My false indigo shrub is in a pot, but it sneaked out the bottom and put down roots. I haven't had any volunteers and its been in its pot/soil location for 6 years.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Plant Info for Amorpha fruticosa

Oh good, I'm glad to hear that, Runmede. I hope it behaves itself up here for me. I actually have three and not sure if I even want to keep all of them. I suppose when they get bigger, there's probably plenty of foliage on one for a bunch of SSS cats. Those little guys are just so darn cute when they're in their leaf shelters peeking out. Do you know offhand how big the pot is that you have yours in? I'm hoping that mine don't sneak out the bottom like that. Thanks for the info!

I planted mine in the ground, Cathy, just this last summer, and intend to prune it to keep it within bounds. Did you grow yours from seed? I wintersowed mine, and had really good results. I ended up with about 5 seedlings that I kept, but only planted 1 in the garden. Easy to grow from seed. I really wanted Amorpha canescens, since it is a much smaller plant, but Prairie Moon was out of that seed, so I went with the fruiticosa, the mature size of which is much larger. However, it is supposed to be kind of an "airy" plant, so hopefully it won't crowd out too much other stuff.

Another easy from seed plant this year, was Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis.

I wondered whether or not Amorpha fruiticosa would do well in a pot since it is taprooted.

Susan

Hi Susan, I just looked up A. canascens (I know of it but didn't know the size offhand) and agree, that's a lot smaller than the A. fruticosa. That probably would have been a better idea for me to get that kind. If I remember correctly, I got the A. fruticosa from a seed swap with a bunch of other seeds and since it's a host plant for the skippers, I decided to plant it. Mine easily wintersowed too. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with all of these plants because I really don't want all of them. lol It's just like me, not being able to throw away a perfectly good plant. Maybe I should "advertise" them on here in the spring if they're still living and see if I can find them a good home. I want to have some here for the SSS but just not as many as what I have now. That's too bad that Prairie Moon was out of the other kind of seed when you were ordering.

I'm thinking maybe by the time I'm about 80 I might have my gardens exactly the way I want them. None of them are the way they started out. I took out all the swamp milkweed and am going to replace it with tropical milkweed every year. I haven't gotten any buckeyes on the Verbena hastata and plan on taking that out in the spring. I had 60 plants of Anise hyssop and since no butterflies went to it, that came out last year. I've started ripping out my smooth blue asters because I don't like how they have a gazillion seeds that go all over the place (I always get out too late to deadhead them). I had mallow here and it wants to keep coming up all over the place and I keep digging it out whenever I see new coming up. I never got Painted Lady cats on it. I had daisies and ripped those out because nothing liked them. I'm thinking of ripping out my Joe Pyeweed too because nothing likes it. I think I have some snooty butterflies up here! :-D One thing that is "weedy" that I wouldn't part with, though, is the Verbena bonariensis. The butterflies absolutely love those plants! They also love the coneflowers, tithonia, and butterfly bushes. As far as host plants go, besides the milkweed the most used host plants here are the pipevine and pussytoes. Those will remain as long as I'm around and kicking. :)

I'm so glad that I saved some tropical milkweed seeds from last year because I didn't get any this year. The heat and drought made the plants not do so well, and I guess that's why they didn't give seeds. Now that it has already frosted here a few times, I imagine any seed pods that are on there now won't be any good. So I'm glad that I dug up two plants and brought them inside so I will hopefully get some seeds from this year. Actually, I also wanted to make sure that I have a couple big plants to start the spring because things didn't work out too well here this year in the milkweed department. If you need any tmw seeds, let me know; you've certainly helped me with my butterfly gardening!

Another milkweed I've wanted to try for the longest time is purple milkweed, so I started some in pots this year. The blooms look so pretty in pictures I've seen online. I'm hoping that they do okay in the pots; I don't recall of anyone here mentioning that they grow them that way. I thought I'd at least try it and see. Just like you mentioned with the A. fruticosa, when something has a taproot, I'm not sure how well it would fare in a pot.

Cathy

A. cancescens and fruticosa are also LFPs for the
Southern Dogface and Hoary Edge skipper, a "kissing cousin" to the SSS. I don't know if you get the Dogface in PA, but I'm pretty sure you get the Hoary Edge. I have yet to find or raise a Silver Spotted Skipper. I always have them in my garden every year, but I think they use my neighbor's Wisteria - it's also a LFP for them. I really want to attract the Southern Dogface. I love skipper cats - they are so cute all curled up inside their leaf shelters.

I've already ordered some of my seeds for next year. I availed myself of the sale thru Select Seeds ahd ordered some Zinnias, Cosmic Red Cosmos that I have been trying to find forever, Night Phlox, and I don't know what else. I can't cram too much else into my garden anymore, and I've gotten interested in growing heirloom and dwarf tomatoes and Salvia, too, geared toward the hummingbirds.

I didn't get any Tropical Milkweed seeds either this year between the bugs, aphids, and heat. So unusual. Nor did I get any A. physocarpa seeds. I will grow this again, too, along with the Giant Milkweed that the Monarchs loved. I didn't get but one Gulf Fritillary cat this summer. I think a lot of them were consumed by predators, but I still didn't get as many as usual as it was a replanting year for the passion vine. I had tons of Sleepy Oranges, Grey Hairstreaks, and Wild Indigo Duskywings. Some of those are overwintering on the False Indigo.

I have two huge Asters, but they don't reseed. One is Aster oblongifolius and the other is Aster tartaricus 'Jindai'. The A. oblongifolius is going to have to be severely pruned next year. I only had one big batch of Red Admirals, and they all flew north of me and I saw virtually none this fall.

The one nectar plant that will return to my garden is Dwarf Red Porterweed. I managed to extract a few seeds - the rest have not matured yet on the plant - and will see if I can get them to germinate in spring. If not, I'll order from Bustani again. The hummers, Monarchs, Cloudless Sulphurs, and Gulf Fritillaries just went nuts over this plant. It is just an annual here. I think it's only hardy in zone 10a, but boy, does it flower from spring til fall. It's still flowering right now, and was flowering when I got it in the mail last April. It just doesn't quit.

I've got some purple milkweed in pots, too. Hope they make it thru winter. I just ran out of time and energy to get them in the ground. Have you tried the Cosmic Orange Cosmos yet? The butterflies really love it, too, big and small. My Tithonia is still blooming, but won't be for long probably. I am hoping my 'Lady in Red' Salvias reseed. Do you grow that? The butterflies and hummers like it, too.

Gosh, Cathy, you do so much in your garden, I doubt any of us could keep up with you!

Susan, The Hoary Edge has been reported in pretty many counties in PA but not mine. I'll have to keep a lookout for it in the future. BAMONA lists Desmodium, Lespedeza, and Baptisia for LFPs; I have the last two here, so I guess I'm prepared and didn't even know it. Like I mentioned, I also have the Amorpha. I think we're too far north for the Southern Dogface, darn it.

I hope that you'll be able to raise Silver-spotted Skippers sometime in the near future. I agree about the skippers being so cute! I've always had lots of them in the garden every year, especially this year, and they really go for the Verbena bonariensis. I didn't raise any cats, though, before this year, thanks to the Amorpha fruticosa. We don't have any locust trees right here, but I know that there are some down along the creek, so I imagine that that's where they lay their eggs every year. Now they can also come here to start their families. I've always liked SSSs; they seem so friendly. Yep, I bet that they lay on your neighbor's wisteria. I used to have several of them here before I got into butterfly gardening. The darn things never bloomed, so we ripped them out...those things are hard to kill!

Wow, you're way ahead of me with the seed ordering! I never tried Cosmic Red Cosmos...they sound pretty! I did have some kind of orange cosmos here. They butterflies liked it but it reseeded so much that I didn't plant it again after that and haven't had it now for several years. I just might try the kind that you mentioned.

I also planted some heirloom tomatoes this year, Marglobe and Brandywine. I don't know why but the Brandywine tomatoes split so much, so my husband said to cross that one out for next year and not to plant so many of the ones that I do plant. We really had way too many of those and peppers. We gave the extras away, so they didn't go to waste, but it was a lot more work for me than would have had to be.

I also like to plant for the hummingbirds! I plant Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' (same as you), Scarlet Runner Beans, Four o' Clocks (I plant red ones and white ones), and I have a plant in a hanging basket that I just love (and so do they). It's called Windberry. The flowers are red and look like small petunias. It flowers really nicely! I've tried fuchsias but never had luck with them.

Now I wish I had planted the Aster oblongifolius. I always saw mention of the A. laevis and the A. novae-angliae, so that's what went in my garden and I've regretted it ever since they went to seed for the first time in 2008. More seeds than a person could plant in a lifetime! lol Maybe it's just me, but as I get older some things are becoming a bothering and deadheading certain plants is one of them. I'm glad that I'm removing them.

If you need any TMW seeds, let me know. I'm sure I'd have enough to share with you. I didn't manage to get seeds from my red porterweed, but I brought it inside so at least will have it for next year again (cross my fingers it doesn't die on me in here). The flowers looked so pretty planted behind my Dusky Millers. I don't notice any places selling it around here. I had gotten mine in the mail from a friend when we were exchanging plants, and I really like it.

It sounds like you really saw a good variety of butterflies! You get some that I don't get like Gulf Fritillaries. I wish I could get some of those southern butterflies, but I'm happy with what show up here. I have passionvine here, but don't ask me why. I don't get GFs, and I've only ever found Variegated Fritillary cats on it a couple times (I think that was either in 2007 or 2008). I do think the flowers on the P. incarnata are so pretty though.

My tithonia was blooming too until just recently when the frost hit it. After a few frosts and especially when it got down to 24 deg. here the other night, that pretty much nipped everything in the bud. I got lots of seeds from it, though, for next year. I didn't get around to planting it last year and regretted it.

Ha, I don't know about your last statement...most days I feel like I can't keep up with it. It would be so nice to have a work crew come and help me! :-D You and I will have to cross our fingers that our Purple Milkweed likes being in the pots.

Here are some pictures of two of the Silver-spotted Skipper cats that I had here...

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