 8:37 am

Yesterday my boys and I were in the garden watching butterflies, 4 different types, drinking the nectar from our marigolds. I didn't know butterflies liked marigolds. My boys loved watching them so much we promptly collected some, which means a lot, seeds from the dead flowers I hadn't pruned yet.

yolos 8/12/2015, 3:14 pm

Butterflies love my cosmos and lantana. Also marigolds. Here is a picture of a large butterfly on my lantana I was just in the process of trimming back.

**Scorpio Rising** 8/12/2015, 6:23 pm

Eastern Black Swallowtail, perhaps? Beautiful!

**Scorpio Rising** 8/14/2015, 11:07 pm

https://servimg.com/view/19257783/18

https://servimg.com/view/19257783/19

My first visitor (that I witnessed and could get a picture of) to my swamp milkweed!!!!! bounce

**sanderson** 8/15/2015, 3:05 am

Beautiful!

Windmere 8/15/2015, 5:55 am

Wow, gorgeous!

**AtlantaMarie** 8/15/2015, 8:05 am

How cool.....

**Scorpio Rising** 9/1/2015, 7:45 am

Look what I found on my milkweed!!!!!

bounce

FRED58 9/1/2015, 9:40 pm

Cool pics!

Slightly off topic, but I saw my first wooly bear caterpillar yesterday while I was torching weeds in a bed I didn't use this year (I moved him to a nearby clump of wildflowers). Bad news if you believe in this sort of thing: his brown stripe was not much more than 25% of body length. Old timers (or maybe it was First Nations; I've heard it from my Grandpa, a Mohawk and an old Ojibway). Third hard winter in a row on tap?

**AtlantaMarie** 9/2/2015, 7:41 am

Woo-Hoo, SR! Pretty!

Fred, NOAA's been saying it's going to be pretty bad down here in the SE....

**Scorpio Rising** 9/2/2015, 7:53 am

Fred, that is what all the farmers are saying, another cold, snowy winter on tap.. Old Farmer's Almanac also in agreement. I have always heard that about the wooly worms, too. My mom was Shawnee.

Goosegirl 9/6/2015, 9:18 am

Been seeing LOTS of Monarchs around here for the last week or so. Beautiful!!!

**Scorpio Rising** 3/6/2016, 10:14 pm

I have milkweed seeds if anyone wants some. P M me!

countrynaturals 4/14/2016, 7:48 pm

Great thread! I raise butterflies -- monarchs, pipevine swallowtails, & Gulf Fritillaries. Others pass through the yard, but I only have host plants for these 3 right now. Another nectar flower that my butterflies love is lantana. They like it better than zinnias, but I have trouble propagating it and I hate buying new plants every year.

**Scorpio Rising** 4/15/2016, 6:54 pm

You got it goin' on! I plan to plant some wild carrot, and parsley around the "butterfly area". I always have lantana in planters, and your are right, the pollinators love them! Even hummingbirds!

So much fun learning about all the beautiful butterflies. Native plantings are where it's at!

countrynaturals 4/15/2016, 7:05 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:You got it goin' on! I plan to plant some wild carrot, and parsley around the "butterfly area". I always have lantana in planters, and your are right, the pollinators love them! Even hummingbirds!

So much fun learning about all the beautiful butterflies. Native plantings are where it's at!

Exactly! What I really love is that I can have them all in the same garden. None of the cats I raise will bother my veggies. I may some day have an issue with cabbage butterfly worms, but not today, so no worries. Laughing

**Scorpio Rising** 4/15/2016, 7:51 pm

Yeah, I don't get too whacked about pests. I lost years and years' worth of battles against Squash Vine Borers. And that was terrible. But last year, my pole beans were literally RAVAGED by Japanese Beetles. And kept on making beans, despite skeletonized leaves.

I guess, when you are going organic, and want to provide to the environment as well as reap from it, some pest damage is expected. It is a balancing act.

Quid pro quo

This for that. Two way street.

countrynaturals 4/15/2016, 8:41 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yeah, I don't get too whacked about pests. I lost years and years' worth of battles against Squash Vine Borers. And that was terrible. But last year, my pole beans were literally RAVAGED by Japanese Beetles. And kept on making beans, despite skeletonized leaves.

I guess, when you are going organic, and want to provide to the environment as well as reap from it, some pest damage is expected. It is a balancing act.

Quid pro quo

This for that. Two way street.

Yeah, but I don't have to like it!

**Scorpio Rising** 5/11/2016, 7:34 am

True, Suz!

All of my swamp milkweed is up, but I think only 1 of the common milkweeds made it. Will interplant some annuals to flesh the area out.

Butterfly bush showing signs of life, but have learned that they are an introduced species so don't support the life cycle of anything, just provide nectar.

Bringing Nature Home, Douglas Tallamy is an excellent and sobering read.

countrynaturals 5/11/2016, 9:56 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:True, Suz!

All of my swamp milkweed is up, but I think only 1 of the common milkweeds made it. Will interplant some annuals to flesh the area out.

Butterfly bush showing signs of life, but have learned that they are an introduced species so don't support the life cycle of anything, just provide nectar.

Bringing Nature Home, Douglas Tallamy is an excellent and sobering read.

I only lost a few milkweeds in small containers -- not sure what varieties. I'm sorry I ever diversified. The caterpillars are so fussy. If I run out of the kind they were born on, sometimes they don't recognize anything else. I'm replanting with whatever I have on hand, but when I run out of seed I'm gonna pick one and stick to it. Mad

I know what you mean about buddleia, but they love it and we love it, so I WANT MORE! Their 2nd favorite nectar plant is lantana, but I have a difficult time propagating it, and less than half of mine made it through the winter. Gotta figure out how to do better on that one. Sad

**Scorpio Rising** 5/11/2016, 6:33 pm

Yes, they do love buddleia! And they are a lovely flowering shrub. Pretty carefree too. The only monarch caterpillars I had last year were on the swamp milkweed plants. Aphids liked them a lot too. Rolling Eyes

Lantana is an annual for me, and does well. So pretty! Hummingbirds and bees love it too! Will get to planters this weekend, last weekend was cold and yucky here!

countrynaturals 5/11/2016, 6:48 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:Lantana is an annual for me, and does well. So pretty! Hummingbirds and bees love it too! Will get to planters this weekend, last weekend was cold and yucky here!

Do you buy plants or grow from seed? I must figure this out, since they like it so much better than zinnias. I can't find the plants and my seeds didn't sprout. Cuttings didn't work for me, either. WAAAAA! I'M LANTANA IMPAIRED! Sad

**Scorpio Rising** 5/11/2016, 6:52 pm

I buy plants from a farm here. Lantana impaired! Lol! They have a variety to choose from which is fun!

countrynaturals 5/11/2016, 7:05 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:I buy plants from a farm here. Lantana impaired! Lol! They have a variety to choose from which is fun!

I'm jealous! Mad

**Scorpio Rising** 5/11/2016, 8:33 pm

Yeah, she is a Mennonite lady who raises gorgeous plants! Tons of selection, right here, reared in my backyard. Needless to say, her things are very reasonable and adapted to our locale. Win win.

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