This is a "milkweed" I picked up at the UT's spring plant sale. I bought it to attract butterfiles.
Hoya relative
another view......
WOW, that is really pretty!
I have never seen a milkweed with blooms such as that :)
You're going to make some butterflies VERY happy indeed :)
A poster on Garden Web just put up some pictures of milkweed that grow on the prairie in the midwest, where she lives, they are all very beautiful and she says the scent is great.
That's so wild! I pass some every day on my walk to the commuter train-haven't gotten close enough to smell them, but the ones that I see have a light pink flower. Yes, they're very pretty, and there's always butterflies lurking around. I find it funny that you've bought them, Mel, they grow wild up here, everwhere, and I've even had to dig them out of my own garden beds.
Christine
I may be doing the same, Christine! Do they re-seed or just return from the roots? This may well become one of those (What the heck was I thinking when I planted that?) plants!
I'll have to check out the GW.
I have not seen any butterfiles around the plant, but, I can tell you that ants love it!
Mel
Milkweeds have the most amazing scent!!!! I always let a few grow in my garden just for the scent of them. If you pick off the pods before they split you won't have to worry about them reseeding so much. Here, there is no point, there are thousands of them in the fields growing wild.
I thought it was just Monarch Butterflies that went for the Crown Flower... Do you get them there in TN?
Beautiful bloom Meltn. Do they die back in the winter, and come back in the spring?
Patti
Patti I don't know. I just planted it this spring. Our Canadian friends say they grow like weeds. Since I am a few zones warmer than they are, I have a feeling there will be a day when I kick myself for planting them. When I moved in my home, I planted a half dead wisteria root. It now covers the north side of my yard and I spend hours pulling at Wisteria roots....and yet....they keep coming back. On the upside, tugging at those roots is wonderful therapy after a rough day at work.
Carol, we have some amazing butterflies and I make sure and grow lots of parsley in the yard. Yes, we have Monarch Butterflies. I actually planted the Milkweed especially for them! I'll dig through the hard drive and see if I can find some pictures. I have Buddleja planted around the pool and life doesn't get much better than laying on a float with a cold drink and watching the Butterflies! (Especially after a day of pulling Wysteria root )
If anyone would like a start of the Milkweed, either give me a shout in the spring or I could root some cuttings. I am happy to share!