The pink zinnia sure brings out the pink of the lily. Very pretty together. I've got to start WS canna instead of digging and saving bulbs!

Hi Bev, the chrysalis will eclose in about 10-14 days. IF it's healthy and hasn't been parasitized, or perhaps found by a predator and eaten, or some other hazards that could befall the chrysalis. However, it's already beaten enormous odds to make it to this stage (as you've noticed - lots little cats, not many make it to pupate). Perhaps next year you can help them along and bring some in to raise? :-D Monarchs are a tropical species. They can't overwinter in a temperate climate. They can't even fly below approx. 50 degrees F (10 C). In North America, there are 2 primary over-wintering locations - along the coast of California, and some fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico, where they are occasionally exposed to harsh weather, but many still manage to survive. Black Swallowtails, on the other hand, ARE a temperate species, and many of the chrysalises that I have in my tank right now will probably over-winter with me (in the garage) and eclose next Spring. Amazing that they can survive snow, ice, and freezing temps outside! (PS. We are pretty smart on this forum, but the real knowledge about b-flies is on the Butterfly forum! :)

I have been rooting butterfly bushes for several years(i've moved twice) and I never do anything more complicated than sticking the stems in potting soil. I take about a 5" piece, strip all but the top two sets of leaves, and plunk it in a 4" pot of pot. soil. If it is a bit flimsy, I'll poke a hole with a stick first. I keep the soil moist and pinch out any flowers that try to come for a few months. Looking back in my gardening journal, in 2005 I took 4 cuttings from my blue and 6 from my white on June 23rd and had visible roots at the bottom of the pot on July 11th. I've done this with abelia, spirea, gardenia, oakleaf hydrangea, and hardy verbenas. I'll repot them in progressively larger pots once or twice and then in the ground they go. Mere

Hey, Im in zone 9, and the same exact thing happened to mine. It was that cold we had for a couple of days in january i believe. It hit like 32 or something for 2 days. That did it for me. I cut it down to about 10 inches, but there is no green or new growth on it. Im getting a little worried that perhaps the cold killed it. I was at a few nurseries and saw that they were putting out growth everywhere. I have the Harlequin Davidii species. I am anxiously waiting for it to grow 'somewhing' for a few weeks, if not i might just replace it.