What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

Dare I hope it is the famed Monarch that lead me to plant milkweed plants
and butterfly bush seed last year in the hopes of attracting them??

http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z...pillars003.jpg

http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z...pillars004.jpg


I have been looking at my flower beds on an almost daily basis. I had to
miss this weekend due to work and going and coming in the dark. Today I got
home in daylight hours, started by my car, and worked my way over. I was so
excited to see these cats on my butterfly weeds. I do know one thing-- if
this truly is monarchs, I had better start off my milkweed seeds in November
or December next year. I started them in peat pellets back in Feb, and
transplanted them out last weekend. They are only a few inches tall, and
only have 4-6 leaves apiece right now. My butterfly bushes came back from
the roots, a pleasant surprise.

What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

Way to go!

I get butterflies, but no caterpillars on mine.

What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

"arkienurse" wrote in
:

Dare I hope it is the famed Monarch that lead me to plant
milkweed plants and butterfly bush seed last year in the
hopes of attracting them??

those are monarchs!
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

I got nothing last year, only an occasional monarch to visit. I guess
because I planted from seed. This time last year, I don't think the
butterfly weed seed were even up, much less big enough to support a cat. I
do worry that there are too many for my bushes. Some bushes had 3 or 4 on
them, but some, that were just coming up last week, don't have any.

Vicky
"Laura at theGardenPages" wrote in message
...
Way to go!

I get butterflies, but no caterpillars on mine.

What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

I am so excited, this is my first year. The reason I planted the milkweed
varieties.

V
"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"arkienurse" wrote in
:

Dare I hope it is the famed Monarch that lead me to plant
milkweed plants and butterfly bush seed last year in the
hopes of attracting them??

those are monarchs!
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

What is this on my butterfly bushes????
 

In article ,
"arkienurse" wrote:

Dare I hope it is the famed Monarch that lead me to plant milkweed plants
and butterfly bush seed last year in the hopes of attracting them??

http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z...current=caterp
illars003.jpg

http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z...current=caterp
illars004.jpg


I have been looking at my flower beds on an almost daily basis. I had to
miss this weekend due to work and going and coming in the dark. Today I got
home in daylight hours, started by my car, and worked my way over. I was so
excited to see these cats on my butterfly weeds. I do know one thing-- if
this truly is monarchs, I had better start off my milkweed seeds in November
or December next year. I started them in peat pellets back in Feb, and
transplanted them out last weekend. They are only a few inches tall, and
only have 4-6 leaves apiece right now. My butterfly bushes came back from
the roots, a pleasant surprise.

Go to www.enature.com to see and hear what's in your neigborhood.
--

Billy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBB0s...eature=related

I had to buy more milkweed plants and found a wonderful nursery
 

I counted a total of 12 cats last week, but my grandson( 4) and my daughter
(5) love "wormies" and took care of a few before I was able to convince
them to leave my caterpillars alone! The 6 that are left had decimated the
butterfly weeds by Friday morning, with still a week or so to go before
beginning their transformation. I hit Wal-Mart and Home Depot hoping to
find milkweed plants of some sort. HD had some later in the summer last
year, so I prayed they might. Nope. My husband got the bright idea of
calling one of the local nurseries this morning @ 730. Glory hallelujah,
she said yes I have milkweed and we open at 8. DH was worried that she
would be way more expensive than what we are used to, but I was prepared to
pay even $10 a bush if necessary to keep the cats alive. I was quite
impressed! Tropical milkweed, 2 1/2 feet tall, 2 plants to a pot, for $6. I
bought 5 pots of milkweed, 2 a 6 pack of golden marigolds, one of purple
salvia, and 2 packs of a plant called Gazania. the Gazania are a full sun
plant that closes the blossoms at night, it vaguely reminds me of
sunflowers. And she will have a variety of the yellow milkweed ready next
month that has the ability to survive our winters if mulched. And maybe
some of the purple/blue lantana, but hers is not coming up yet, so she
wasn't sure. I believe I have found a place to buy all my plants now, hers
made the ones I see at wally world and home depot seem puny in comparison
( and she gave my daughter and grandson their own tom thumb tomato plants to
plant, so they will leave mine alone. As I sit here typing this, they are
both gathered around their containers talking to the tomato and marigold
plants they just planted)


Vicky

I had to buy more milkweed plants and found a wonderful nursery
 

In article ,
"arkienurse" wrote:

I counted a total of 12 cats last week, but my grandson( 4) and my daughter
(5) love "wormies" and took care of a few before I was able to convince
them to leave my caterpillars alone! The 6 that are left had decimated the
butterfly weeds by Friday morning, with still a week or so to go before
beginning their transformation. I hit Wal-Mart and Home Depot hoping to
find milkweed plants of some sort. HD had some later in the summer last
year, so I prayed they might. Nope. My husband got the bright idea of
calling one of the local nurseries this morning @ 730. Glory hallelujah,
she said yes I have milkweed and we open at 8. DH was worried that she
would be way more expensive than what we are used to, but I was prepared to
pay even $10 a bush if necessary to keep the cats alive. I was quite
impressed! Tropical milkweed, 2 1/2 feet tall, 2 plants to a pot, for $6. I
bought 5 pots of milkweed, 2 a 6 pack of golden marigolds, one of purple
salvia, and 2 packs of a plant called Gazania. the Gazania are a full sun
plant that closes the blossoms at night, it vaguely reminds me of
sunflowers. And she will have a variety of the yellow milkweed ready next
month that has the ability to survive our winters if mulched. And maybe
some of the purple/blue lantana, but hers is not coming up yet, so she
wasn't sure. I believe I have found a place to buy all my plants now, hers
made the ones I see at wally world and home depot seem puny in comparison
( and she gave my daughter and grandson their own tom thumb tomato plants to
plant, so they will leave mine alone. As I sit here typing this, they are
both gathered around their containers talking to the tomato and marigold
plants they just planted)


Vicky

http://www.milkweedfarm.com/

My wild milkweed is about up 12 inches. Fancy stuff planted two years
ago are hopefully coming.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA