UPDATE! Spotted caterpillar again. He has at least tripled in size and is, without question, a Monarch! He is devouring the Butterfly Weed (???) like there's no tomorrow! Very happy! Anything I should try to do for him vis a vis winter? Bronze Fennel and a shot at parsley, roger that Susan. APOLOGIES Miss Sherry! I live off Highland Road in between Lee Dr. and Staring Ln. I won't say the neighborhood, but since I have a .75+ acre lot you'll know it isn't either of the 'Woods' (Woodgate or Woodstone) and may very well be able to narrow it down to 2-3 neighborhoods. You'd be wrong (probably), though, as my neighborhood is exceptionally small and old, built some before and most after WWII (my home is pre-war). Well, maybe you'd be right... lol. I'm relatively well insulated from traffic, which is indeed brutal. My Butterfly Weed is Asclepias curassavica and seems to absolutely be a host for Monarchs. My Lantane is Anne Marie, and while I bought small specimens, the will eventually reach 2x2 feets in size. Is that large end or small? I am VERY INTERESTED in gertting Passiflora incarnata & caerulea but shall wait for Spring. Do you know of any reputable nurseries from which to buy them online, if my local nurseries fail me? I use, in oder of preference: Louisiana Nursery (Perkins); Cleggs (Siegen) and Lowes (also Siegen, in that pooly accessible Siegen Marketmplace just south of I-10). Occassionally Ace's Hardware on Highland where Kenilworth dead ends into Highland. They have loads of seed packets which nurseries, oddly, don't seem to carry much of. While I'm thinking of it, I've had terrible success in growing from seeds. A packet of 50 may yield, if they yield ANY, less than half a dozen! It's frustrating. I've used those minature greenhouses where you plant each seed(s) in a pre-made tiny pot and cover with transparent plastic, tiny seed-starter pots that I've treated in a number of different ways. I have set them on the ground (brick) outdoors, in planter saucers together in groups, and all of the abive on a wrought iron patio furniture table. I've used Miracle Grow to water them and rainwater (we collect it in a large drum). I've kept them constantly moist, downright wet and dry-ish. Any ideas? Back to Passionvines. I was in love wih them before I knew they had any use for butterflies whatsoever. (i really believ at this point, as trifling a cause for Him as it sounds, that God is aiding me in my endeavors - far too many coincidences. another example i have not 1 but 2 fully mature Tulip Trees > likely b/c it doesn't get near as much sun as the one close to my primary butterfly garden> Why He has chosen to help me in this endeavor....mysterious ways, etc). I wish He'd turn some of His grace toward my Gingko which seems to be having problems. We have lost 1 already. The kiwi are in the ground (finally) but I'm worried that one may not be able to get he full sun when it begins to need it (3 years!!). Easily remedied by removing 2 small/medium tallow trees if it proves necessary. I have never liked these volunteer weed-trees as I call them. They grow everywhere and so fast! In mid-Summer I must make a circuit of the yards to tear up foot high tallow trees that have hidden along fence lines, etc. or in what we call 'Jeremy's Garden.' If you're curious at to what that is, ask and I'll explain - sort of a half-project begun years ago. Well, Thanks Again All! Jeremy

High Country Gardens is a great source. I've not bought their agastache, but I bought my allium bulbs from them last fall and the foliage is so much more impressive than from other sources. I grow lots and lots of agastache as it is now my "go to" plant in the deer resistant garden. The butterflies really love the bottlebrush blooms of 'Blue Fortune', 'Golden Jubilee', 'Black Adder' and 'Purple Haze'. The hummingbirds prefer the tubular blooms of 'Salmon & Pink', 'Heather Queen', 'Summer Glow', 'Summer Sky', etc. The swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) seems to be preferred by the Monarchs in my garden. I just ordered 10 one gallon pots from a local nursery this past Saturday to increase my supply this year. Their plants are huge and ready to bloom each summer. The honeybees and bumblebees cannot get enough of the milkweed blooms! I collected seeds from all of my milkweeds last year. Most (not all) need cold stratification, so I direct sowed those seeds in November. It will be late May or June before milkweed re-emerges here, so I went ahead and ordered more plants just to be safe. Great link you've provided! Cameron Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed for Monarchs

Hi everyone, Just had to pop in and make sure our hostess knew I finally sent the box to Becky (ramazz) and I sent lots o' goodies along w/ the plants too :) Becky sent me a lovely box a few weeks ago absolutely full to the brim of plants and a GORGEOUS copperwired butterfly windchime.. I collect these so this was a lovely bonus! So thanks Becky :) Just wanted to sorta apologize too for not being too 'chatty' this RR, as some of you know my mom has cancer. Well she has been getting weaker and weaker the past few weeks so I find myself at her house daily doing whatever needs to be done or just holding her hand.. We found out on Tuesday that her liver is now 80% covered with cancer and she is literally a bright yellow color (like a jaundiced baby..) She is growing a new tumor in her belly (she just had 2 removed in March that weighed over 12lbs all together..) and the cancer is spreading to her interior stomach lining and up to her lungs.. We got her to a cancer center in Mexico this past week that does things a lil bit differently than they do here in the U.S. They focus more on herbal healing, and positive thinking. There's no guarantees of course, but since her oncologist basically wrote her off, this was her last hope. Please keep her in your prayers, her name is Janice. All this cancer started initially as cervical cancer.. so all you gals go get your yearly screenings.. this is NOT something to play around with! :( I'll probably be away more than here on GW for awhile, just wanted you all to know I appreciate your kind words and thoughts and I'll pop back in when I can. Hugs, Wendy / sassybutterfly_2008

Sorry, I thought that was in my profile. Near coastal San Diego. Sunshine 23, 9B/10A ish. Actually I've nixed the deerweed and buckwheat and have added senna based on watching butterflies at our local botanical garden. I got a book on passiflora, but the butterfly info is more about species than effectiveness.