Just finished with the "vegetative manipulation" for the week. GD was it not you that posted a crinum in the ID forum? If so, that is a flower that the hummingbird moth loves. I have also had them feast on the white angels trumpet but not as crazy for the trumpet tree. They are fascinating close up.
KKB That was a great photo. I was hoping to catch a picture here this summer but didn't... Not sure about the bee/wasp/yj you are thinking of as I am not a great bug connoisseur. If I understood correctly on another forum, the hummingbird moth begans life as the hated tomato worm...
Where are all the wasps this year?
Cool deal . . . yeah that was me . . . try'n to figure out what sort of Spider Lily I have. I'll have to watch for those moths next year when mine bloom again. :)
Thanks for the info.
GD, I am guilty of the same thing with my butterfly bushes. I don't know whether I am over or underwatering. They can be so fickle. The purple one is in my big bed and probably stays a little drier than my yellow one. The yellow one is in a hotter spot tho and it's not as protected or shaded at times as the purple, and it has a few yellow and droopy leaves. Maybe we've let them go too long between watering?
Crowellli, those lace bugs are the reason I don't have lantana, in my front bed. They eat up the gold ones. They almost killed a yarrow plant of mine last year too. I have one big Dallas red lantana in my back bed and it doesn't get them. I took a chance and bought a little Confetti colored one recently for the back too. They are on some Goldenrod and some Frostweed this year tho! gggrrr!!!
Yes, hornworms! Spread the word so people won't kill them. This one was out during the day. I see the brown and pink one at night.
cool... I think the only worm/cat I kill is the japanese beetle one. I have seen some bigger around than my finger!
ooo...I love hummingbird moths. I see em' every night on my huge hyssop bush in the front flowerbed while I'm sittin' on my bench enjoying the night. They get real close to me...and I can feel em' stirring the air.
Here lately, since I'm always pokin' around the house at night...I've been spotting some REAL big spiders hanging around the foundation and in my front beds. I've always seen these little guys....but these females that I'm seeing are HUGE. I want to get a photo of them...but they seem to be more nocturnal...and my camera isn't THAT good...lol Its that common brown/tan garden variety, although I don't know the name of them.
lol..I know its a bit blurry....and my honey was holding a flash light from FAR away...she was at least a couple of inches across...and I swear that I saw one even larger last night...
I have those 2- drive me crazy because they move so fast I can't tell if they are hummingbirds or moths! LOL.
lol april, me too....although these moths are only nocturnal...at least they are at my house.... They were swarming all over my night bloomin' cactus that showed off for me a few weeks ago.. :)
I am pretty sure that I see them in the early evening, just when my eyes are having the most trouble anyway! Very cool cactus!
Here is a hummingbird moth I photographed this summer sipping nectar from my verbenas!
I was watering my back flowerbed in the dark tonight....with the back porch light on....and I could see about 4 hummingbird moths fluttering around my yellow Texas Bird of Paradise...So neat! And big!
I'm SOOO excited because we are having a swap in Oct. and I already have a BoP waiting for me!! I was just drooling over this last week so I'm ecstatic!
lol konkrete....I just planted a pride of barbados near my yellow Texas Bird of Paradise...and I think they'll compliment each other quite nicely.. :)
wow . . . . those rascals are pretty big huh? Nice pics ya'll . . . thanks for share'n
I'm not sure what that spider you have there is TxT . . . you're gonna have to get a better light crew over there . . . lol
TxTurqoize, do you have a pic of the Texas Bird of Paradise? I have a Mexican bird of paradise shrub and I thought it was the same as a Pride of Barbados, but I've never heard of a Texas Bird of Paradise and couldn't find it in the plantfiles. I'm assuming they're not the same thing from the way you worded it. Is the Texas one a shrub and what can you tell me about it? Thanks.
Heya Crow . . . I'm with you on that . . . all these different names can get to be corn'fues'n to me at times. Especially when plants that looks similar are concerned and one of them gets called different things by different people in different areas.
When I saw the one that blooms orange/red with a little yellow on the edges growing in front of a nursery, I asked them what they were and where I could find them. I was taken to them by a guy that called them "Mexican Bird of Paradise". I took one home and it did well out here and seemed to take the heat w/o any problems. So I decided to add a few more. . . . went to another nursery and asked for them by the name I knew them as (Mex-BoP) and was directed to the table they were on. They looked just like what I had, but there weren't any blooms open on the young plants for me to see the color. Not even realizing there were different varieties, I purchased a couple. When I got home and planted them, I noticed the little ribbon tag said "Pride of Barbados" and thought . . . ut oh I got the wrong ones.
So . . . I came on here and did a little looking around and found out the Pride of Barbados looked exactly like the first one that I had planted here the year before. And I had even posted photos of my first plant in the PlantFiles section - calling it the Mexican Bird of Paradise.
Well, someone that obviously knows more about these than I did (which wasn't much . . . lol ) was nice enough to put a note on the photo's page correcting my entry's ID. Here's the short thread that has a link to the 3 types of this basic plant. This may help . . . it helped me anyway.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/614681/
Mystic (DG Admin) was kind enough to move my photos and comments to the proper PlantFile page . . . which was nice since I have a dialup connection and it take forever to load large images . . . lol
As far as the bush vs tree shape part . . . I think it's just a matter of trimming and training.
Apparently . . . the Pride of Barbados is called Mexican Bird of Paradise in some areas. (like here and Phoenix) when in fact it's true name is Red Bird of Paradise. And the yellow one TxT has is very similar and called the Texas version.
Thanks GD for clearing that up. I thought I'd missed a plant I might have to add to my "wants list"! I have seen pictures of a pink one on Ebay for seeds to sell. I purchased some and not a one of them germinated. I've got the two color orange/yellow one, but I'd dearly love a pink one. I don't know if the pink is actually Red BoP, or yet another one altogether. Thanks for the help.
Sure thang . . . glad I could help. oh yeah? A pink one huh? I hadn't seen those yet.
Were the seeds you tried kinda plump or really flat? I had some flat ones in the first pod I harvested and evidently they were premature. The next pod I tried had slightly thicker seeds and they did ok. They got even fatter and sprouted roots after soaking in a damp paper towel for a few days.
Txt... can you bring me some of the seeds or plant from your yellow one? I'm getting the orange one from GD and I think they would look cool near each other
Sure...! Its putting blooms out like crazy right now.....and the seeds are not far behind..... I'd love to share with anyone who wants one...and like I said, I'm attempting to get some to germinate...so we'll see what happens... :D
Here's my photo of my "Texas BoP", crowellli.....And you're right...now I'm seeing a "Red BoP" at my favorite nursery...and I have no idea what they look like...
lol TxT . . . the Red ones are the ones I have that I thought were called Mexican BoPs . . . here's the pic.
And here's the full view - this one froze back to the ground last winter and it's already over 5' tall again.
lolol...good grief.....*head spinnin'*.... I knew it...the cold meds ARE doin' a number on my brain.....(and yes...I had to take TODAY off as well, *sigh*) Just gettin' a mini vacation in, I reckon...
Why in the world does Rainbow have a Pride of Barbados, a Texas BoP AND a Red BoP for sale? lolol....I think I'm goin' back to bed :D
Thanks again GD. I now know that my orange and yellow one is called Red. Go figure! Also the seeds I bought on ebay were kinda' flat, so mabe they weren't mature when gathered. If I ever see a pink one for sale though, it's coming home withe me! I love the yellow one. I using Esperanza for most spots I want a yellow shrub, but might have to find a place for one of these too. My husband says if I don't stop soon, we're going to have to move again!
lol crowellli....I know how ya feel......my honey is wondering if it'll ever end....lol
If I see a pink one too....I'm grabbin' it myself...must be gorgeous...!
lol TxT . . . well the Red BoP is also called Pride of Barbados . . . don't ask me why though. I can't figure out why things don't just have one single simple name - oh and one that's easy to say and spell would be nice too :D
lol Crow . . . don't move . . . just do like TxT . . . invade the neighbors and "expand" your garden ;)
lolol.....I'm not invadin' other property.....................yet.... :D
I peeked over the back fence into the crispy cow pasture again....and 2 huge and lovely peppermint verbenas of mine were bloomin' on the other side.... Do cows eat verbena? :D
lol TxT . . . ummmm . . . only the peppermint kind .;)
They eat those after chewing their cuds for several hours....all those nasty food balls belched up later.....need a bit o' peppermint!!!
lol uh huh . . . see there . . . Connie knows - bet she's got a crispy cow pasture near by too ;) :D
Note: If you are interested in seeing a new forum added for Art/Painting, please stop by the thread in Dave's Garden titled "Call for Artists - Caution Wet Paint - Painting Forum?" http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/634868/ - and voice your opinion.
I've got a *painting in progress* thread in the Wildlife section, but it may be better to have an actual "Painting" forum?