Posted by seedmoney 8A (seedmoney@embarqmail.com) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 15:45 This offer is now closed. Tip...when responding to any seed trade or 'offer' it is a good idea to scan through the posts in the thread to see if the OP (Original Poster) has updated, changed, or closed the offer...as in this case.

Hi River, I definitely saw more butterflies, monarch in particular, this year than last year, but I can't say why -- I started most of my perennial butterfly plants this year, so I knew there weren't going to be many (or any) blooms, and the heat wave slowed everything down just that much further. That said, I do have a Potter's Purple butterfly bush that's a year old now, and it was a blooming machine this Spring/Summer/Fall. That plant drew the most butterflies and hummingbirds hands down. Butterflies using it were Monarchs, Painted Ladies, American Ladies, Black Swallowtails, Pipevine Swallowtails, hummingbird moths, and a lot of moths and skippers and sulphers that I can't even begin to identify. Anyway, plants! Butterfly magnets: *Butterfly bush 'Potter's Purple' Tropical Milkweed (Still blooming, actually, and there's still a couple of Monarch caterpillars on it right now.) Salvia azurea (I grow other salvias, but this one is visited most by butterflies that I've noticed.) Parsley. I always grow a bunch for Black Swallowtails caterpillars. I have so-so luck growing dill, but parsley is dead easy. Hummingbird magnets: *Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii -- Hummingbird bush. The biggest draw, after the butterfly bush. Salvia coccinea (red preferred over other colors) Salvia greggii Monarda citriodora -- Lemon Bee Balm. It was probably the first thing blooming in my garden this Spring, so I guess that's why the hummingbirds used it? I didn't know it was a hummingbird plant. Completely ignored by everything: Agastache rupestris Agastache 'Tutti-Frutti' 'Profusion' zinnias Coneflowers (all) Bee balms (no blooms, doh!) Only thing I can guess on the plants that flowered but were ignored is that it was too hot for them to produce pollen and nectar. The plan for next year is to grow more asclepias species, old fashioned tall zinnias, more salivas (never enough salvias, bwa ha ha), various liatris, random natives, and Lantana horrida (L. urticoides). Maybe the bee balms will bloom next year. Better luck next Spring! Meg

Nell, Sassafras trees are not native in Oklahoma. When I was taking the scenic route through NC through the mountains, we stopped in the little mountain community of Highlands. I bought a Sassafras walking stick as a souvenir to take home to my son who was house sitting while we were gone. I bought two t-shirts: one for me and one for him that had the following words on them: "Hike Naked. It adds color to your cheeks". I get a lot of double take looks when I wear it. (hehehe) But we do have Hackberry trees everywhere, and they are butterfly magnets. I have seen the Spicebush butterfly here on my property from time to time. Not sure what they find here for their habitat plant(s) of choice, but they do come here to my place. Not sure if they are listed as a common butterfly in Oklahoma though. I was thrilled! Haven't spotted one yet this year. This is the first year that there haven't been any yellow Sulfurs, however. They are usually here in clouds, filling the air, so to speak. Last year they were spectacular! Those late freezes may have something to do with it. During the warm spell before the freezes there were butterflies out and about, bees and all. Then those three freezes hit in late March and early April and that may have killed them out. Don't know. I sure hope they return. I love those little yellows. They frequent my Salvias, especially the Lady in Red variety. Perhaps they will return soon, as my Salvias are just now starting to bloom. That is really late too. Darned late freezes messed everything up this year. Everything is way out of kilter time-wise. I couldn't find any Pentas this year. Wonder why? I love those beautiful flowers, too. Maybe we gardeners were butterflies in a former life. :) The high temps have returned again today. UGH! Clouds are building again and rolling in. Big, white clouds, coming out of the Northwest and fairly low to the ground. I hope, I hope, I hope we get more rain...and the lower temps return. Hope you all have a wonder-filled Fourth of July. May it be a memorable day for you all. Going out now to add horse manure-hay mulch to more of the flowers beds and fruit trees. It is really making a big difference already. Have a good one! ~Annie

My verbena b. is a little too happy. I'll try to remember to take a photo from a distance so you can see how much it's spread. It blooms forever though and comes up thickly enough that I don't have to weed it. Thanks for the info on the pink moth Helen. This is the first year I've spotted the moth but I think they've been around for at least three or four years if it's the same one that's eating the buds in larval stage. They're tiny. I would'nt mind if they ate just the few leaves but they only like the flower buds and do enough damage to keep the plant from blooming for awhile.