Some plants that have done well for me in dry situations: They aren't very formal, but rugosa roses have a strong, sweet scent, beautiful foliage, and large red hips. They only bloom once, but I like them quite a bit. Flowers are single or double in shades of pink, magenta and white. They sucker some and have wicked thorns, but will grow in beach sand. Penstemon pinifolius is a relatively short plant with typical tubular penstemon flowers in early summer in shades of red, orange, and yellow and fine needle-like foliage. If you typically have good snow cover, it is worth trying Caryopteris which I have found works for me, rather to my surprise: small tidy shrub, late summer violet-blue flowers, and either silver or gold foliage. In the coldest areas it works more like a perennial, dying back to the ground each year. 'Arthur Simmonds' has trialled as the hardiest selection, though I haven't grown it. (available at Lazy S's Nursery via mail order.) I have 'Sunshine Blue' with gold foliage which experiences some dieback but comes back every year and either 'First Choice' or 'Dark Knight' which has survived just fine for several seasons. This does better than lavender for me which survives, but takes too long to recover to look good most seasons. I do replant lavender (small inexpensive plants) most years and it grows well as an annual since the insects and humming birds like it. The only western Agastache that has survived at least one winter for me has been A. rupestris. It is a short-lived perennial for me, lasting at most 4 or 5 years, but I really like the silvery foliage and August salmon and smoky lavender blooms, so I replace it when it hasn't survived a winter. You may find that some of the blue Agastaches work for you, but I haven't grown them since they have a reputation for self-seeding. I have had Weigela grow well on a completely unwatered slope, so it should be fine. However, the Cornus kousa that is in an unwatered dry spot doesn't look nearly as nice as the one in a more average setting, and the serviceberry that I planted in a dry spot died the second season, despite my hauling water to it all of its first season. Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler' is a long-blooming, bright red selection of a native vine that does fine without supplemental water in a well-drained bed. I have only had mine a couple of years, but I really like it. It should do fine being trimmed to its support, an iron trellis of 3/8" rod, if I decide it needs it. Daffodils should be fine if you are looking for spring bulbs. Plants that others have mentioned that have also done well for me in well-drained situations include bearded iris, flax, rose campion (though it self-seeds ferociously unless deadheaded), coreopsis (both lanceolata and verticillata), daylily, Baptisia, Liatris, Sedum, Semperivirens, Amsonia hubrichtii, Nepeta/catmint, Alyssum, and columbine.

Plants are divided into these groups: Perennials (those that return in return in the same spot you plant in year after year) Annuals (those that complete their life cycle in one year) and include: Hardy annuals thrive in cool weather and are usually planted in the fall. Half-hardy annuals can endure light frost; they are generally planted in early spring. Tender annuals die in freezing temperatures and are planted in the spring. Zinnias are tender annuals, and seeds should be planted after the last frost in your zone. Most, but not all, perennial seeds need a period of vernalization, or cold stratification, in order to break the seeds' dormancy. Most milkweeds grown in the U.S. are native to the U.S. and are of this type. Other the milkweeds may be perennial in warmer or more tropical zones, don't need to be stratified, and are grown as annuals from zone 8, sometimes 7, north (depending on our winters), including Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), Oscar Milkweed (Asclepias physocarpa), and a few others. In your zone, these may grow year-round. Asclepias fasicularis or Narrow-leaved milkweed, is a perennial milkweed native to the Western U.S. I hope someone from that area will come in an help us out on that milkweed in particular. I don't grow it in my garden because it is a Western native. Perennial milkweeds usually require at least 30 days of cold stratification. You can "winter sow" them - check out the Winter Sowing Forum here; you can stratify them in a baggy containing 1/4 cup of sand, 1 tsp water, in the fridge), remove them after 30 days minimal, and plant them in pots. Sandy is quite knowledgeable on this method and she can help us out in this regard. I usually winter sow mine recycled 2 litre soda bottles. Perennials, from seed, usually follow this pattern: 1st year they sleep, 2nd year they creep, and 3 year they leap. So it can be 3 (2 at a minimum) years before you see significant growth and flowering in perennial milkweeds. Other perennial milkweeds you might want to consider growing in your area include six that are commercially available (some harder to find than others), Asclepias californica, A. speciosa (I grow this one as it is native in Oklahoma as well), A. fasicularis (Narrow-leaved Milkweed), A. cordifolia (Heart-Leaf Milkweed), A. vestita (Wooly Milkweed), A. eriocarpa (Woolypod Milkweed). That said, A. speciosa and A. fascularis are the most common that I see folks growing on this forum. I think that A. cordifolia is a beautiful milkweed, in particular, with its purple flowers. I have seen seeds offered for sale of all of these milkweeds, though. Nine other milkweeds, for a total of fifteen, are native to California, but only these six are generally found to be for sale (seeds and/or plants). If you have a native plant nursery in your area, or know of native plant societies or groups in your area of California that may have annual plant sales - I know it's a huge state - you might try to find out where you can locate plants, if you are interested. Plants will obviously give you a jump start over seeds. Those warmer climate milkweeds like the Tropical, Oscar, or Giant Milkweeds will grow quickly and bloom for you in one season. You can collect seeds to keep your collection going of these. In your zone 9, I'm not sure what temps you're experiencing now, as to whether you can start seeds now outdoors. I'm hoping someone else can supplement this post that has experience gardening in California in your zone. Larry_Gene may have some additional info for you. Try googling "Butterfly Encounters milkweed seeds" and check out the milkweeds they offer. They are an excellent source of viable seeds. In regard to Zinnias, most are attractive to butterflies. I prefer sticking to the single flowering varieties that afford a flat landing pad for the butterfly. Some I am looking at for planting this year include the Whirligigs/Carousel, Chippendale, Profusion singles, Cut & Come Again mix, Zahara series, Sombrero, Old Mexico. Some of these are mixes that will produce both single and double flowers. If you go to the Annuals forum, there is a lot of discussion on various types of Zinnias on the market. I am going to order a lot from Hazzard's Seeds (go to their site and use the search function for "Zinnia" and you'll get a listing of all their Zinnias). They are wholesale, but will sell retail. For instance, I can get 1,000 Whirligig's for $6.55. I can 1,000 of the Sombreros for $5.10. That is CHEAP! Some of the seeds are more expensive, but there are a lot of varieties you can buy in large numbers for very, very reasonable prices compared to the seed numbers you get from other places. Have fun! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed Seeds

In our community gardens, a wide variety of milkweeds are offered to the Monarchs. Every year they are covered with cats during different times of the year. It's very common to find a chrysalis hanging from a garden border 2x6 or from horizontal vine supports or any number of different plant stems. It is extremely rare to find any of them on the host plants though, as the little cats seem to want to wander off to do their magic. I'm sure there are predations, but I've photographed any of the beautiful little encasinga and even had the privilege of watching the last instar unzip into the bright green chrysalis. Up until that point I wasn't sure exactly how it happened and it was amazing and surprisingly quick! It takes me a bit of searching to find them at this point because they are so well camouflaged.

I've grown purpurascens (or it's grown itself) for several years from a small plant. It seemed to do quite well (surprisingly) in a prairie that was a bit wet for A tuberosa (which would survive, but not thrive). I can't say that was preferred conditions, but the plant spread and appeared quite healthy. So basically, I'd summarize in conditions a bit more moist than tuberosa, but otherwise similar with full sun, etc.