Susan,

Thanks for the update. I've got some mexican sunflowers in various stages. I'll ask my wife, Karen, to post some pictures for you. BTW, you may have given me a clue about why my mona lavender is so slow to bloom. I may have been overwatering them. All but one are in pots and with our hot weather, I've been soaking them every other day.

mike

Is it hot or what?!! Whew! My caterpillars are on my front porch and I worry about them, but at least it's shaded, and I've turned the ceiling fans up to the hurricane setting! :)
It sounds like you're having an absolutely wonderful butterfly year, Susan! I sure hope it continues! I don't have any pictures of tithonia seedlings, but, as I recall, they look a lot like zinnia and/or regular sunflower seedlings.
I found some partridge peas blooming a few days ago on the side of Hwy. 49 where some asclepias lanceolata is blooming - I'll be checking them both for seeds regularly.
MissSherry

All my Sunflowers are blooming, which is nice because I love them so much. We had a storm go through the other night and it actually broke in half three of my 10 ft ones-the stock at the bottom was so big I was shocked!

The Bee Balm finally bloomed, this is my first year with it and I am loving it! I love the smell but, I could do without the mildew it gets.

All three of the Passionvines I have are doing really well. I think I found the perfect place for them-almost in direct sunlight but not-if that makes sense? When I came home the other day and was walking into the house I saw it...my first bloom!
The Maypops I bought from Shady Oaks had a flower and it bloomed-wow is all I can say. I am hooked on this vine-what a beautiful flower.
Now if a butterfly would find them I'll be in business!
My Mexican Sunflowers are almost ready to bloom-any day now...
I'm collecting seeds from all the flowers I bought this year-that way I won't have to buy so many next year.
Which i will be doing some different things next year-I need more room for sure~
Yesterday I had a Monarch lay 26 eggs on the Milkweed in my yard so I'm not done yet there-
My first Spicebush hatched this morning and did really well, the wings look great. Now if it would stop raining today he can leave.

I am finding lots of monarch eggs! Susan, if you would like to mail some GF eggs my way, I'd sure be glad to feed them. I have one lonely GF hanging around my garden everyday looking for a mate, but another has not appeared.

Haven't seen the GSFs since the weekend, so don't know if they moved on.

The BSTs have wiped out the food sources, so I'm starting seeds for the fall. Don't know if the plants will get big enough, but last year I was still getting BST eggs in October.

I released the last of my little Gorgones, they were too cute. And, I released the last of the QMs. No failure in either of these. I'm still waiting for my very slow and hungry spicebushes to pupate. They have been with me for almost a month! I am still finding and leaving SBSs on the SB. My 2 Tigers that made it are in chrysalides now. Does anyone know how long they pupate?

I found a moth on my patio this morning that looked like one of yours, Susan. Made me think of you and MissSherry. I took a pic so I could look it up and ID it.

My little buckeye still keeps coming around daily and nectaring on the lantana. I planted rib grass that I got from Shady Oaks. I've gotten some nice plants from them this year. Their prices are really great.

My GST that I got from them is pupating finally! I hope that when I release this one, it finds a mate. I've been seeing a few around recently.

The tulip tree that was devoured by the TSTs is starting to leaf out again. I still see the Moma coming into the yard to nectar.

I want to plant a Pussy Willow this fall. Anyone who lives in zone 6b, will it make it with our heat? I keep reading how its a prime host for Mourning Cloaks and Viceroys.

Susan, I had a heck of a time growing Tithonia from seed this year. I only ended up with 2 plants after 2 attempts. And, I planted lots of seeds. I ended up ordering some from Marilyn and I got some great plants that have really done well.

Oh yes, my patio smells like chicken poop! But my plants are lovely. Thanks, Susan and MissSherry. Everything is getting a good helping of chicken fertilizer. It doesn't seem to burn the plants, but makes them grow lush.

And last of all, my A. Serpentaria that I ordered online has all put on new leaves and is doing great. I ordered off Ebay from a guy in W Va. He was very quick to send them to me and gave me detailed instructions on how to grow them.

OKSandy

Mike, Lavendar does like dry soil, but it also likes very, very alkaline soil as well. You might want to add some gypsum or something to sweeten the soil as well. In pots, though, I'm not sure if you're overwatering them or not, since they get much better drainage, and lavendar certainly must have sharp drainage. It could be your soil is too acid, but I just had to experiment before I found a good solution. I never water my lavendar - intentionally. It probably gets some water from the neighboring plants, but I never, never water it directly. The foliage looks great, it's just the bloom is really off this year.

Aggie - do you get Gulf Frits in PA? If not, at least the Variegated Frits will like your passion vine incarnata.

Sandy, I have not had any Monarchs yet - but today I found two tiny cats on one of the perennial milkweeds (I think it's either syriaca or incarnata - not sure til it blooms. I brought them in, and checked all my tropical milkweed but found nothing but spiders and bugs. I have such a terrible predator problem this year.

My fennel was just beginning to grow back and I have more BST eggs on it now. Also on the Zizia. The Rue is pretty much gone, and I think I have just enough to feed my GSTs. Any BSTs will be moved to parsley, fennel, or zizia.

The PVS's are wearing me slick, though. I couldn't stand it and brought those few inside. The adults are constantly visiting the flowers daily, which is so nice. I have wanted to see swallowtails in my garden for years, but never had. Now, thanks to the PVS's I am seeing them.

Pussy Willow should be okay, I'd think. It is the arctic willows that prefer cooler zones. I have two pots of black willow that I need to pot up badly, but I've spent all my money on plants this year. I need to hopefully buy some bags of soil next month and get them into bigger homes. My Wild Cherry is just doing wonderfully. It is growing in a huge pot with desmodium illinoiense. I think I am going to like the desmodium, too, because it has blooms like the button bush, and supposedly has lots of nectar.

MissSherry - glad you found the Partridge Pea. I like the bigger blooms on it. I just planted that tiny seedling that Linda gave me and it is growing like mad. I have seed pods already on it. If you don't get any, let me know.

Susan

Susan the funny thing is I don't think we do, but I can order them from Shady Oaks. I have six of them right now just growing along nicely. They are so cute! I can see me ordering these alot from Edith. Next I want to try the Giant Swallowtails-these we do have.

Aggie

Aggie, it's probably not a good idea to introduce them in PA if you don't find the GFs in your area. Climate, availability of food for them, etc.

I went out and found another baby Monarch (in the heat of the day, no less!). I'll check again this evening when they usually climb up to the flowers. So many predators out there, it's a daunting task to find a live one.

Susan

Susan I asked Edith from Shady Oaks about the Gulf Frit's and we do have them in PA. She said they would never issue a permit for them unless they were in that state.

I got worried thinking wow, what am I going to do with them when they hatch?! I can't let them go..but I can-they are in my state.

Aggie

That's good. Edith probably has a license to send eggs via mail, I'm guessing. I wish I could send you some, but I just don't want to risk it. I hope you get lots and lots of GFs.

This morning, I found 4 more Monarch babies, so they must still be hatching. I now have 8, which is just fine for me.

Today I saw another big, bold, beautiful Cloudless Sulphur. I just love these butterflies. They have apparently forgiven my removing the Hibiscus coccineus, because they are now nectaring on the new one that's blooming now. How apologetic can one get??

Susan