Carla Emory has a couple of paragraphs about home-grown rabbit food: "The old-timers who wintered their rabbits on food they'd grown themselves fed them such things as stock beets and cabbage in winter as well as their grain and hay. So can you. Pea and bean vines can be cured like hay and make an excellent hay substitute or supplement. "In season, rabbits like anything green, but you must be careful not to feed them plants that are outrightly poisonous, such as chokecherry or rhubarb leaves, or potato peels with sprouts or the ones that have been in the sun long enough to get even the slightest touch of green. Other greens are only mildly poisonous in the uncooked state such as pigweed, amaranth greens, spinach, comfrey, and Swiss chard--but for a creature with a small body weight like a rabbit, especially a young rabbit, these can be a problem too. Much of the reason that people develop a fear of growing their own rabbit food, or have had bad experiences with home feeding of rabbits is that they don't understand how very many greens, wild or domestic, are not fully safe to feed rabbits, and which are. Before feeding a leafy green or herb for the first time, check the list under "Edible for Rabbits" below, to see if there is a warning of any sort about it. Stick to feeding them human-type salad greens unless you know for sure a wild one is safe. If cooking is advised for a green or category of greens (the amaranth family), don't feed it to rabbits who, of course, would be eating it raw. If it's in the least toxic, don't feed it to them. If it might have chemical residues in it, don't feed it to them. "I plant extra rows of lettuce for them. And when I weed in the summer, I take along a bucket to put the pulled edible weeds for rabbits. Feeding this way you never have to buy a rabbit pellet and they do fine. When fed home-grown stuff, they'll grow a little slower (and more normally) to that 2-lb. butchering size. But it's far cheaper, and I have organic meat because conception on, they've been nourished with home-grown foods and greens, or hay and grain from a source I know is chemical-free. "Vegetables/Greens/Fruits: A combination of grains is better than a single one. A combination of veggies and greens plus grain and hay is better yet. Let your rabbits do some of the picking and choosing. They'll choose what they need. They'lll love much of what you offer of this sort, and it's a nice way to tame them--hand-feeding them some veggie treats. For pregnant and nursing does, variety is especially important. Offer the vegetables or leafy greens in season (the longer the season, the better). Garden and kitchen vegetables and fruit scraps can be included also, as long as they're not on the unhealthy list. If you're just starting to supplement a rabbit's diet in this way, go slowly at first until your bunny gets used to it. Limit what you feed so that surplus doesn't rot in the cage. Rotting surpluses are good for chickens or pigs, but not rabbits. In fact, rabbits can get sick from eating partly spoiled greens. Garden vegetables for rabbits, as for people, are mostly water. Greens are water plus lots of minerals and vitamins. Root vegetables are higher in energy supplied, lower in the mineral-and-vitamin department."

We cleared a large area in the backyard with new borders and put in a lot of trees. I had never had a tree list before but after all that planting I decided to make a list of what trees and shrubs are in the garden. Here are the trees with I'm sure a few missing. Acer ginnala Acer griseum Acer triflorum Aesculus mutabilis 'Induta' Aesculus parviflora Sassafras Amelanchier alleghany clump Betula papyrifera Betula pendula 'Trost's Dwarf' Cercidiphyllum japonicum Chionanthus virginicus Clethra barbinervus Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows' Cornus kousa Corylus 'Rosita' Cotinus coggyria 'Golden Spirit' Crabapple 'Prairie Fire' Cretaegus phaenopyrum Evodia daniellii Fagus sylvatica Fagus sylvatica 'Riversii' Gleditsia triacanthos Japanese maple 'Beni Maiko' Japanese maple 'Beni Schichihenge' Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple 'Crimson Queen' Japanese maple 'Full Moon' Japanese maple 'Garnet' Japanese maple 'Orangeola' Japanese maple 'Peaches and Cream' Japanese maple 'Viridis' Japanese maple 'Waterfall' Juniperus virginiana Larix kaempferi Magnolia 'Jane' Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' Oxydendrum Picea pungens-Colorado Blue Sorbus aucuparia 'Cardinal Royal' Stewartia pseudocamellia Styrax japonica Syringa reticulata In the woods surrounding 3 sides of the yard are tons of: Maples Oaks-white and red White Pine I'm looking forward to collecting more evergreens in the coming years. Something really lacking in general in my garden.

The Northern Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana var. virginiana) tree is native to my region of New Jersey. However, I have never seen this tree in natural occurance at all - it must be rare for my region, and only listed for the sake of a few rare discoveries. It is a known host of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Do you think that Eastern Tiger Swallowtails will be drawn to the two Sweetbay Magnolia trees that I planted, once mature and large. Will the scent likely trigger an attractive response? I think that scent/chemical signal may be more important to butterflies and moths, more then sight and memory. Yet, the local Tiger Swallowtails may not be genetically related to populations that have speciated in association with Sweetbays. I hope so - the scent of the flowers is extremely strong. Steve

I have enjoyed reading all the posts on host plants. It has given me info for my garden. However, I have been wondering what you are going to do with all this information. It sounds like you are going to use it personally to create a BF habitat in your yard. On keeping trees small for BFs, I like to think of it as BF Bonsai. I love the look of the Tulip Poplar tree. It's a very nice large tree, so I wouldn't mind having one in my yard, which is close to an acre. If Hubby would agree, our yard would border on being wooded! But, he likes everything spaced out. Currently my tulip trees are in pots on the patio, as they are still very small. Amazingly, though, I had small cats on the first tree within weeks after I got it. If you are looking for a small tree to attract a great number of BFs, the wafer ash fits the bill. I don't know if it is hardy in your area, but it's definitely one I'm adding to my backyard. As for Wild Black Cherry, there is one behind me that is an absolutely ugly tree. WBC is definitely one of those trees that would need to be kept pruned and not allowed to go wild. Having said all that, I'd be very sad to see the tree cut down, as it attracts all sorts of BFs and birds. Looks aren't everything! I think most of us on the forum have learned what works by trial and error. I know I have. I've been BF gardening for at least 12 years, and have given up on lots of plants, and am still acquiring other plants. Each season, I add new BFs to my raised category. My Xerces Society Butterfly Gardening Book has been a constant source for plants for BFs. Before I had this forum or used the internet, I relied on that book to build my garden. According to XSBFG, tulip poplar, sweet-bay, wild black cherry, chokecherry, ashes, hop tree (wafer ash), American hornbeam, spicebush, lilac, birches and aspens are hosts. The last two are listed for the Papilio canadensis. One thing I enjoyed about reading the XSBFG book is the accounts of the gardeners and their experiences. The notion that one plant works in all situations is quickly dispelled in this book. The best way to find out the best host in your area is to start planting. Start with the one you really want and if it doesn't work, try another. OKSandy