Seems like you have plenty of cassias for now. It would be helpful to know what growing zone you are in. Offhand it looks like you will need some larval plants for black swallowtails and Giants. Other than that it really depends upon where you live to know what butterflies are typically in your area.

zone 23. southern california. I think i have the main locals covered for food and nectar, but I do know that they can display strong preferences. fritillaries for example are all over my Incense passiflora all summer and basically ignore my 4 other vines. i was wondering if something similar will happen with the senna/cassia species. bicuspularis is the one I most often see sulfurs around, but that's only from casual observation.

I have one S. bicapsularis ('Worley's Butter Cream', but I don't think that matters). You are correct; the sulphurs love it. Throughout most of the year, every time I go outside, there are 5-12 butterflies in the vicinity. After a few years, there were so many caterpillars in the fall, that the flowers were completely eaten. This year, the birds (bushtits and warblers mainly, I think) found the food bonanza, and I have more flowers and fewer cats reached chrysalis stage. It is a tough plant and does not require a lot of water once established.

If you are interested in adding marine blue butterflies to your garden, and you have the room, plumbago is popular with them.

I live in South OC.

Welcome Shane! I can't help with this question, but you'll find many great and knowledgeable people here.

Rhonda

Thanks rhonda and gyr. I am interested in adding the marine blue. Had written off plumbago but should add it back. The white form.

Just thought I'd pass along that the sulfurs don't use the senna corymbosa that was planted to replace an unknown senna that expired during a cold winter. Whatever it was the butterflies loved it and I had many caterpillars. After planting S. corymbosa, I read on here that it is not a preferred variety for sulfur butterflies. Good luck with your butterfly garden!

Very interesting. The corymbosa at the local botanical garden does have sulfurs but not nearly as many as i see on bicuspularis now that you mention it.

Interesting. I'm pretty sure the corymbosa at the botanical garden had sulfurs visiting. I'll check out those other plants.

As for butterflies, all I know to identify are monarch, frilillary, sulfur, White cabbage, giant swallowtail, mourning cloak. Have plants for all but the last. Then there are dozens of others I know from reading but haven't really seen in the field.

I came across a very old post of mine on the Texas GW that had the name of the senna that the sulfur butterflies loved both as adults and caterpillars. It was Golden wonder senna or Senna splendida.

Just this past winter when the foliage was a little sparse on the S. corymbosa, (which I planted to replace the freeze damaged Golden wonder), I noticed a root sprout of S. Golden wonder had come back and grown up through the present plant. Guess I gave up on it too soon. That explains the few sulfurs I've seen flitting around that side of the bush.

Golden wonder bloomed a lot more often than S. corymbosa as well has hosting the cats. I'll be looking for Golden wonder at the nurseries to plant again in another area of the yard.

In that old post was a photo of S. Golden wonder's flowers ...

Great suggestion. I can't find it online right now, but will keep looking.

I also looked more closely at MissSherry's Senna obtusifolia. I like that its a small plant and will probably appreciate the wetter spot I have in mind for it.

On the butterfly question, I spotted lots of variable checkerspots on a bike ride this weekend.

I happened to find Golden wonder senna at a plant nursery today in San Antonio. It was grown by Conroe Greenhouses, which is a wholesale supplier located in Texas. I was glad to know it is still being offered. Of course, I bought one ... :-)

Garden starting to shine and getting some visitors.

Wow -- it certainly is coming together wonderfully well.

Send that gulf frit here immediately! :) I've got enough passionvines to feed any army of them!

Your garden is looking great!

Sherry

Oaklandia and Vanessa. Frits like the first more. But incense even more.