Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY PICTURES # 109, 1 by vitrsna

vitrsna wrote:
Lep...very nice! What host plant are you using for your Malachites? And are the caterpillars okay to handle or do they sting? I am thinking the Malachite that is visiting the Senecio daily may have been a caterpillar in the Justicia patch of my garden. All kinds of things could go unnoticed there because it has turned into a jungle during the rainy season. I will have to trim it back some and will look for an empty chrysalis when i do.

Mrs. Ed...my Senecio will bloom during any month of the year, but not all year round like the Dalechampia and Justicia (Red Shrimp which i call my hummingbird feeder) do. I had to cut the Senecio back to about a foot above ground when the arch was installed and the vine (huffing and puffing all the way to the top) only squeaked out a couple of tiny blossoms. Then a couple of months later it bloomed and now it is blooming again. I'm not sure what it will do but i think it will blossom 3 or maybe 4 times per year...i am waiting to see. After the first blooming, i trimmed it but did not cut it down so it won't have to climb again and it responded very well to this. Your plant is new, so give it a little time. I think next year you should have a minimum of two blossomings or maybe just one really long blossoming. It will be interesting to see what it does.