It is possible that some pesky creature - squirrel, bird, etc. - is eating the buds just before they open. Your statement that the buds seem to disappear just before opening leads me to think this. I was walking through a local woods yesterday, and found many small, barely opened buds, both flower and leaf, under a tulip poplar tree. I assume a squirrel cut and dropped them - some of the flower buds were partly eaten. I know that some birds, especially sparrows, can eat flower buds from some trees/shrubs, so it may be that your viburnumm is especially tasty just at opening time. If a flock of whatever found your viburnum, they could clean it off in short order. And that doesn't help you get flowers, I know. Sorry not to be able to help more.

I've found them on Echinacea purpurea more often than any other flower, but, as you can see in the picture, Tom, they like milkweed, too. I don't know of a particular aster they prefer, never having found a caterpillar - it's on my 'bucket list' of cats to find. They must be somewhere, because I see the adults every year. I HAVE raised common checkered skippers when I was lucky enough to find some tiny cats embedded in the top, newest leaves of fan petals/Sida. Pearl crescents are about the same size as they are, so I know they'd be very tiny. I just keep checking asters for signs of being chewed. My favorite field guide shows the females with a lot of markings on their undersides, and the males nearly pure yellow, so this pearl crescent from a year or two ago was a female - I wish I had gotten a picture of the undersides of the one on the milkweed, so I'd have a better idea if it was a male or female. Sherry

Those are great nectar plants for butterflies Justin! I agree that tithonia is tops, and I also planted the Fiesta del Sol this year - it's not grown as tall, and flowers freely. And lantana can't be beat for popularity with butterflies and the ease of growing it. I've never tried marigolds, but being in the same family as other really good nectar flowers, I'm sure they provide lots of nectar. Sherry

I like the hybridizing forum too. The subject is way over my head but I like to lurke and read the threads. I have some daylily roots I got from another member and when they sprout and flower I'm going to try to cross them. I've been trying to cross my two Amaryllis that bloomed around the same time and it looks like I finally have seed pods forming. Although I won't know the results for a couple of years.