ACK! Enabler Alert!! < =D
Not only did I get that driveway-side bed cleaned up, ready for the Asclepias, but I also composted it, and sowed ALL the seeds!! WOOOOHOOOEEEE, I'm so excited!!!!!!!! I tell ya, you guys are angels, there were just SO many seeds to sow, I was in absolute HEAVEN when I was out there earlier! < =D Come on little Flutterbys, I'm ready for ya!! This Fall, I will bring home from work a couple New England Asters to add to the fun. =)
Milkweed for Monarchs Plant it and they will come Waystation
hey, Speedie, I seem to have several extra lupine perennis plugs that I just brought home from the divvy-up! Just sayin... ;-)
Cat---If all of the Lupines are not spoken for--I would like to try a couple.
Never grew them before....Thanks, G.
I have 4 extras, Gita. So if you would like 2 of them, I'll put you down for them! Speedie, do you want 2 also?
Thanks, Cat-----a new experience for me...shade? Right? G.
From MoBot:
"Grow in organically rich, moderately fertile, slightly acidic, evenly moist, well-drained soils in full sun. Best flowering is in full sun, but plants appreciate some light afternoon shade in hot summer areas. Good air circulation helps combat powdery mildew. Plants grow well in the cool summers of the West coast, Pacific Northwest, northern U. S., southern Canada and New England. Plants dislike the heat and humidity in USDA Zones 7-9 in the deep South where they may be best grown as annuals. Apply mulch around plants to help keep root zones cool."
thanks, cat
well.....that does not really describe our weather here---does it?
I think I will try by E. facing bed ( kitchen side bed) ...it will be an experiment...
g.
Hi Gita. They grow well in northern California but I'm looking forward to trying them here. I was also thinking of a bed that gets sunlight earlier in the day and shade later in the afternoon.
I think you're right, CatMint, morning sun would be best for our Lupines. I read that somewhere, but can't remember where. Sandy soil is also recommended. I'm going to try mine in several areas in my backyard...front yard is out because deer like them.
Muddy, I ended up putting them in 2 spots--one in the rosebed that gets morning/early afternoon sun, and then in another bed where they get some afternoon shelter from other plants. Fingers crossed they do okay! I forgot about the sandy soil, but I could always add a little of SSG's special gritty mix!
Coleup: I'm thoroughly confused at this point: Which of the plants that I have ordered are in your side of this group purchase? When will those be available for pickup, and from where? My understanding is that I will pay AspenHill for all my plants, right? Thanks for helping me understand where everything sits.
Not to worry Happy, you have nothing on order here and you have received all of the plants you did request on Wed. So it is all good! HTH
Coleup, are you using all the Asclepias you ordered in the waystation kits you're assembling? If not, please let me know if I can get some A. incarnata (white). I've got an A. syriaca out there (hopefully), and I've got lots of the nectar plants you listed also, so what I really need is more milkweed. I'd take 3 or 6 A. syriaca, too, if you have them to spare... they can go along the recently disturbed back line, where I'm planning to put clumps of Hibiscus syriacus... that seems a fitting spot, yes? LOL
We have enough Milkweed and Primary Nectar plants to fill the requirements for 50 Monarch Waystation certification s!!! And some left over, especially if the flats on back order from North Creek make it into our hands.
I've been telling my newspaper customers that what is needed is a 5' x 5' sunnyish site that they promise not to spray or mow down or where 3 large containers can be thru the Fall migration.
Still in the R&D phase of this.
Others like you and Gita already have gardens full of Butterfly magnets that with the addition of a Milkweed or two would bulk up the host plant needs as well.
I'd like as many of us on MAF to do a kit this yearso we can give each other feedback and support on how well this serves the pollinators and Monarchs, which plants get rave reviews etc what probs encountered, recs for future design, etc. and all learn as we go along.
It is late now and I have paper delivery at 3 am and have only begun to do my sphielI will make note of your request and expectit can be met. Love the Common (syriaca) for that back area. And I can't wait to see the 'Ice Ballet' Swamp Milkweed. In plug size it seems a much deeper green than regular incarnata!
Some one remind me to share what I have recently learned about seeds and their viability in Milkweeds.
Is there any milkweed or other that I can get? I am not sure that I will be able to make the plant swap.: (. Let me know what is going on,I am usually out in my new garden most days.I don't get online until after 5pm.
Catmint, thank you kindly, but I don't think my site would support the Lupines properly (the soil would be too sandy/rocky for them to like, and it gets lots of direct sunlight at the "wrong" time of day). If Gita or someone else would like those last 2, please let them have them? Thank you! =)
Judy, Reminder: What did you learn recently about seeds and their viability in Milkweeds??!?!? < =D
Just reading this morning about the different varieties of Asclepias and I came across a couple really cool websites. (my apologies if either of them have already been shared elsewhere in this thread).
First one: A site to obtain seeds to grow, in support of "The Movement": https://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm (don't let the word "free" fool you; it's actually $1 per pack of 50 seeds... but still very reasonable!!
This one is about being careful about which ones you grow and why; not just any old Asclepias will do in any part of the country/world. http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/can-milkweed-be-bad-for-monarchs/
We got new 4" A. Tuberosa plants in the other day at work; MY, they are pretty!
Thanks for those very helpful links, Speedie, especially the 'bad milkweed' one! Coleup, in light of this article, does it make sense for us to continue with the tropical milkweed flat??
Briefly, as I am off shortly to the Bowie Crofton Plant Sale to check out their Monarch Waystation kits! Anyone planning to meet Catmint and I there? If either of us still has energy we'll probably head to the FONA Plant sale at the National Arboretum and say 'hi' to Paul and anyone else we see!
Common Milkweed spreads mainly by forming colonies from rhizomes from the mother plant (like bannanas) so most plants in a colony are 'clones' and genetically the same. For any of the seeds in those big pods to be fertile, they have to be pollinated with a pollen packet from a non clone relative, and then only about 20% will actually germinate. So, if we scatter or start collected or purchased seed or plant plants, two slightly different genetic kinds are a good thing.
Spedie, can you share the source of the tuberosas you got in? If you pinch them back they will get bushier and you can stick the cuttings for more plants. (Soak cuttings in warm water overnight to encourage root growth)
Have a fine day everyone!
Judy, the Tuberosas came from one of our local growers at his plant farm about which you can read here: http://heavensgardenllc.com/ That link is for the "Nursery" where regular customers go... if you click "About Us", it tells about their Plant Farm "Shelby's Wholesale Plants"-- that's where I (the retailer) get our plants. I did read about pinching them back when they are just barely past seedling stage, so that is what I plan to do when they grow up a bit. I CAN'T WAIT!! =) If I get to that stage soon enough before the plant swap, I'll have babies to share!! ... provided I get approved for that day off. < =/
Fingers crossed for that day off Speedie! :-)
Here is a followup article on the Bowie Crofton Garden Club sale I attended on Sat. Had great conversations with Elmer Dengler and lots of people were interested in Waystation Kits and becoming certified through Monarch Watch. This Sat they will install a Monarch Butterfly Way Station Rain Garden at Bowie City Hall!
"
Butterflies get a boost from Bowie-Crofton Garden Club
Group sells plant kit, educates gardeners to increase monarch numbers
by Chase Cook Staff writer
The Bowie-Crofton Garden Club is on a mission to restore a monarchy — or more specifically, the monarch butterfly population, which has declined in the past decade.
The club held its annual spring garden sale Saturday, and for the first time they sold butterfly “waystations,” a small group of plants that will grow into food and mating grounds for the migratory monarch butterfly, said Elmer Dengler, Bowie-Crofton Garden Club’s vice president of programs.
Each set of plants will produce milkweed, which is the only food source for the Monarch butterfly caterpillar, so it will attract the butterflies to lay their eggs for next year’s migration, Dengler said.
“What we have done is created Monarch butterfly kits, and the kit entails several plants that are food sources for the caterpillar,” Dengler said. “The critical thing is this year we are at the very bottom of what we want to see in population numbers. We could very well lose the migratory population.”
The population has dropped to five percent of its long-term average population, Dengler said.
The small plants were a popular product, with the 50 kits selling out in about 30 minutes during the four-hour sale Saturday.
Dengler said he and the club decided to sell the plants because the monarch butterfly population has fallen so much in the last decade in part due to dwindling milkweed sources because of herbicides that destroy the plant, Dengler said.
“We are one major calamity away, like a hurricane, that could drop the migratory monarch butterfly population so low that it can’t recover,” Dengler said.
Betty Taylor of Bowie said she bought a waystation because she wanted to help the butterflies reinvigorate their population. She said she appreciated that the club was getting other gardeners involved.
“We are just hoping to keep our butterfly garden going,” Taylor said. “We just like nature. We have lots of little critters that come into our garden.”
Robin Jordan of Bowie said she was visiting the garden club’s sale for the first time and lamented that the kits sold out so quickly. She said she hoped the garden club would offer the butterfly-focused plants again in the future.
“I wish I could have gotten here earlier,” Jordan said. “I’m looking for flowers to plant around my trees. I like to support community activities.”
Dengler said he hopes to bring back the plant kits next year, but if Bowie residents want to plant their butterfly habitats now, which would grow in time for the Monarch butterfly population return in July, they can visit local nurseries that sell butterfly-focused flowers and plants, Dengler said.
Planting the kit can be a family affair, Dengler said.
“It is a wonderfully educational opportunity for kids,” Dengler said. “What easier way to get them introduced to nature than to have in your front or back yard an entire butterfly habitat?”
Excellent Judy, thank you for sharing that with us! "Monarchy", love it!! < =D
I need to dig out the paperwork I got re: becoming a certified monarch waystation.
Catmint, are you certifiable? ;) heeheeheee
To become certified just go online with Monarch Watch . org and fill out their forms, meet the requirements and send $16 (can all be done online) and you will receive your unique registration ID and join almost 8,000 other official registered Way Stations!
http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/index.html
PS Speedie isn't that one of the requirements for MAF participation?? (Oh yeah and an interest in plants1) Teehee.
LOL you two! Yes, I think some would say 'certifiable'... ;-)
thanks, Coleup--that definitely makes it easy! I'll try to do that this weekend.
Heeheeheeee, well, I guess we three fit in perfectly here, huh? =) ♥
Happy Mother's Day ,everyone!
I've been noticing very few pollinators in my garden this year compared to last year. Even the bees I was getting a week or two ago seem to have disappeared. I'm worried that a couple of my neighbors have been spraying. Alternatively, they lost native habitat when the two large trees came down, and maybe also when I mulched everywhere. :-(
E.g., a few days ago I noticed 2-3 bees in the garden, all enjoying the salvia--a very tiny number compared to last year. However, for the past 2 days even the salvia has been empty--the garden has seemed quite dead.
Last year when my holly tree bloomed it was buzzing with pollinators of various kinds. This year, there were one or two bees flying around and that was it. Now nothing.
I haven't seen any skippers so far this year. Last year at this time I remember they were hopping and skipping everywhere. Maybe they are just late emerging this year? I have several plants which are hosts to them. Mostly I've seen cabbage white butterflies, just one or two others, and not many of any of them.
What are other people noticing this year for pollinators? Does it seem quieter this year than last, or this just my yard? :-(
Flowers are a-buzz in our yards, but I'm not sure if we're seeing quite the numbers as in the past... hard to judge qualitatively.
Summer is when I see lots of bees and butterflies, especially on the coneflowers, beebalm, and butterfly bush. I feel like there should be lots more bees on the salvias, but I haven't seen any. But it may be because I'm not outside when they're most active.
I haven't seen many bees yet either, but then again, I don't have that many things in bloom right now (next year will be different!). The bumblebees adore my Salvia Black and Blue, but it's still just coming up.
I forgot about another Salvia I have: Salvia lyrata, Lyre-Leaf Sage. I think it's close to blooming, but I only have one so I don't know if the bees will find it.
thanks! It's possible that I'm misremembering, since a year ago I was only just starting in the garden... By summer it was definitely abuzz!! Fingers still crossed.
With the daffs winding down, a neighbor kid said to me last week, "Miss Jill, there's hardly anything blooming in your garden!" Well, there are a few things, but certainly the garden isn't blanketed in blooms like when the daffs are in their glory. Then again, I rarely see anybody sipping nectar from daffodils... crocus, tulips, hyacinths, yes, but not daffs. ? Guess they're not closely related enough to any natives?
Saw a skipper this morning and one bee.
Okay, I guess lamenting about the lack of pollinators must be the charm for getting them to appear! :-)
Here are 2 skippers sunning on my tulip foliage. I also noticed several bees and other flying insects this afternoon! Maybe they are beginning to awaken. Just hope the neighbors don't spray them...
I was wondering what a skipper was....
Me too, Muddy. :) Thank you for the pic Catmint. =)
OODLE-TONS of bees around everything at work for the past few weeks, and I'm LOVING it! Only a handful of brave butterflies so far, but I expect many more. Not sure what they'll be swarming before too long though, so many of the attractants (eg: Asclepias, Agastaches) sell long before they're in bloom! =)
oh, sorry--as far as I understand it, skippers are a type of butterfly. They move in a fast, erratic skipping, darting way which gives them their name. They're quite beneficial in the garden. A butterfly person who had worked at one of the major butterfly exhibits in the area told me last year that if you go behind the scenes at butterfly exhibits, they have a lot of skippers in back rooms to help with early stages of pollinating the butterfly plants, and they are very beneficial in the garden. However, I can't find anything about that online, so it is just what I was told. :-)
A lot of skippers use different types of grasses and sedges as a host plant, but some use trees and shrubs as well. Some common plants that different skippers use as larval hosts are: hibiscus, hollyhock, Baptisia australis, Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem grass), Lupine perennis, Switch grass, native wisteria, and alfalfa.
Really cool info Cat, thank you! =)