I haven't had as many Hairstreaks this year but the few I've seen have been mostly on celosia.

I planted them about 10 or 12 inches apart in groups of five and they show up well from a distance.

I'm out of wasp spray and haven't sprayed any nests this summer so I have more than usual. Sedum always attracts them too, but it's not quite blooming yet.

They're beautiful, Christie! I had no idea this was a butterfly nectar plant, so I pass them by every spring at the nursery. I'll buy some next spring.

Sherry

Great photos of your beautiful Celosia, Christie! You really have a bright green thumb! I love them almost as much as I loved your red Zinnias, lol!

Grey Hairstreaks are limited this year - all of the little ones seem to be in short supply here. Last year, I had virtually no large butterflies, but tons of Hairstreaks, Skippers, and Reakirt's Blues. They all loved the Mountain Mint and the purple Gomphrena. I usually also get lots of Red Banded Hairstreaks but have seen none of them this year. This year, it's all medium to large-size butterflies and very few little ones. Weird.

Kudos on your beautiful Celosias.

Susan

Hi Christie, I don't normally care for Celosia, but yours are quite vivid and pretty. They would make a nice accent plant in the front garden. The fact that they attract pollinators (at least your special seeds do) clinches it for me. I wonder where they are finding the nectar in that fluffy flower? Weird.

I would like to get some of these seeds -maybe we can do a trade this fall. Did we email awhile back during the spring and you said you had some Asclepias viridis seeds? (Sorry in advance if it wasn't you though.)

Beautiful! I had tried some but obviously didn't have them planted in the right place...they didn't thrive like yours have!
I would love to trade & share seeds this fall with everyone on this forum!
Christie...aren't you the one with the Zowie Zinnias??? I would love to trade for some as well as the Celosia!
I have both A.viridis & A.asperula seeds that I harvested from local plants... if you want some!
When would be a good time to start a seed trade...late October or early November??? Before the holidays???
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!
Lila

Hi Christie,

I'd like to give your celosia a try also.

I'm collecting seeds now also, so I can share whatever you'd like.
Also if you want to drive to St. Louis I've got lots of plants I can share.

I'll post again or email you all when I've collected some seeds. The flowers don't look dry enough yet. I'll be glad to share. You don't have to send me anything.

Terene - I did have some asclepias seeds last year but I don't think it was viridis. I'll check.

Lila - I haven't collected any Zowie seeds yet this summer but will. Got to warn you though. They've been disappointing. The original Zowie seeds did great. The ones I planted this spring from seeds I collected last summer haven't done well. Quite a few have no petals. It's because it's a hybrid. : (

I don't know if all celosia is attractive to butterlies or if this one has more nectar than normal. There's a cultivar called 'Cramer's Amazon' that's supposed to attract butterlies and hummingbirds but it gets very tall and I think it supposed to take a long time to start blooming. I have it on my wish list anyway though.

I've had a Buckeye explosion this week. I must've had at least 100 in my yard yesterday and they love that celosia. In the group of five celosia plants pictured above, there were about three dozen Buckeyes nectaring and flying around them. I switched my camera to video mode and took a short 10 second video. I tossed a little rock at the base of the plants to make the butterflies fly up so you can see them.

Hopefully you can click on it and watch.

hmmm may not be working. It doesn't show up in the preview.

I think if you click on the photo below it will take you to my Photobucket and then you can click on the photo with the arrow which is the video. The quality is terrible. Just wanted you to see how many there were.

{{gwi:536365}}

Wish I had so many swallowtails. Those have been few and far between for me this summer.

When you're thru with them, send those Buckeyes this way, Christie! LOL! I don't think I have a thing for them to use for a host plant. My plaintains are covered with weeds right now.

Lila, I meant to tell you that right after we discussed not seeing the Bordered Patches, I went outside and there was a very tattered Bordered Patch nectaring on the Golden Crownbeard. I think it was a male, tho - very small. Poor thing looked like it was on its last legs.

Susan

Hi Christie

I would love to have some of the Celosia seeds. Buckeyes are my favorite, so hopefully the Celosia will attract Buckeyes as well for me as they have for you!

Thanks!
Dana

Reviving an old thread I started years ago because I would love to find seeds for this again. It volunteered reliably for me for a few years and then disappeared and of course I hadn't saved any seeds. : ( I can't remember how many I traded away but there were a few and those folks may have shared with others so maybe there's a chance.

The celosia I see at garden centers is almost always very short and doesn't seem very appealing to butterflies.