Garden, Growing Flowers – Page 2

Monitoring Native Milkweed Growth For Florida’s Monarchs

I began filling my yard with various types of native milkweed this year. Here is an update on how they are doing, and which I prefer so far.

After I watched a new Monarch butterfly adapt to his new wings and fly away, I made the decision to get myself more Milkweed. So, I planted seeds, bought a few plants, and mail-ordered others. Now we are into the hot month of July. I’ve been monitoring the growth of all varieties. Here is my update.

This is the butterfly that emerged from the chrysalis on my Rosemary plant. Most photos were of the closed wings and I only got these two of the bright orange side.

Update: The Milkweed Plants

Milkweed plants can be found locally. At the Farmer’s Market I found lots of the tropical variety. This is not native to Florida, but it grows great here. A few years ago I didn’t know any better and bought two of these plants. They were tall and healthy looking. Then, I read that tropical milkweed is bad for Monarchs!

Even though I paid good money for those plants, I never planted them and they went into the compost pile. Somehow some of the seeds took root and I have two tropical milkweed plants in the yard. One is very large. Ever since it began to grow last year, it has been host to butterflies, caterpillars, the milkweed bug, aphids, and ladybugs. I’ve also read that maybe this type of milkweed is not so bad after all. It needs to be cut back in Fall, if you grow it.

Monarchs on the milkweed! — Big milkweed plant

My local plant nursery also carries milkweed. I bought a white swamp variety (see photos below) and it’s now in the ground. At the nursery, many of the plants didn’t look too great. They were covered in aphids, but aphids love milkweed, so I can’t really blame the nursery.

Be sure to buy the milkweed early in the year to establish a good root system before winter when the native types go dormant.

white swamp milkweed — White swamp milkweed

white flowering swamp milkweed — White swamp milkweed

Update: Milkweed Grown From Seed

Most of the milkweed that I grew from seeds this year are still pretty small. I’ve had caterpillars on a few, which ate down the leaves. So, that didn’t help.

The varieties I grew from seed are; orange tuberosa (orange butterfly weed), sandhill, and whorled. They are all growing well, but slowly. I particularly love the thin leaves of the Whorled variety and look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Another Monarch caterpillar — Whorled milkweed

The Sandhill milkweed is growing very slowly. I only have two pots, and decided to put one into the ground.

Update: The Mail Order Milkweed

The four mail order swamp milkweed plants are quite large. I planted two in my hibiscus garden, one near the house downspout, and one in the back garden. None have flowers yet. I’ve seen the occasional caterpillar on them. One is now showing signs of blooming!

Milkweed Warnings

Milkweed tends to be poisonous. Anyone who has animals that might eat it, should consider this. It is toxic to livestock.

Milkweed is a magnet for aphids. This means that milkweed will also draw in the ladybugs. That’s a good thing! Whenever you see lots of aphids on the plants, don’t get too upset. Wait and see if they are taken care of by nature.

Advice on Buying

Now that I have grown native, Florida milkweed from seeds, mail-order and nursery plants, here are my thoughts on buying. If I had the space and wanted more milkweed, this is what I would do.

Buy from a local nursery, if they have native plants that look pretty good.
Order from The Grower’s Exchange. These are by far the best looking plants of all my native milkweed. The tropical milkweed plant is huge, but it is not native.
Order seeds for new varieties. The Sandhill and Whorled are pretty cool.
I wouldn’t bother again with the Orange Tuberosa. I’m not thrilled with these plants. They are leggy and saggy. Some have leaves that have turned brown, and that could be due to too much water. They like it dry. They are not fast growers (from seed), and not very good-looking. They might look a lot better by next year, if they survive. Maybe buying plants, and not starting from seed, would be the way to go with this one. I’m going to see what they do.
Won’s be buying any Tropical milkweed variety. I’ll manage the ones I have by cutting back in Fall. The milkweed bugs have taken care of removing the seed pods! I think they suck the juices out of the pods because every pod is gone.

Tropical milkweed flowering with monarch butterfly — Volunteer Tropical milkweed with Monarch butterfly

Don’t worry if you have some tropical milkweed in the yard. Recognize it by the two-colored flowers. Right now, it’s the only milkweed flowering in my yard. And the Monarchs are using it for food.

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Pretty Flowers in the June Garden

Lots of flowers are beginning to bloom in June. Here in central Florida we have a jump on growing, but look forward to growth just the same.

I love to photograph flowers. They make an excellent subject. Who doesn’t like viewing the delicate intricacies, fantastic shapes, and stunning colors of flowers. They don’t move so photography is simple! LOVE.

So…. from all the flowers above, I see bees visiting most often the Spiderwort. I’ve let some clumps of Spiderwort grow randomly around the garden. Each morning when I water, I hear and see bumblebees visiting the purple flowers.

Another favorite is the purple Holy Basil, also called Tatsoi. Those flowers come out on tall spikes and the flowers are very tiny. But the bumblebees love them!

Butterflies usually visit the beautiful zinnias, but I have not had many butterflies. The occasional Gulf Fritillary has been spotted, and a few Zebra longwings, but honestly not many at all.

The Cosmos are not like the cosmos I grew in New Hampshire. These are small plants and not leggy like the northern plants. All of the cosmos growing in my yard came from saved seeds. I bought one plant and saved the seeds that I continue to plant in the yard. I like not knowing if the flowers will be yellow or orange, or a combination.

From the Front Yard

I rarely pay much attention to what is growing in my front yard. My focus is on the vegetable garden and flowers planted there. But, my hydrangea plant is blooming with big pink flowers.

Hydrangeas are the reason I began this blog. Many years ago, I lived in New England and grew many types of hydrangeas. I photographed the blue ones especially, and created this blog to share hydrangea info.

A few years ago, I decided to see what a hydrangea bush would do in my Florida yard. And here it is, still growing and flowering. I pay almost no attention to it. The bush is still small, but I believe it is surviving because it is constantly in the shade of a very large shrub.

pink flowering hydrangea plant — Bromeliad

I bought the hydrangea in May one year. That’s when you might be able to find the plants. Big box stores get them out on display for Mother’s Day. When I bought this one, it was blue, or purple-blue. The gorgeous blues I had on my New Hampshire hydrangea bushes can’t really be replicated by making the soil acidic. I believe that the pretty light blue is just natural, and comes from the earth.

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Florida Native Coral Honeysuckle is Planted for Hummingbirds

Planting the coral honeysuckle with a new obelisk for support.

A Florida native plant that I’ve wanted in the yard for some time is the Coral Honeysuckle. A tiny plant was part of my mail order selection, but the plant arrived very tiny. I’m not sure I would live long enough to see it reach a great height!

After putting my Lee Valley Obelisk (large size) together, I needed a plant to go with it. At my local nursery there were many Coral Honeysuckle plants that looked great. I chose one, popped it into my little car, and planted it the following day.

How to Plant a Honeysuckle Vine

I chose a spot that would get lots of sun. This is a Florida native plant and it can take sun and heat. Read more about this vine at the IFAS Gardening Solutions: Coral Honeysuckle page.

The hole was easy to dig, once I removed all the roots growing under the sand. Here in Florida, rocks are not a problem when digging, but you may come across pieces of concrete that were left behind from the building of the house.

When checking out at the nursery, the woman talked me into getting a little bag of fertilizer to add to the hole. I also mixed in some of my own compost and a bit of Happy Frog, with the sand. BUT…. before I added dirt back into the hole, I placed my obelisk around the plant. That way the poles were down nice and far into the ground.

I also planted the tiny, mail order plant right next to the bigger plant.

Garden site where new coral honeysuckle plant will be. — Spot is chosen

Digging a hole is sand filled with roots — Spot is chosen

Once the plant was in the ground, I undid the ties holding the old trellis system. Three bamboo stakes were tied for the vine to wrap around. I planned to remove the bamboo completely, but decided to leave it in place. Much of the honeysuckle was already firmly wrapped around them.

I will train the vines to continue up the trellis. Once it gets tall, the hummingbirds should love it. I haven’t had hummingbirds since the Firespike plant lost its red flowers. Honeysuckle can loose its leaves in cold locations, but grows well in the entire state of Florida, Zones 4-10. It will bloom all Spring and Summer!

Once the mulch was down, I gave this new plant a good soaking with three fills of my Haws watering can.

Black obelisk over planted coral honeysuckle

Once the Coral Honeysuckle is established, it shouldn’t need much attention. I’ll keep it pruned to fit the round trellis.

coral honeysuckle flowers — Coral honeysuckle flower

planting a coral honeysuckle vine into the ground. — Coral honeysuckle flower

The rainy season is here, and with our regular afternoon storms, this plant should do quite well.

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Mail Order Native Florida Milkweed Seedlings Review

I’ve found a good place to buy milkweed plants online. Ordering plants online can be expensive, so the plants that arrive should be in great shape. Read my review of Whitwam Organics and The Growers Exchange.

I need to get this recorded because I found a mail order company that sends nice plants. Here I am comparing the two companies that mailed me milkweed plants. The Growers Exchange and Whitwam Organics were the two I chose.

After my butterflies came out, I see all three of the Monarchs flying around the garden every day! The only milkweed currently available for them is the tropical type, and one small, blooming white Swamp Milkweed.

White swamp milkweed flowers and tropical milkweed with caterpillar — Tropical milkweed w Monarch caterpillar

The more milkweed in the yard, the better chance for caterpillars to have enough food. At one time I believed that the Tropical milkweed was bad, but that may not be altogether true. Read more at the link.

The Need for More Milkweed

I ordered some seeds from Johnny Butterfly Seed. Those are popping up in small pots and beginning to grow nicely. Growing from seed can take a while. I wanted plants.

You may be wondering why I don’t buy local milkweed at a nursery. Well, for one it’s hard to find, and when I do see native varieties, the plants are not in good shape. The white flowering milkweed, in my first photos on this page, came from a local nursery. I bought the best looking milkweed plant and it was around $10. It’s looking good, but growing very slowly. I have no idea if it was grown organically, without chemicals. So, I began the online search for pesticide free plants.

Whitwam Organics

This post is about my order of live plants from two places. The first plants arrived from Whitwam Organics. They e-mailed a notice about delivery, and the plants ended up at my door at 8:00 at night! I suppose I can’t blame the company for the late delivery, but unboxing live plants at that hour really ticked me off. The plants are; a Coral Bean, Coral Honeysuckle, and Orange Butterflyweed (milkweed).

tuberosa milkweed seedling in black pot wrapped in plastic — Whitwam packing

The Whitwam plants were unboxed in the house, until sand began to come out all over. I took them outback to finish and set them inside on the porch for overnight.

The photo above was taken the next day. The packing was sufficient, but nothing special. Plastic wrap mostly kept the soil in the pots and then the entire plant was closed up in a paper bag. The soil is more like Florida sand than potting soil. The dirt you see in the big photo is after I filled in what was lost when the dry sand poured out. All three plants look okay, but they are small. The Milkweed has lost a few leaves.

Cost: $42.57 which includes shipping and tax. Not really worth it IMO as these plants are very small.

Growers Exchange Milkweed Seedling Order

I ordered four Pink Swamp Milkweed from The Growers Exchange. These were not labeled organic, but the site says they do not use any chemicals when growing. The site offers lots of herbs and medicinal herbs, but they also have a few varieties of milkweed.

I was very impressed with the boxing and size of these milkweed. (This milkweed is a different variety than the one shown above from the other company.)

All four plants were wrapped around the pot to keep dirt in place. Each pot was tucked inside a cardboard divider which kept the pot in place during travel. The plants were so tall that the tops were bent over to fit. They straightened up completely within two days.

unboxing milkweed plants — Unboxing nice big plants

Four Pink swamp milkweed seedlings in small black pots outside on table — Unboxing nice big plants

After unwrapping, I watered them, and set them on the porch, out of direct sun, for two days. After that they went outside for a couple of days. Now I have two in the ground, and two in larger pots.

Swamp milkweed likes it wet, which makes sense. Especially while it is setting roots, I want to keep it well watered. Our drought continues, which means I water every day.

Swamp milkweed planted — Swamp milkweed in the ground

I am absolutely impressed with this milkweed plant order. They offered a discount of 20% (I think it was), and the total for these four plants, with $15 shipping was $50.89. The plants are healthy and large and I am happy. I’ve already seen lady bugs and the Monarch on these!

I’m considering having a herb garden in the future. I need to learn more about when to plant which herbs. The Growers Exchange might be my go-to shop for those.

How to Care for Live Plants

Both companies mentioned here has fairly quick shipping. I’d say the plants arrived in about a week’s time. Shipping also depends on the growing zone, and time of year. Each company has it’s own information.

I’ve pretty much mentioned on this page how I cared for the plants when they arrived, but here’s a recap. Unbox immediately. Check the soil and re-fill if necessary. Water them well! Here in Florida, do not set them out in the sun right away. Due to the stress of being packed and traveling for days, give them an easy life in the beginning. Give them light, but no direct sun. Keep them watered and watch for signs of disease.

Have you purchased native, organic (or chemical free) local milkweed – or other plants – online? Please leave us a comment on how it went.

Borage Season is Here

Florida gardeners can easily grow borage. The blue flowers add interest to any garden, and honey bees love them. The plant is short lived as it dislikes the heat.

One of the things I love about a Florida winter is that the Borage will grow. Borage is a fuzzy-leafed, blue-flowering plant. Its leaves make a delicious tea. The little flowers are blue, or sometimes pink, and star-shaped. They can be used in salads and ice cubes.

Saved borage seeds, from last winter, were planted in the yard this Fall. The borage really began to take off in January. Now, in February, it is getting leafy and some of the plants are showing off lots of flowers. The flowers attract honey bees.

(All photos on this page are my own and are not free to use.)

bee on borage flower — borage flowers with bee

borage plant flowering — borage flowers with bee

Borage likes the cool weather. It wilts in the sun on hot days. Soon I will be collecting some seeds from the early flowering plants.

At this time of year it can be cold or hot. We had a very cold January, but February has been very warm with temps near 80 during the day (in the sun).

borage plant with lots of leaves — Borage plant

wilting borage in mid-day sun — Borage plant

I have been picking, rinsing and drying borage leaves to freeze. The plants won’t last once the weather is consistently hot.

Borage can be grown among vegetables to keep unwanted pests away. The leaves are very hairy and prickly.

honey bees on borage flowers — Three bees visiting a flowering borage plant.

Borage is a medicinal herb (read more here). I pick the leaves fresh and make tea. The seeds are rather large and are easy to save, if they can be found before dropping from the pod.

The bees are also on the newly flowering red Lantana. I planted this red one and two others (yellow and dark red) last year. This is the only one doing well. The Lantana will still grow and bloom in the heat. When the Borage has gone by, the bees will have other flowers to visit.

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Colorful Blooming Plants for Bees, Butterflies, and Me

Filling the yard with blooming plants to feed the bees and butterflies can take time. Even though I don’t have many, the insects come.

My focus has been on growing vegetables in the yard, but now I am focused on adding blooming plants.

I still don’t have a car, so getting out is tough. My son took me to a local nursery and I used a gift card (from Christmas – it’s September!) to buy some flowers.

I gravitate to the bee covered flowering pots at the nursery, but once the plants are home, it’s a wait for my bees and butterflies to find the flowers.

I chose red, orange, yellow and “blue” flowers. The bumblebees like small yellow flowers and tall spikes. They come every day to my Holy Basil (Tulsi) which has very tiny flowers (pictures below). However, some also like the big open pumpkin flowers. It’s best to have a variety.

Tulsi basil flowers – this basil grew all summer, which is impressive

The Following Morning

I get out into the garden as early as possible because of the heat. My goal this morning was to get the Vegega bed filled with dirt. I always scout out the gardens in the morning. When I went to the back area, I discovered that both recently planted plants- were torn completely up out of the ground!!!!!

The blue Agastache and yellow lantana were lying on the ground with their roots exposed! The big planting holes were empty. (I was too mad to take pictures.)

Re-planting and Moving On

The good news is that both re-planted plants are now doing fine. The yellow lantana has not bloomed again, but I’m sure it will. I had made the mistake of adding fish bone meal into the potting holes. I’m betting the raccoons smelled it, and dug to find the “fish”. The plants were simply in the way. Lesson learned.

Gardening means dealing with pests of all kinds. For me, the Raccoons cause the most trouble. They are often destructive without purpose – as far as I can tell. They steal tomatoes and rip holes in them, but don’t consume them! They pull peppers off the plants, and dig up seedlings. Last year they stole one of my watermelons off the vine.

In the meantime, here’s what else is blooming in the yard: