Hi, I am going to plant at least 3 trees, lost around 6 due to the hurricane. Going to plant 1 Mauritius Lychee, 1 mamey (either a Pace or Pantin), and 1 avocado tree, not sure which yet. Might plant more mango trees, but the dwarf ones, either a Dot or Julie, and of course, more plants for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. I finally got some hummingbirds in my yard, very happy about that.

Ily, just curious. Do you have a proper planting time in your Zone, or can you plant whenever you get around to it?

We can pretty much plant whenever. I try not to plant when it's too hot, or too cold for that matter. Right now I planted some seeds, and they're doing better than when we planted in July. I know July is very hot here, thank God we've been getting some cold last weeks of the year, and this year too. We usually don't get too much cold. A lot of the seeds we get, they do have the months in the back. Right now, I called some nursery and was told, to wait til spring to plant the trees. I'm going to wait, because we can get some of the trees by the city. They have an adopt a tree program. They've been having it for some years now, since I bought the house, that was back in 2002. They had cut most of the citrus trees due to citrus canker. Fruit trees are very popular her in Miami, some will only plant fruit trees. They do give other trees, but the fruit ones are the popular and they go fast. Lychees, I can probably get the one I want. Mameys, they only gave 1 year, so I will have to buy this one. Avocados, I will have to buy, they only give out 2 of them, Donnie and Simmonds. I want to try and find, one that doesn't grow that big, and it's very good. I lost the Choquette and the Brogdon, both great tasting, with the hurricane.

That’s really interesting. I have all these plant catalogs coming in the mail, but have to wait with at least annuals until April 15th.

How cold those it get there?

The coldest I had this year was 6 degrees, it also stayed below normal for 2 weeks. The passionvine that stayed evergreen for the last 3 years looks dead, hope it will come back from the ground. The last few winters were milder than usual, so I even had lantana coming back. This probably will not happen this time around. I planted some shrubs this Fall that are right on the border of my Zone. Hope they established enough to make it. Do you have your milkweed all year round? I recall you planting a lot of it.

Wow, I would be dying at 6 degrees. I think the coldest we've had so far now, is about 43 degrees, and we felt it. The tropical milkweed is here year around, so is the giant milkweed. I haven't had luck with the native ones, have yet to get a plant, even with the seeds. The swan milkweed seems to be year around, because my mother planted seeds, and they're about 6" now and growing. I still have Monarchs, Zebras, sulphurs, just not as much as in spring and summer. I have small ones which I really don't follow too much. Have seen recently the common buckeye, some white ones, and yesterday I saw a bella moth which was very pretty. I still get some skippers. I still get most of the butterflies I usually get, but yet smaller quantity. I haven't seen the Julia or the Gulf recently, or the Polydamas, which I start to see around April.

Are the Silphium Perfoliatums what you call swamp sunflowers? I have the swamp sunflowers Helianthus angustifolius. I bought them about 4 years ago at the native plant sale. They were supposed to get 3-4 feet tall but got way over 8 feet. They are beautiful but are doing way too well. I gave about 20 pots of runners away last Spring. Hope yours is more well behaved. I planted some Ironweed last Fall, not sure anymore what kind

Two different plants in the same family. Maybe it's me but Silphiums look like miniature sunflowers to me. Then most plants in the Aster family look alike to me in some form. There's a smaller form of Angustifolius that interests me. Nothing against the parent plant, but it would fit perfectly. I have Phlox there that just don't perform well there, and a bee balm that kind of just sits there.

ily68(10b)

Judging by your species and zone + fact you got hurricane damage, I'm guessing you're south florida? If so you might benefit from only getting seeds of Florida ecotype native milkweeds. I think in North Florida I can get by with other varieties but South Florida is so different.. that might be part of the reason you're having difficulty. Tropical milkweed is just fine though, I'm mostly growing the natives because I like to have color-themed beds and tropical milkweed only has two color forms.

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Lots of good plans here, good to see some native love too

I have a ton of seedlings going right now such as Hummingbird Agastaches, Heliotrope, Tropical Sage 'Summer Jewel lavender', Floristan White Liatris, Mealycup Sage 'Fairy Queen', and Tangerine Gem Signet Marigolds, Amorpha fruticosa (host) more fennel, bunch of native milkweed species (Whorled, Green/Spider, Swamp, Butterflyweed)-- all my first time growing. . They all came up very easy so I'm pleased so far and would recommend them. Some Baptisia (white and blue, both hosts) but they aren't as easy. Once it's warmer I'll start zinnias (envy and Benary yellow giant) as well as Mexican Sunflower 'yellow torch' and red cypress vine.

I want to purchase some sort of bay, a sweetbay magnolia, and a black cherry for host plants (keeping all in a container for when I eventually get my own house, I can't plant large trees here) but I might have to wait until next year for that.

Mostly I'm just kind of antsy, I want it to be March so I can finally start seeing some signs of life outside lol

BTW if anyone is in Florida I made a spreadsheet checklist for every butterfly species here and its host plant + region of Florida based on this very informative UF page

lemme know if anyone wants it

Did you have the cypress vine before? It’s a favorite for hummingbirds, sulphurs and bumble bees, but boy it is coming up everywhere. I never planted a seed, but they showed up one year. Thought they were pretty, so I left some. I still leave some climbing up the palms, but pull hundreds of them. I hope my Baptisia come back. They were doing well, but got eaten to the ground by caterpillars several times last Summer until Frost. And not the kind of caterpillars I was hoping for.

Thank you Jay, I do live in South Florida. I have tried to plant the native ones, but have had no luck. I even tried the cold stratification, and nothing. I have only been able to grow the Tropical milkweed and the Family Jewels. I have planted now, the Family Jewels, about 30 or more. They grew to about 6", the Monarchs found them, and almost ate them up. I have bought the Giant milkweed, but once they eat them, I have had no luck with them returning. I still buy some, because the leaves last longer. I planted some more of the native ones, but I have yet to see a seedling. I do have seedlings of other plants growing, some more than others.

Jay, I would like the list. Right now I'm trying to find the Dutchman's Pipe Tormentosa, but it's too expensive to mail, and the seeds aren't growing. I've gone to 2 different native plant nurseries, that have said they had it, and it has been the Elegans when I get there. My Elegans died when a tree fell on it, took us a couple of weeks to take them out.

Have you tried mail order natives, they are pretty cheap if I recall?

I ordered my plants. New England Aster, Chelone Glabra, Woodland Sunflower Strumosus , Amsonia Bluestar Tabernaemontana , Ironweed Altissima (spelling), Silphium Perfoliatum

Jacob, we have butterflies in Florida year around. The mail orders take time to get here, and you have to pay shipping. I had over 30 seedlings of the Family Jewels growing, the butterflies found it, eat them all up. I don't know how many of them will come back. Sometimes it just comes out cheaper to go to Home Depot, or Galloway, and buy them here. Seeds take a long time to grow, and I am always growing them, but the butterflies always find them. I'm going to have to find a way to cover the seedlings till they get bigger.

Lowe’s or Home Depot here didn’t have a single Milkweed last year. Lowe’s had tropical 3 years ago. The person at Home Depot didn’t even know what milkweed is (and this was the one in charge of annuals/ perennials) One big nursery I went to had some Joe Pye Weed and bee balm. I do go to the native plant sale in Spring, but usually figure out later I am short on something. So I do have to order most of my plants. The prices for the plants are not bad, but the shipping is really bad in some cases.

The 2 Home Depots near my house, usually have the Tropical milkweed in stock. Sometimes when it's too much in demand, they might not have it at that moment, you might have to wait for a week or two. Galloway is farther away, but they usually have either all or something in stock, of Tropical, Family Jewels, or Giant. The native nurseries are far, and sometimes they don't have what I'm looking for either. I just called the 2 that I've gone to, and they don't have the Dutchman's Pipe Tormentosa. I called another one, they told me they did have it, when I got there, it was another one, not the Tormentosa.

Just noticed today that the stems of my passion vines that in the last couple of years stayed evergreen literally exploded. So even if they come back from the ground, it probably will be a late start for the fritillary. Makes me worry about some of my other plants.

Iris Stoiser(SC, 7b)

I've never had issues with Cypress vine reseeding.. I actually had issues growing it in the past (except in shade). But I'm trying it again because I love the way it looks and it goes with my jungle-themed hummingbird garden bed. It reseeding bad isn't too surprising though, since it's a type of morning glory. Baptisia are pretty tough, I think yours will come back c:

ily68(10b)

If you are ever near Jax let me know. I bought 1 gal woolly pipevine from this nursery http://vincentgardens.com/product/aristolochia-pipe-vine/ and it actually was several small plants that were easily divided so I could give one away. I hear Aristolochia seeds have to be VERY fresh in order to work so I would not bother with seeds. Paying shipping bites but people spend a similar amount of money all the time when they go out to eat (which I don't do) so I try to justify it like that haha. The only problem is that in your zone I am not sure woolly pipevine will do well. It is deciduous and actually isn't even natively found in FL. Elegans should be fine for the species you get there.

I get a lower germination rate of Swamp milkweed compared to every other milkweed species I have tried. You might want to try Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata instead if you are going the seed route, it is found in South Florida and it was a breeze to germinate them in peat moss medium and some directly sown (all after cold stratification). I use Prairie Moon Nursery for native wildtype seeds. Spider MilkweedAsclepias viridis is also found in South Florida but it's range is patchier (also very easy from seed, flowers are interesting too).

Thanks, I just clicked on your link, and they don't have the 1 gallon anymore, and the 3 gallon, cost less than the shipping fee. The Elegans I can get at Galloway, I just wanted the other one, so I can get the Pipevine butterfly. I might just bite the bullet and get the Elegans again. I know that I get the Polydamas here already, around April.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/pipevine_swallowtail.htm

If you're 10b I think you're somewhat out of their natural range sadly except for strays (because their actual hosts can't grow there) so I would just bite the bullet and get the elegans.

The species that Pipevine natively uses in FL isn't found in South FL at all http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=3644

ily68(10b)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/49tst4bt6ioiknp/Florida%20Butterfly%20Checklist%20Blank%20.xlsx?dl=0 Here is the file let me know if you can't see it. I converted it to excel so hopefully it'll be accessible.

With all the nectar plants that I'm going to have, I'm hoping and praying that my two small hop trees I planted come back. I would to love to see a Giant up close.

Jay, I can open it, just have to check with my brother about saving it.

Jay, I was able to save it as a PDF on my desktop. Thank you very much.

Gardenfullofswallowtails, have you tried planting rue for the giants?

I want to expand my butterfly garden and milkweed patch. Getting ready to winter sow a bunch of milkweed and nectar plants. I want lots of Mexican sunflowers this year. I want a lot of things but alas, space is limited.

I thought it about last year, but I decided on the trees. I plan to have herb container garden with Chamomile and others to help attract green lacewings. Not trying to have my plants destroyed by leafhoppers. It's not going to be an overnight success, but at least help.

Once the weather gets its act together here, I'm going to have another container of French Marigolds and dwarf Snapdragons.

I hope I didn’t jump the gun. The weather forecast didn’t say anything below 50 for two weeks a week ago, so I went ahead and planted the 25 plants I had ordered from Almast Eden and about a dozen other ones (mix of shrubs like Serviceberry and New Jersey Tea and perennials). Now they have thrown a 36 degree night in the mix. I have a few tiny spriggles of passionvine coming back. This is really sad since most stayed evergreen the last couple of years and gave the fritillary a nice start.

Last Summer:

I did the last of my ordering today . So, I added Echinacea Paradoxa, Rattlesnake Master Yuccifolium, and Virginia Mountain mint.

I said I am done ordering, but I keep on adding. Ordered some Comfrey from Etsy. Not native, but I read it is high in nectar and that bumblebees love it, so I will give it a try. I planted big leaf mountain mint last year. It has grown a lot, but it seems to stay in a nice clump. The spearmint I have has runners all over and I can’t get rid of it. I also have about a hundred Frostweed seedlings coming up. Not sure what to do about that. I also have bronze fennel and whorled milkweed coming up in the weirdest places. My sister in law already came with her wheelbarrow and shovel to dig things up and a friend of my daughter’s picked up a trunk full of plants. My walkway is still lined with pots (everything from ashy sunflower, different rudbeckia, fennel, “Hula Dancer” cone flower, blanket flowers , penstemon and so on), ready to go to a new home. Sadly most of the neighbors don’t plant more than a few Lillies or petunias around the mailbox. Otherwise I could just cart the plants to the curb with a “Free to good home” sign.

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From reading your post, I can only dream about living next to you.

She puts my butterfly gardening to shame lol

and mines I might add.

I don’t think so. I like giving the plants away. My daughter’s friend did end up with the little “ hitchhiker” on the whorled milkweed (gave her a couple more so she doesn’t run out of food). She has been documenting the growth of the caterpillar on Facebook and is hooked. Mission accomplished. I did one small new flower bed this year (location is circled blue, this is a google picture from sometimes last Fall after we had a dead tree removed there). I might connect it to the one I did last Spring (circled red) the other big one circled in red is also new from last Spring. It’s a lot of work for one person to maintain, so I should really stop expanding. My husband is mowing the grass and does things like chainsaw work, but the rest is mine.

Well. I thought I was finally done ordering plants. Then Bluestone Perennials sends an email about an Agastache sale. Sigh.