Keith, I agree that you should tell the nursery they sold you the wrong buddleia. Perhaps they will give you Black Knight since b. weyeriana isn't what you wanted. But I hope you keep b.w. and post back on how it grows for you. I have b. davidii royal red which has a different charm, so I understand why you want black knight. My b.w. is honeycomb which has custard yellow flowers. I saw it locally on a garden tour and instantly knew I wanted it. Here in NM it grows to about 6' high, around 4' across. Unlike b. davidii it is more upright and statuesque. It makes a BIG statement! The garden where I saw it had a semi-circular bed of them, about 6, all in bloom. It took my breath away. I spoke to the owners about hardiness. They said they had had them for about 8 years. We're supposed to be Z7, but we've had subzero winters twice in the past 4 years. The b.w. had a lot of dieback, but they pruned it and it grew back strongly. Good luck, Cheryl

I have studied this over time, and can tell you that your husband's fogging with synthetic poisons is the most destructive thing he can do. It will kill all of the mosquitoes, as well as every beneficial insect in the chain, and poison the area as well....and you have small children. Can you spell c a n c e r? That is extreme, but chemicals in the area area absorbed into our bodies, and they are toxic...which is why they kill mosquitoes! They act on the CNS and acucmulate in our bodies. Moreover, studies show, that after your husband kills all the mosquitoes, they will bounce back quickly, and absent any of the natural predators, will become worse than ever. A better approach is to work with nature, and remove the areas that provide mosquitoe larvae it's opportunity...i.e. standng water, moist uncut areas of hedges, etc. Removing their habitat removes them without killing the other insects. As suggested above, using natural approaches is a much sounder approach all the way around. Everybody wins...except the mosquitoes, of course!

Hi--So wonderful that you are starting a garden for the butterflies! You may get addicted and start putting in new beds and expanding existing ones. The A. incarnata depending on soil and moisture can get pretty tall 3-4 tall and may need up to 3 feet width. A. tuberosa generally stays about 2 feet and may expand 2 feet or so. I plant my gardens pretty tight so that the there is plenty of cover for the caterpillars and places for them to pupate. I just make sure I keep enriching the soil with a steady supply of compost and organic fertilizer. The butterfly weeds will provide a wonderful nectar source as well as food for the Monarch caterpillar, which tend to be voracious in their later stages. In order to be very attractive for butterflies, gardens need to have large drifts of nectar rich flowers, so that means having multiple plants all set next to each other. Have fun!

Lexi, Welcome to the best Forum that I know. People are so friendly, supportive and will help you with almost any butterfly/butterfly garden question. Check out our FAQ's. Answers to many of the most common questions are there. Also, check out Larry-Gene's thread on the member mural that he posted in the Gallery. WARNING: BUTTERFLIES AND BUTTERFLY GARDENING HAS BECOME ADDICTIVE TO MANY OF US. WATCH OUT! mike