So THIS Is Why It Is Called Butterfly Weed!

The butterflies FLOCK to this butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa! After watching about two dozen butterflies of all different types dance around some wild butterfly weed growing--conveniently enough--in one of my new gardens on the land I get it!

Butterflies LOVE this butterfly weed. We also have the common butterfly weed and I grow the swamp milkweed in my current garden but none of those butterfly weeds sees as much action as these clumps out in the wild.

Just look at them all! Swallowtails (Zebra, Yellow, Black), and frittilaries love this butterfly weed.




All types of butterflies played quite well together. They did not have to jockey for position as these four clumps of butterfly weed get so much sun they are quite full and ready for butterflies to land on it.

Frittilaries kind of blend in with the colors of the butterfly weed. They were most in abundance.

I did not film these guys dancing around the butterfly weed but I tell you it was magical. If you'd like to see a film of them dancing check Skeeter's post found here.

I leave you with this picture of all the butterflies I could photograph at one time. There are at least one dozen butterflies pictured. Can you find them all?

And lastly here I am just on the other side of the butterfly weed--driving my husband's tractor. What fun--there's nothing better than a garden full of butterflies and a tractor....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Weed

BY SKEETER
Butterfly Weed blooming in my Georgia Garden.
I did not dig a hole for this plant as it is a volunteer!
The buds are as pretty as the blooms.
Normally I do not like weeds but I like this WEED, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Disappearing Milkweed, Swallowtail Caterpillars and Eggs

From In the Garden

After our rains finally arrived-thank goodness because with over 18000 gallons of water used last month I simply cannot water anymore-I have been enjoying the garden more. During the high heat days of July and early August I did not venture outside at all unless I had to. It has been a tough summer! At any rate I was looking around the garden while watering and noticed something missing-my tropical milkweed!

From In the Garden

I did a double take because even though we had been in a drought I could not see how 20+ two foot tall plants fully leafed out could just disappear. Okay, well maybe I can understand it if I had a rabbit or deer problem. I have neither one of those issues here so I then surmised the drought took out the milkweed-until I looked closer. Can you see what I saw? Stems! Just stems that were chewed off about six inches above the ground. Ha! You can tell I am not too used to this happening but those butterfly aficionados out there in cyberland will immediately realize what happened to the butterfly weed-caterpillars ate it. I have never had this happen to my native butterfly weed and while I'm not begrudging the monarch caterpillars their food (I assume it is them) I am a bit distressed to think that if there are no blooms on my plants then there will be no seedlings next year. Not to worry, the plants are growing back nicely and there are a few stray seedlings in other parts of the garden that will surely continue on this wonderful milkweed in my garden. It is really a nice plant to be so accommodating to the caterpillars and to grow back for the gardener too!

From In the Garden

Another really cool thing about this milkweed is that it is a host for several insects. When I first found the orange eggs above I was most excited to think they were monarch eggs but upon further research I know they most likely are not monarch eggs but ladybug eggs! This is very good for my garden and makes total sense to me. As anyone who grows tropical milkweed knows this milkweed is most attractive to aphids. What do ladybugs eat but aphids? These ladybug eggs will hatch and the larve will make short work of the aphids. But! They may also eat the monarch caterpillars so the eggs are a quandary for me. Note: These eggs can be mistaken for aphids but they have no legs and are mobile so are definitely not aphids. For more on this check this link about monarchs and butterfly weed.

The swallowtail photo was only to distract you from the picture of the ugly milkweed sticks and is not a culprit in the missing milkweed. This caterpillar and a ton of its buddies made my dillweed all disappear....

in the garden....


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Mexican Butterfly Weed vs Butterfly Weed

From In the Garden

The first monarch of the season!! It arrived Friday, 9 July 2010. And isn't it only fitting I should find it on the butterfly weed? Not just any butterfly weed, but the easy Mexican butterfly weed, aka Asclepias curassavica. I had purchased six plants of 'Butterfly Weed' from Lowes late last fall. I paid a mere $1 per one gallon plant so I could not pass up such a good deal on butterfly weed. I thought the 'butterfly weed' was our native butterfly weed, aka Asclepias tuberosa but it is not. I do already grow Asclepias tuberosa but it does not spread around much and is very slow to get established. Not so with the new Mexican butterfly weed. Within weeks of planting these pots in October I had six beautiful tall and in full bloom orange and yellow butterfly weed plants blooming. Just look at November's Bloom Day if you'd like to see this new butterfly weed in full bloom. I was thrilled! I was also a bit confused, let me explain.

I had no idea there was such a thing as Mexican butterfly weed when this spring I was reading one of the many gardening publications I read, and I came across a mention of Mexican butterfly weed. Huh? It got me to thinking that perhaps my butterfly weed might be Mexican butterfly weed instead of our native butterfly weed like I had assumed. I suspected something was wrong with my butterfly weed due to a few reasons. Let me explain.

I was confused because first of all our native butterfly weed does not normally bloom in October and in my experience its bloom period is rather short, not so with the Mexican butterfly weed. Additionally, it is most difficult to buy our native butterfly weed in large pots due to the tuberous root that makes it difficult to transplant the tuberous butterfly weed. Hmmmm. One last clue that made me think I had a different kind of butterfly weed was the fact that none of the original six plants returned for me this year. My two native butterfly weed plants return without fail each year, even though they are always late to emerge I know where they are and patiently await their greenery popping up from the ground. I was quite sad these new butterfly weed plants did not return and was not happy at all. Neither were my friends who had also purchased these butterfly weeds on my recommendation. But, life goes on and sometimes these things happen in the garden. I didn't give it another thought and chocked up the loss to late planting.

By mid June or so I began noticing seedlings in the vicinity of the original six plants-lots of seedlings. I would estimate that where there were six butterfly weed last fall I now have about three dozen of these little lovelies. I knew they were not weeds as they were not the typical looking weed and I amazingly did not pull them out. I let them grow knowing that once they bloomed I'd know exactly what they were. Enter the reference to Mexican butterfly weed and there you have it! There are all sorts of strings on the forums about this butterfly weed. It is true it seeds itself around, it is true the aphids love it (probably because the foliage is most succulent with very little to no care), and, as I've only recently found out-it is a real butterfly attractant! I've never had monarch females lay eggs on my native milkweed, though the swallowtails sometimes eat it-but I am hoping this monarch or more that are sure to come will stick around and gift my garden with some baby monarchs. I am SO excited! Can you tell?

I really like this butterfly weed and actually much prefer it to the native butterfly weed. My little colony is growing in part shade (like all my plants) and poor soil that is located under some oak trees. These seedlings get no help from me yet they look good! And, the monarchs like them. I hope the Mexican butterfly weed does spread around some more but if it gets out of control I will simply hand pull them as that is not difficult....

in the garden....enjoying the butterflies and hoping for some small cats soon.


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Strange Happenings In the Garden

By Skeeter

Last year, I had a voluntary Butterfly Weed pop up in my Georgia Garden. I can only assume I am the lucky recipient of a seed dropped by a bird. How ever it got here, I sure enjoyed it last year.

To my surprise, it returned again this year growing stronger and larger. I was afraid of loosing this plant over the spring as it is located in a real soggy area of the flower garden during rainy times of year. We had a lot of rain last winter and spring so it's feet were wet for a long time.

It bloomed one time for me last year but is putting on a much better show this year with still giving me blooms!

Here is a very blurred picture of what I assume to be a seed pod on the plant. Sorry for the blurred picture but it is too humid for me to attempt another picture. I spotted one "seed pod" last year and I do believe it has produced a second butterfly weed nearby as the foliage looks the same. It is too small to tell at this point. This years plant has several seed pods so I am hoping for more Butterfly Weeds in the garden next year.

Here is something I do not recall seeing on the plant last year! I am not sure if these are insects, or some sort of egg. With last weeks posting on the caterpillars munching on the dill, I did a bit of research and saw some butterfly eggs which looked similar to this. Could these be Caterpillar Eggs?

If these are Caterpillar eggs, then they would destroy the plant once they hatch as happen to the Dill. I planted the Dill for the caterpillars but I really don't want anything to eat my Butterfly Weed as I enjoy it way too much. I want the Butterfly's to enjoy the sweet nectar but not eat the plant in the stage of a caterpillar!

With the assistance of OJ kitty (Above) I took my fingers and rubbed each stem to rid it of this unknown stuff.

It left quit a sticky mess on my fingers but a little soap and water washed it right off. I sure hope I did not destroy something good for the plant. Does anyone know what this could be???

I also spotted these little stinkers on the foliage of a Gladiola. The Glads did not do well this year as they were spotted as they bloomed. Each bloom had black spots on them as if mold. Wonder if too much rain was in their beginning? Anyway, these caterpillars were only on one plant then gone the next day! Does anyone know what these were?

Here is a Canna which was given to me by Lola. Thanks again Lola! I will talk about the Canna another time as I am waiting to see if this one will bloom for me. See the perfect holes in the Canna Foliage? It looks as though someone has taken a Hole Punch and punched holes in it doesn't it? This happened to a few of the Canna last year but so far this year only to this one. Does anyone know what causes this to happen?

Here is a picture of the Saints mothers Hydrangea bush. She wanted me to ask you all if anyone knows why it only produced one bloom this year when last year it had many more?What could have happened to my grass? Oh, wait, the Saint solved this mystery for me. He was spraying off the siding on the house and with the last bit of chemical in the bottle, he slung it out of the bottle onto the grass. Arggg, it kills grass! The bottle read, "okay for the environment and would not kill plants". Hum, maybe that only counts when the stuff is diluted and not concentrate!

Okay, I must tell on myself as well. I was spraying some weed killer on the walking path of my flower garden and a few days later, I spotted foot prints in the grass from where my shoes got wet from the stuff! I did not think to snap a picture of that but wish I had as it was funny.

There sure have been some STRANGE HAPPENINGS, In the Garden...

Note: Some friends need our assistance so we will be off the Internet for the weekend. Everyone have a Great Weekend with family or friends!