I have a bunch of seeds for this, and last year seeds I planted turned into huge bushes by summer. However, they took over the part of the garden they were in so if I put more in this year I will put them somewhere else in the yard. I was wondering though if these are a host plant for anything? Or food plant?
Kim
I really like that plant, it blooms continuously with little effort. I see it as a nectar plant but haven't seen anything use it as a host.
Holy Cow, they're HUGE! I thought they were little 8" x 8" plants, so I am very happy you posted the picture, even though I have no idea on the answer to your question.
Suzy
Kim - Very pretty! Probably a nectar plant! If you see bees on it, there will probably be butterflies on it too!
I don't recall seeing too much on them this past summer but I could've missed them. I really like how bushy they got but I wish I would've known ahead of time. The just weren't in the right place in the garden and were blocking other plants. I would like to put them somewhere else though, they came out pretty.
:) Kim
What you have there is Purple Gomphrena and it makes a wonderful meal for a family of field mice! I had a couple of really big bushes like yours that I started from 2 little seeds. They were a pale purple, almost pinkish, and the mice would slice the stalks off and leave the flowers. I caught over 20 of them by just putting a little stalk in the live trap. I had seeds all over and not one of them germinated! I guess that's better than the mass growth I was expecting.
Now that you've reminded me, I'm going to dig out some seeds and start some more. Last year I didn't bother with them because I was afraid they were going to attract the mice back.
I sometimes see a little butterfly using the red ones, Strawberry Fields. I love these! They do reseed and I have had several come up but not like I'd like. They get taller than the purple and can be prone to falling over if not mixed in with things.
Wow! Both colors of this plant are gorgeous! Worth having in the garden for sure! Though, I am not too crazy about the thought of mice eating them. LOL!
