I am in the "confused by the difference between wildflowers and weeds" camp. I grow a lot of things on purpose that other people call weeds, and I call wildflowers. On the other hand, I have so much goldenrod in my yard that I always pull it out of my gardens, and I thus consider it a weed. Technically it is also a wildflower. Anyway, I have a LOT of it that is stunted, because it is a favorite target of whatever it is that goes around to plants and puts a milky colored frothy sticky substance with some kind of baby bug in it. The baby bug then eats at the plant while maturing. I have found this goop on a wide variety of plants but there is more on the goldenrod than anything else put together. Hence I have significant insect damage on a native weed/wildflower. But not knowing if you call that a weed or not, I am not sure if I invalidate your theory or not. I have even seen creeping charlie with some sort of big lumps in the stem that suggested a creature had attacked it and laid eggs. Certainly creeping charlie is a weed. Alas, it did not spread enough to wipe out my creeping charlie. But it was really freaky looking. Marcia

Wow! Thank you. Usually when I post on this site, one or more people have to make me feel so small for knowing so little. I'm both thrilled and humbled by how kind and helpful all the responses are. Seriously! Thanks. I actually just went out back to count milkweed plants - 9-10 and all aphid infested to some degree. (Some can be seen from across the yard, some have to be seen close up.) Was surprised to find an oriental one, hidden among the much taller ones. Definitely can't cut down the infested ones, though. lol On the other hand, I forgot some people can actually still see 1/32nd of an inch. That blew me away. I'm impressed. I'm going with, as long as the aphids don't eat butterfly eggs, if I got an egg, eventually, I might see a caterpillar. If I see a caterpillar, the little critter (without touching - bugs give me the hee bee gee bees when they touch me lol) onto the parsley, and hope he doesn't need as much has hubby wants. (Three well-leafed parsleys, so there should be enough for the caterpillar and us. lol) As for seeing monarchs in my garden - nope, not yet. BUT, then again, I actually didn't think there were any butterflies in the city, until the bufferfly bush brought my first Admiral. (Spent five hours online looking up what it was. never saw a red butterfly before - just yellow and orage swallowtails.)If I keep growing the milkweed, sooner or later, a monarch will wander by - maybe. One thing for sure, I've always wanted some ladybugs (found one on one of the milkweeds early on), but didn't think I had enough aphids to feed them. I've since learned how to make a ladybug house, and am working towards gathering the ingredients. I now know I have enough aphids. lol I definitely have parasitic wasp. They like finding cabbage moths on my lavander later in the year. As for hydrating. God's been doing a fine job watering my garden, so far. (I think Philadelphia is getting Settle's rainfall the last couple of months.) Since I'm also growing tomatoes and other produce, I (or God) make sure they get watered daily. Probably why the aphids love them so much. lol So, should my dill get closer to the rest of the butterfly attracting plants? I'm not growing fennel or zinnias. (Am curious which kind of fennel though. I also am getting addicted to herbs. lol) Also, I stumbled upon the offer of milkweed on our local FreeCycle Network, so, like I said, I didn't even know there was such a wide variety. I don't have any more space in my yard to grow more this year, but when do I sow the tropical seeds? I think leaving that container alone last year, allowed the seeds I had to over-winter and sprout naturally. Then again, obviously not tropical. Thanks again for the help. Oh, and since I just looked up tropical milkweed, found an offer for milkweed seeds. They say "free," but they're trying to bring back the monarch after a freeze killed off a whole bunch in Mexico, so let's just say "reasonably priced." The link is below. Here is a link that might be useful: Reasonably priced milkweed seeds

your most recent post http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg0511262227622.html?18185 Here is a link that might be useful: new post, new image

The answer to pretty much all your questions is yes. The Silex set fruit because parthenocarpic varieties set fruit without pollinating the ovules. Non-parthenocarpic flowers with abort if the ovules are not pollinated. Yes, some degree of humidity control is needed to keep pollen from clumping. Yes, many varieties will fail to self-pollinate in cool temperatures; however, there are varieties adapted to pollinating at cooler temperatures than typical. Yes, tomatoes need wind to self-pollinate naturally or require bees to vibrate the pollen out of the anthers and onto the stigma. The bees are harvesting the pollen for protein and some of it falls onto the stigma rather than the bee's belly. Some growers keep colonies of certain bee species in the greenhouses. Most hoophouse growers shake the plants daily to effect self-pollination. This can be done by beating the suspended support cords or the overhead horizontal support with a broomstick as you walk thru the hoophouse. Or you can use a battery operated vibrator on a stick to tease the flowers. Or you can rely to some degree on high volume ventilation fans creating sufficient breeze to rattle the blossoms as they would in a wind.