I thought your Monarda was blooming already, CatMint.
My Monarda 'Gardenview Scarlet' has been blooming for weeks. I have 2 plants, and the one that gets more sun is bigger and has way more flowers. I tried to collect seeds from them last fall, but couldn't figure out how to do it. I wondered whether it was a sterile cultivar.
Milkweed for Monarchs Plant it and they will come Waystation
Cat--
This is just a guess--but if it is like other flowers that have individual
petals--I would think that the seeds can be found at the dried base of the petal.
Pull it straight out....gently..and see f these is a seed attached to the petal you are pulling out.
Like in Zinnias. The only petals that have viable seeds attached are the bottom
row of petals. None of the higher rows have seeds that can be used...
This is important!
Even then, as I pull out the petals, I give them a gentle squeeze.
If I feel a solid, fullness--that seed is good. if it feels flat--toss it.
As I said--I have never collected seeds from a Monarda--so it is a guess...
You can always Google for this Info.
Gita
Hi, Muddy! No monarda blooms here yet, although my monarda plants are getting taller. I also noticed some immature buds on them at last, so hopefully blooms soon. Can't believe how many of you already have monarda in full bloom! Guess I'm just that little bit further north...
thanks for the tip, Gita--once it blooms I'll check the flower petals! The bottom row--that's the row closest to the center of the bloom?
Cat-- It is the bottom most row of the bloom--the base of the bloom--near the stem.
Are we both saying the same thing??? G.
I think I understand now, Gita--this would be what's usually the biggest, outermost petals, as opposed to the smaller, innermost petals?
Correct~!!
The 6 BST cats here are on their walk-abouts to find a place to pupate and transform. Catmint yours should be on the move very soon.
One of the stands of Milkweed I located this Spring when they were first emerging and easier to spot, has turned out to be a milkweed look alike...Dogbane, a pretty plant with milky sap that branches as it gets taller and blooms white.
here's my cat from this morning, Coleup!
how can you tell when they're ready to find a place to pupate?
They stop eating and start to crawl away from host plant to find a stick or stalk to use. They can cover 10 feet in a minute! Since yours was a day behind the six I have in becoming 5th instars and three of mine have found their place, two are looking and only one enormous one is still eating, yours will be next to roam. Oh, yes, they will also disgorge a lot of intestine stuff in prep. It is green like poop but more liquid. Looks like a caterpillar has melted it's so much.
http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/eastern-black-swallowtail/
maybe it's time for me to put him in a mason jar then with some rue and sticks?
That was a great link Judy, thank you!
Cat, yes please, if you can remember, a few of those seeds would be HUGELY appreciated! =)
sure, Speedie--just remind me when we start putting up haves and wants for the fall swap!
Thank you! I added it to my D-mail reminder about the Salvias. ;) heehee
I also made a note in my plant database so hopefully I'll remember, too!
CatMint & Muddy - Been away from my computer most of the week and am just now seeing the discussion on Monarda fistulosa. Unless CatMint's plant is a newly purchased forced-for-sale plant, it would not be a M. fistulosa, as that species does not bloom locally until late July and August. M. bradburiana looks very similar and mine has just finished blooming. Muddy should not despair because she can't find any blooming - wait 4 to 6 weeks.
thanks, Greenthumb! Glad to know my M fistulosa is on schedule! I got this one at the Loudon wildflower sale--I don't think there was any GH forcing. It's grown huge but no blooms yet.
My Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline' and 'Coral Reef' have buds on them but no blooms yet either although I think they will bloom soon.
Thanks, Greenthumb. Maybe tomorrow I'll put on some Ivy Block and Deep Woods Off and venture into the dense vegetation in the woodland meadow to see what my M. fistulosa plants look like....and also to see if any Milkweed is coming up nearby in a spot where I dropped and lost a pod of seeds in the fall.
Speaking of Monarda bradburiana: I spent part of today transplanting or potting some of the many 2-3" seedlings that grew from seeds I planted in the spring. They look good ! I'm looking forward to the flowers next year.
I actually had no idea there were so many species of monarda. I just figured there were different cultivars in the market. You guys are always educating me! I really like that pink one, too.
Speaking of Monarda, my patch of M. clinopodia (White Bergamot) has become large enough that I need to rein it in. If anyone is interested, I can supply starts at the fall swap.
Sounds wonderful, Greenthumb--I would love some!
My caterpillar feasted on the rue till he was huge. I kept checking on him yesterday while working in the yard, and happened to catch him beginning his trek to find a place to pupate. I scooped him up and put him in a mason jar with some parsley and a stick. He climbed up the stick and past it to the very top of the mason jar where I found him still hanging this morning. Is it possible for him to pupate clinging to the side of the mason jar? Maybe I should replace the parsley with rue, which he is used to...
If the cat is programed to move to a non-food plant to pupate, it may delay pupating until that code is met. Placing rue in the jar may cue it to try move to another location.
Good point, Greenthumb. Well, here he is, just hanging motionless at the top of the jar (I'm using a papertowel held on with rubberband as a lid). He's been like that since last night.
Like butterflies, caterpillars also need to warm up some to become 'active'. I don't think that it can properly attach to glass... It may attach to paper towel at top. It has to hang in a certain way so that when it ecloses its wings have enough room to fully spread out without touching anything as they are very soft for an hour or so until they dry and harden.
All 6 of mine have pupated: three on branched twigs, two on screen covering large terrarium/clear plastic storage bin and one on a rue plant stalk. They definitely have type and size of twig/stalk preferences and will hang out or down from selection for a bit of gravity assist in emergence. Five did extensive walkabouts and the one on the rue stalk just stayed put after eating a bit of rue after being raised on fennel. This was the smallest one.
It is important not to disturb them as they pupate ( a two to three day process til pupae turns from green to dark.
Cat, if yours starts to roam again try to get it to crawl on to another stick and put it in a bigger container (diameter) than the mason jar with some other stick choices and no 'food'. Has yours done the intestine dump yet? Should then be kept outside (no ac!) in a protected spot.
Thanks Coleup! I'll check on him after work today and see what I can do to make him more comfortable.
My BST caterpillar did his 'intestinal dump'. I put some more twigs in the jar and decided to leave him there. He does seem to have a strong desire to cling to the side of the mason jar.
I saw a beautiful, large butterfly in my garden today! He/she hung around for quite a while. I think it is a tiger swallowtail? Anyone know for sure? It had blue at the bottom of its wings (not sure how visible it is in this photo).
My cat seems to have finally settled on a stick and has assumed the 'getting ready to pupate' position. So happy!
The tiger swallowtail is still hanging out in my backyard. So nice to have her stay for a while! Hope she tells all her butterfly buddies to try out the buffet here! :-)
Yes indeed, a Tiger Swallowtail. Got lucky today and shot this Zebra Swallowtail on my Asclepias tuberosum, Butterfly Weed.
Beautiful zebra swallowtail!
I'm hoping my butterfly weed blooms this summer.
Beautiful photo, Greenthumb.
Cat and Coleup, how exciting that you get to watch the caterpillars form their chrysalises!
I have a Butterfly Weed and Monarda 'Gardenview Scarlet' in full bloom in the side yard, but haven't seen any butterflies yet.
I have a number of plants blooming in my backyard, including one of my Swamp Milkweeds, but haven't seen butterflies there either.
I like your butterfly weed, Muddy! I'm beginning to think I'm the only one whose asclepias hasn't bloomed yet--LOL!
CatMint, How established is your Asclepias? While many of my established Asclepias plants are in bloom, young plants of the same species acquired this year are not.
I got them as plugs this year. I wonder if they will bloom at all this year?
Probably not.
I hope they overwinter okay!
Well, a watched caterpillar never pupates--yet here I am watching! LOL
My Asclepias tuberosa and A. incarnata have been in the ground for over a year - in the case of the Butterfly Weed, maybe 10 years. I doubt the A. syriaca I dug up from my neighbors' patch will bloom this year, but at least some leaves will be there if caterpillars want to eat them.
The neighbors invited me to dig up more of the A. syriaca from their yard, and I will.
CatMint, if we can keep it alive this year, it'll bloom next year.
thanks, Muddy and Greenthumb. Fingers crossed for next year!
'Pip' (as my daughter called the BST caterpillar) pupated yesterday while we were at work/camp. Glad he made the transformation successfully, but boooo that we missed it! His chrysalis is a nice green color.
Saw this guy in my back garden this evening--black with white oval spots. Looks so much like a butterfly but as near as I can tell is the Eight-spotted Forester Moth, Alypia octomaculata.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Alypia-octomaculata
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so didn't get a photo. Still cool to see something new!