Wow, that's great that you were able to see a GST already! I hope I get to see one of them here one day. I think I'll plant some rue. Do you have some of that? I read that it has a really noxious odor so don't know if I want to put it too close to our house.

I don't know what's up with the butterflies that they can't wait to be flying around. I had a friend just tell me today that he saw a butterfly today outside! I live in PA and we still have a little snow on the ground, although a lot of it did melt because it got up to about 60 here. It's supposed to get colder, so I hope that any butterflies that might have hatched out today will be okay. I don't know...there just isn't anything blooming right now beside crocuses, that I know of. I just hope that it and others that hatched will live. Right now it's 50° here and is supposed to get down to the low 40's tonight and mid 30's for a few nights after that. Is it possible for butterflies to live in temps like that? During the day it will be in the 50's.

Sorry to hear about the Rue plants dying out. I guess I always thought the everything lived in the south. I can see why they'd die up here in the cold temps that we get, but surely it doesn't get real cold down there, right? Darn, and I was going to plant some seeds next month. If they died at your place, I'm having my doubts about them making over the winter up here.
Cathy

It's not necessarily the cold that kills rue, Cathy, I've had rue die during the summer. It's a short lived perennial, no matter the temperature, at least that's what I've heard, and that sure appears to be true. I just wish I had saved some seeds from last year's plants - now I'll have to order more, since I can never find it for sale locally.
It got up to about 80 degrees here, and the low temps are in the 60's - pretty warm already!
MissSherry

Oh man, Misssherry, you got an extra room at your house?
80 degree temps and GST? Sounds good to me!

Cathy, my Rue is still green, even here in CT. Last year was the first year that I grew it so I don't know what to expect.

I've heard that the BST like it, a friend here in CT told me the BST in his yard use it...But mine seemed to prefer the bronze fennel early on, then the carrot tops later.

I can only dream of a GST up here, but I have rue just in case. And a grapefruit my father started from a seed that has overwintered in the garage for several years.

Cathy, some butterflies can tolerate really cold weather like Mourning Cloaks, Commas, Cabbage Whites...They have a way of hiding on cold days and only coming out when it's warm.

My Rue died back too and I had hoped to see some new green growth on it but no luck. I did save what I thought were seeds from last fall but haven't tried planting them yet. I think I got mine from a vendor at the USF plant sale. Maybe I can find another when that comes up in a few weeks. I never have seen the seeds with the other herbs.

MissSherry,
You should've said something earlier! I have some seeds...and could've included it in the package I sent!

My Rue looks good and green.

MissSherry, Oh, I thought that you meant that the cold had killed it. lol Sorry about that. I don't know much about Rue and I don't think I ever even heard of it before about a year ago if that. I didn't realize that it's a short-lived perennial. So then I guess you never know if you might have it from one year to the next. In that case if I do plant it, I'll have to remember to save the seeds since it might not come back the next year. Well, I guess it probably wouldn't die out after just the first year hopefully. Wow, it is warm at your place! I was happy with 60 deg. today.

MaryAnn, Gosh, it must be pretty hardy then over the winter if it's still green up there. Do you think mine might bloom the whole winter? ;-) I hope it does well for you, and who knows, some GST might find their way to you. I'm even wondering if I'll get them or not. I'll keep my fingers crossed for both of us.

I bought some seeds on ebay for the Baltimore Checkerspots and hopefully it will be the right habitat in the field where I want to plant them. I don't expect to see anything yet this year on them though because I won't be able to plant the plants until probably June. That field stays wet a long time in the spring.

I hope I'll be able to get some BST this year, as I'm planting enough plants for them...parsley, fennel, dill, rue, cow parsnips, Golden Alexander, and um I forget what else. lol If they don't show up here, then they've got a problem because I doubt if anyone else in the entire state has as much planted for them as I will! You're so lucky that you get them at your place!

Butterflies that I would like to get either this year or next year are the Baltimores, BST, Buckeye, Checkered Skipper, Falcate Orangetip, GST, Painted Lady, and PVST. There are others that I also want to get, but considering I'm just starting the tree seeds or saplings this year, I doubt if I'll see species that eat those host plants for several years.

I'm so relieved to read what you said about the butterflies being able to tolerate the cold weather. I didn't know what kind of butterfly it was since I didn't see it and the person who saw it can't identify butterflies. I have no idea when my first butterfly showed up here last year, but you can bet that I'll make a note of when I see any here for the first time this spring! I know the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails nectar on our lilacs in May, but I don't know when they first got here.

Cathy, Rue doesn't really have an odor to me at all. However, handling the foliage can cause some people to develop skin rashes. It's never bothered me, but I'm not very sensitive to most things either.

MissSherry, there's no garden centers or nurseries around that have herb sections? That's where I find mine - in the herb section, since it is commonly call the "herb of grace". Don't anyone try to eat it now y'all! It was used medicinally for something, but I don't recall what.

Rue is a short-lived perennial. The longest I have had any in my yard is 6 years. They get very woody, thick stems, and eventually stop putting out new growth. If you can find some at an herb store, they are usually just a couple of dollars to purchase a plant, and you should be able to get a lot of growth out of new plants during this season.

Prickly Ash is also something I've heard of people using up north in your neck of the woods, Cathy (Zanthoxylum americanum) as well, also called the Toothache Tree. Not a true ash. Also gas plant, dictamnus albus, can be used in northern areas as well, but it really dislikes transplanting, so you might be better off trying this one from seed.

Susan

Miss Sherry I am so anxious to see my frist swallowtail. Yesterday I worked outside and kept looking for one. Last night in my dreams my whole backyard was full of butterflies.

Hehehe, Dianne! You used to dream about getting hummers and now you've got plenty of them, so I'm sure you'll soon have jillions of butterflies, too!
Susan, there are garden centers at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart, plus a few privately owned nurseries in Hattiesburg and Gulfport. The only place I've ever seen rue for sale was at the HD in Gulfport, so I checked out HD in Hattiesburg yesterday, and they didn't have any. They all carry other herbs, just not rue.
I wish I had known you had some rue seeds, Sherry, or I would have begged for some of those, too.
By the way, yesterday I ordered an a. curassavica plant plus three different types of MW seeds. I can't find any a. curassavica seeds at any of the garden centers - last year they had them. I didn't want a monarch to visit and me not have any MW!
MissSherry

Those places don't generally carry Rue. You would have to find an independent nursery that carries herbs, and most of them have herb sections in their nurseries. That's what I do. We have TLC, Pre-cure, Horns, Satterlee's, just a ton of small family run nurseries and some big family-owned nurseries here. I always check their herb sections and most of them carry Rue. I've never found any at HD, Lowe's or Walmart.

I have one little tiny Rue plant that survived our horrid summer last year. It's about 4" tall and has tiny green leaves all over now. Such a precious, cute little thing. Hard to imagine it will one day host those big, beautiful BSTs and GSTs! I have other larger plants, but none of the Rue I grew from seed made it last year, except for that one very tiny one.

There is another hardy lemon called Ichang Lemon that I am trying this year. Supposed to be hardy to zone 7. Will let you know how it progresses. Do lemon trees grow very slowly? I think I recall they do.

Susan

Susan, I don't remember where I saw that mentioned about the awful odor of rue, according to the person, but if you say it doesn't have an odor, then I believe you. That's good to hear. I did also hear about the possibility of a person getting a skin rash from it. I guess I'll just have to try it and hope I'm not one of those people, but even if I am, it's not like I'll be taking a bath in it. lol Just the fact that it is a host plant of both black swallowtails and giant swallowtails makes it attractive to me.

I agree with you about places not having rue. I looked around this area last year and couldn't find any. I think Lowe's had about every herb plant but that one. They had parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. :) They also had chives, dill, and a few others I can't recall offhand. I ordered rue seeds from ebay so I'll have it here this year, but I don't know how fast it grows. Maybe it won't be able to host cats until next year. I mainly want it for the giant swallowtails cats since I already have plenty of other things for the black swallowtails, thanks to you. :) Also, so far the rue is the only thing that I have here for the giant swallowtails. I'm planting way more plants here than I did last year and I really have my hopes up because I've learned so much over the past year and have come to know a lot about which butterflies like which plants. Like I said before, some plants are coming out and getting replaced by others this year. Some were just downright duds, but I didnt know that much about what plants to get before. It's warming up here and I'll start moving some of my plants outside during the day to get them acclimated to the outside. None of my winter sown plants have come up yet, but it's still early.

That's what it was that I was going to try for the Giant Swallowtails, Gas Plant! I forgot about that one. Hrmphh! Oh well, that's okay. I'll probably be planting in June yet anyway. Ha. I also don't have Prickly Ash. Does it get very big? I told my husband that I hope I live long enough to see all these trees get big enough to host cats! :)

Hey, do you happen to know if Scarlet Runner Bean hosts anything? I have here in my notes that Silver-spotted Skippers eat plants in the bean family; I'm just not sure what kinds of beans they like. I had those skippers here last year and they just loved my purple butterfly bush. I think that's the only place I ever saw them. I don't know where the cats ate though. I remember there used to be a tree here about 30 years or so again that had things that looked like beans hanging from it, but it's been long gone.

I've seen a couple Giant swallowtails here already nectaring on the duranta and about the orange trees. I don't think I've ever heard of them laying on anything besides citrus down here in south Florida. We've got lots of monarchs and gulfs, white peacocks, several smaller butterflies, but I haven't noticed any other kinds of swallowtails yet. Sadly, this part of Florida seems devoid of most usual swallowtail species, especially the tiger and spicebush. Used to see them by the hundreds from early spring until frost when I lived in farm country in South Carolina. One of the things I miss about that place is seeing huge swarms of mixed swallowtails puddling on dirt roads or trails after a rain.
Dave

I can imagine that you would miss those mixed swallowtails, Dave - I get all those out in the country here. My GSTs use a variety of host plants, but when they lay eggs on my orange tree, it's usually just on the new growth. I've got plenty of new orange leaves coming on! I planted my little lemon late yesterday. My citrus trees have always grown fast - I work chicken manure into the planting mix! :)
MissSherry

I too, have a giant swallowtail necturing on my blooming orange tree. He/she stayed for hours yesterday necturing and flying around my yard. Hope I get eggs. There are thousands of blooms and lots of new growth. It's going to be a good year for my orange after last year's slim pickings.

YEAH!!! The butterflies are back.

Leubafr (Mary)

Scarlet Runner bean is in the phaseolus genus, so it would probably host a skipper or two, Cathy. Prickly Ash is a large shrub I believe, and the name speaks for itself, I'm told. I don't have it, but it is a stickery plant. It should grow wild up in PA. I had some PA friends on another forum last year who used it for the GSTs, so apparently it is a plant that will work in your area.

Yes, Lowe's, HD, and Walmart mostly carry culinary herbs, and not unusual, medicinal (unless by accident) herbs. When I say "by accident" I mean they do have a lot of medicinal plants, they just don't know it. Like echinacea or coneflower, for instance. I always have to go to the smaller, privately owned nurseries to get my Rue.

Susan

There is another nursery in Hattiesburg that carries lots of herbs, so I'll go there pretty soon. I tried to call them, but kept getting this weird noise in the phone like I had called their fax number.
My orange tree is leafing out nicely - it's 81 degrees, so that should help!
MissSherry

Susan, Ooh, that would be great if the Scarlet Runner bean would host some skippers! I had 3 different kinds of skippers here last summer: Silver-spotted, Pecks, and one that I never got a definite ID on. I sure will be watching the plants to see if any of them eat it and will report back here. I also want to try to attract the Common Checkered Skipper, so maybe they will also eat the bean plants. Maybe I should have bought another pack! Lol Theyre kind of pricey at Kmart, being that a pack is $2.46 for 8 beans. The flowers really look pretty in the picture on the pack; I know that they only bloom a few weeks, but thats okay. As its a pretty red color, I bet the hummingbirds will be attracted to it. The description on the pack says:
When first introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century, scarlet runner beans were grown not for their tender, green pods, but as ornamental garden additions. They have a graceful vine with a twining stem that climbs, and the scarlet flowers are the showiest of all podded vegetables.

So I guess Prickly Ash isnt called that for nothing, huh? I think as long as I have two other plants for the GST, Ill be happy with that. I would like to try to get at least two plants for every butterfly that Im trying to attract here. I know it wont all happen this year, but Im working on it. Some butterflies, like this one, seem to like plants that might not agree with my skin. I dont think Ill be getting Prickly Ash, and maybe Ill get a rash from the Rue; I guess Ill have to wait and see. I suppose I could wear gloves if Ive going to be touching some of these plants that might not be real people-friendly. I know Rue is one Ill be watching what reaction my skin has to it, or maybe I should just wear gloves from the start? I think I remember that some people have reactions to Gas Plants, but I think I might try that one too. Even though it would be nice to get some Milberts Tortoiseshells here, someone told me that Stinging Nettle is the only plant that they will eat. In that case, I think Ill pass on that one because it sounds nasty, if you ask me. I really dont want a rash that feels like poison ivy that might last for a few days. I really like butterflies, but I have my limits. :-) Maybe the Prickly Ash could live in our area, but I have my doubts about any being around since I didnt have any GSTs here flying around last year. Of course, there might be some of those plants in the county but I just dont think in my immediate area.

Ha, I agree that if Lowes, HD, or Walmart sell unusual, medicinal herbs, its purely an accident. Its probably just lucky for them (or for people looking for those particular plants) that their supplier grows that kind. I doubt if the stores ask the supplier to get certain herbs in because of their medicinal value. Im glad that the stores are at least selling more of plants lately that would be found in a butterfly garden. I dont recall seeing plants in the past like Echinacea purpurea, Rudbeckia fulgida, and other plants that I had seen last year that would be good for a butterfly garden, but then again, I wasn't looking real closely before last year. I think, though, that it used to just be your ordinary old marigolds, petunias, pansies, impatiens, etc...I mean, Im sure they sell a lot of those to the normal customer but probably not to us here because we arent so normal. :-D I believe you about having to go to the privately owned nurseries for plants like Rue and a lot of others. Im not sure if the nursery I go to had Rue or not last year, but they do carry of plants for us unusual people. Ha. I dont like paying the pricey prices (I think anyway), but I did that for some plants just so I could get a butterfly garden started, which it had its start in late summer of 2005. Some of the plants I bought were Coreopsis verticillata (Moonbeam Coreopsis), Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower), Eupatorium purpureum (Joe Pyeweed), and Buddleia davidii (Butterfly bush). I honestly dont know if our local Walmart or Lowes sold them that year or not since I started looking late; they might have had them and were sold out of them by the time I was thinking about starting a butterfly garden. I did notice some of those last year at those stores, especially Lowes, and they also had a lot of other plants that would go nicely in a butterfly garden. I think that even the places that carry plants for butterfly gardens mostly sell nectar plants and not many host plants. One thing I wish that the nursery would do is put up information about butterflies. Don't you think that it might help them to sell more plants? I believe that maybe there are people who are out there who would want to start butterfly gardens but dont know the first thing about it. I had to do a LOT of reading just to get to where Im at right now. I really dont know if many people would take the initiative or even have the time to research all of these things. I dont know of anyone, though, who doesnt like butterflies!
Cathy

MissSherry, Specialty Perennials, as I mentioned on another thread is a good source for milkweed seeds, too. They have a nice variety of species and curassavica cultivars.

Cathy, other host plants for the Checkered Skipper in Pennsylvania are those in the mallow family (Malvaceae) including globemallows (Sphaeralcea), mallow (Malva), hollyhock (Althaea), alkali mallows (Sida), velvet-leaf (Abutilon), and poppy mallow (Callirhoe).

You lucky girl, it looks like you also get long-tailed skippers up there, and your scarlet runner bean will be perfect for them! Oh, I wish we got them here. Their hosts are Vine legumes including various beans (Phaseolus), hog peanuts (Amphicarpa bracteata), beggar's ticks (Desmodium), blue peas (Clitoria), and wisteria (Wisteria). Quite a good diet! Look for the rolled up leaves on the plant, and the skipper larvae will be inside them. Usually feed at night from what I understand. Ooh, you lucky, lucky girl!

Your Rudbeckia may host some silvery checkerspots, too! Watch out for them.

OMG - if you can grow some nettles (false nettle isn't stinging) of any kind, you will attract the Milbert's Tortoiseshell - gorgeous, gorgeous. These would also feed your Question Marks and Eastern Commas.

Didn't you say you have a serviceberry or hawthorn shrub? This, for the Red Spotted Purples, as well as the Wild Cherry.

I want to see a report from you on a long-tailed skipper this summer! Hee Hee!

Susan

That's a good on-line seed nursery Susan - they have a big selection of MW seeds!
MissSherry

Susan, I bet Ill have Painted Ladies and Checkered Skippers here fighting over the hollyhocks! Lol I was surprised that they got so tall and flower last year already and I have just planting them in the spring. They werent supposed to bloom until the year, according to the packet they came in. Ill also have Malva sylvestris growing here as soon as I get the seeds and get them started, so if Checkered Skippers eat that, then I guess theyll also be fighting with them over those. Maybe they can reach some agreement the one will eat the Hollyhocks and the other will eat the Mallow. Ha. I also have in my notes that Painted Ladies also like Cosmos, but I dont have information saying that the Checkered Skippers eat those, so Im not sure if they do or not. Thank you very much for listing all those plants that the Checkered Skipper eats; I hardly had any of them listed in my file.
What what what??? I get Long-tailed Skippers up here??!! Youve gotta be kidding! I have to go look in the butterfliesandmoths website. Hold on. Hey, youre right! I just looked and the website indicates that there are areas in PA that get that one, and guess who lives in one of those areas! Oh my, and I even said to a friend of mine who lives in Florida that I was so envious that LTS are in Florida and they could very well show up in her garden, and I said that my butterfly book doesnt show them being in our state. Once again, theres a discrepancy between the Butterflies through Binoculars book and the butterfliesandmoths website. Well now, it looks like I just might have hit the jackpot here when I bought these magic beans. I really am wondering now if 8 seeds is enough! Im not even sure yet where Im going to put them. The fact is, I dont know right now where Im going to plant most of the plants that Ill have coming up within the next month or two. Ill figure it out somehow. I had 3 different kinds of skippers here last year, but I didnt have those two that were talking about. Wouldnt that be something if Id get five different kinds of skippers on the bean plants!
Im adding all of those plants that you mentioned to my file on here so I wont have to keep going here and there to look things up. I appreciate your telling me about the habits of the Long-tailed Skippers too; I didnt really know anything about them other than when I saw their picture in my book, I thought that they were very beautiful. My good camera needs fixed and hard telling if/when thats going to happen, but if I do get Long-tailed Skippers here, Ill take a picture with our webcam; it just wont be nearly as good.
I dont know how I managed to miss the Silvery Checkerspot when I was making up my list of PA butterflies. The book also says that we get those, and it looks like they arent scarce, so Id think that I have a pretty good chance of getting those here. Do you think it matters what type of Rudbeckia? Im not familiar with every type thats out there, but I do know R. hirta and R. fulgida. I had the hirta in my garden last year but it fell all over the place, which I didnt like, and I also didnt think the flower was nearly as pretty as the other kind.
I emailed a gal who has a butterfly farm in PA (nowhere near here though) and she said that when she had Milberts Tortoiseshells, they would only eat the Stinging Nettle. I would be much more willing to buy false nettle than the stinging kind. I also think that Milberts Tortoiseshell is gorgeous. If I would ever get that plant, it would be something that I would put across the road in our weed patch. I just have to figure out a way to get rid of the weeds that are already over there. One thing though, Im not sure if the weeds Id be getting rid of would be good ones or bad ones. I suppose there are actually some weeds that butterflies dont eat. With my luck I probably have all of those and none of the others. Ha. On the other hand, maybe thats good if I decide to wipe out the whole weed patch and start from scratch.
I know Questions Marks and Eastern Commas should be pretty common here, but I didnt see any last year. I know that they dont nectar on flowers. I had a dish of "slop" out for the non-nectaring butterflies but I dont think anyone even ate itif they did, they did it on the sly.
I said that I had heard of serviceberry and hawthorn, but no, I dont have any. Are you saying that they are host plants of the Red Spotted Purples? Actually, arent those also bushes that get berries on that birds like?
Oh, thanks for that link too! I didnt get a chance to look at it yet but will check it out.
Cathy

Hawthorn is a host plant for the RSPs and I think the site said also serviceberry. I bought a Hawthorn (crataegis) specifically for RSPs. It's already in the ground. I'm trying, slowly but surely to plant my new things.

Yesterday, I got the spade out and starting digging in the front yard. Digging about 8" deep (the length of the spade). I will separate the dirt (good dirt BTW) from the weeds growing on it, mix with some chicken manure and compost, and put it back in the hole, lay down some landscape fabric and plant (by cutting X's in the fabric). I hope this helps kill the bermuda seed over time.

Anyway, my point is that I only dug about a 2'x 2' area - man, that is hard work, and I haven't really dug that many beds for a couple years due to my back surgery. But, I am going to just do small patches as I go. Just a few years ago, I was digging big beds in a day, but can't do that anymore.

Cathy, I would love for you to get lots of these different species of butterflies this summer, so you can take pics and share them with us!

One more thing in regard to purchasing milkweed seeds. Has anyone else noticed that milkweed seeds have gone up in price? I mean, price is still the same, but fewer seeds are offered in a packet. Are we butterfliers affecting supply and demand? Hee Hee!

Susan

About the meyer lemon. I have had my myer lemon for 10 years. the first year it froze to the ground and sprouted from the root stock in the spring.i read somewhere that the improved variety is grafted to a wild root stock.It could be that my lemon is that root stock. it has never frozen to the ground again. we had 25 degree weather 3 times this winter and I did not protect it.( long story) every year I have had giant swallowtails literally constantly laying eggs on every single leaf, sometimes 2 and 3 to a leaf.well into december. the plant has never been able to bloom. i have many eggs at the moment. a female found it Saturday and has been back everyday since. she did not lay eggs on saturday but "tasted" every part. Sunday I saw the first egg. don't know how many there are now did not count past 10 before the rain. they take 3 days to hatch. happy to send them anywhere. would that work? J

Congrats on all the GST eggs, Butterflyalley! Where are you located?
It's good to hear that report about your Meyer lemon - my Louisiana Sweet orange has proven to be hardy, too.
I keep seeing the GST, but I don't get any eggs - maybe it's a male.
MissSherry

I am in a corridor between 2 habitats in the southeastern edge of East baton rouge parish. and livingston less than a mile from the Amite on two sides. ( it looks like an elbow.)nestled in between natural and man made lakes, Jones Creek, rural houses with acreage and stately homes with deep manicured lots. most of the hard wood trees are white oaks, sweetgum and elm. there are many wild magnolias and fields are purple with violets as the trees are yellow with carolina jessamine. all the water ways are lined with willow. a true butterfly smorgasbord. If we did not have mosquito spraying every week( equine encephalitis is prevalent here)I would likely see more butterflies. there are still quite a few undeveloped places because the Amite keeps them soggy. Had the first tiger ever in my yard nectaring on azaleas two weeks ago. as well as a smattering of questionmarks and sulphurs. then the mosquito truck hung out at the pond in the middle of our subdivision. and no butterflies until this past weekend. the only butterflies that don't seem affected are the giants. there were two females today when the sun came out briefly around 4 p.m. they almost land on us as they are so determined to find somewhere for their eggs. it is as if they realize there are too many on the citrus already but can't find anything else so they go back and lay more. I watched for about 20 minutes. there has to be another 10 eggs at least. then it rained again. saw my first spicebush, azaleas again. it looks like it had seen better days, it took me a long time to see the top of its wings and the pale blue/green chevrons that help so much with those black butterfly identifications especially when the swallowtail is broken off. do your palamedes only eat the red bay? I've seen them around town very rarely. have you ever had anything eat sweet bay ( aka bay tree, laurel) in case I have it wrong, it is the one they sell as an herb for bay leaves. Thanks. J. butterfly alley

Susan, I'll have to add those to my things to get some year. I wasn't aware that those were host plants for RSPs. That would be nice to have trees and bushes that both the butterflies and birds like since I'm into both. You're ahead of me with your planting. It's recommended to wait until after April 15 to plant things up here; that's about when the last frost date is. Sometimes if the full moon is still to come that month, I'll wait even longer than the 15th to be on the safe side. I see that it's on April 2 though, so I think I'll be safe to plant things out on the 15th, and believe me, I won't be done on the 15th. I probably won't be done until June 15. I just really went nuts buying seeds. Just today I bought a pack of Hyacinth Bean vine seeds. You got me excited now about the skippers feeding on bean plants, and I got to wondering if just that one pack of Scarlet runner beans would be enough. As you can see, it got the best of me and I caved in and bought yet more beans. If I bought enough landscape fabric to plant all of these plants I have, I wouldn't have the money. Also, with landscape fabric I'd have to buy mulch. My garden might be the only one in the neighborhood having newspapers to keep down the weeds. Ha.

It sounds like you're giving your plants some nice ground to grow in. I bet they'll grow like the beanstalk that Jack climbed. ;-) I probably won't get any more dug at a time than you did. I also can't do things like I used to be able to. I noticed a big difference in the last few years. Some days I feel like I'm falling apart.

I also wish that I could get lots of the different types of butterflies this year. I can take pictures, but they won't be real good because all I have that works now is our webcam, which doesn't zoom. I hate it that my camera doesn't work.

Yes, I picked up a pack of A. tuberosa and thought how stingy they are with the seeds. You can't tell me that they aren't making money hand over fist selling a pack of probably 15 seeds for almost $2. I think prices are ridiculous. Yes, maybe we are affecting supply and demands. Ha. Do you think that the stores are catering more now to people who are planting butterfly gardens? I don't remember seeing a lot of plants before that they have in the stores now. I think that's great!
Cathy

Butterflyalley - welcome to the forums! I see you are new here, and we hope to hear more from another butterfly nut like us!

Too bad they are spraying so much for the mosquitoes. There has been a lot of talk about that on the forums and how detrimental it is to the butterfly population. Do you know what kind of chemical they use?

I think that Palamedes, as well as the Red Bay, will utilize Swamp Bay, Persea palustris, as well as Sasafrass and possibly Sweetbay, Magnolia virginiana.

I've never witnessed a butterfly nectaring on my azaleas, but I'm sure they are some cultivar, which may not produce as much nectar as some of the species azaleas like you mention in your post.

It sounds like you have a haven of host plants around you. Lucky girl! With that much moisture from the river or swamp (not sure what the Amite is), you may find a lot of butterflies puddling. We've had some photos here of many swallowtails, blues, and other butterflies participating in a puddling frenzy.

I don't know whether the swallowtails use the herb, bay laurel, as a host plant. As I recall, the leaves are not very tender even when they are young, and most caterpillars like tender foliage. But, then again, who knows? Maybe someone else has had experience with cats on Bay Laurel.

Yippee! A fellow sagittarian - my birthday is November 22nd. I've always had significant events occur in double numbers (as in my birthday numbers, 11-22). I graduated HS in 66, got married in 77, got divorced in 88, started my first garden at my first home in 99. Weird, huh?

Cathy, I think your one packet of phaseolus (scarlet runner bean) will be plenty, and you should get seeds for next year so you don't have to buy it again.

The Ichang Lemon that I purchased is supposed to be hardy down to -5 degrees, so I hope it will winter over in my yard. Can't wait til it gets big enough for GSTs, but I've heard lemons grow slowly - any truth to that statement?

J. butterflyalley, palamedes swallowtails lay eggs on my redbays/persea borbonia and swampbays/p. palustris all the time - I've raised many palamedes cats myself. The bay laurel that's the type you buy in the grocery store is a related but different type (exotic) of laurel from our redbays and sweetbays/magnolia virginiana.
I'm sure sorry that they're doing so much spraying where you are!
MissSherry