Steve Owens takes great care in making sure he has the best plants to offer. I've been to the nursery several times. He and Ruth usually greet everyone personally on their open house days in the spring. Everyone puts in orders and picks them up the first weekend. It's a mad house!

Yes, the strange wand like things are flower stalks. The flowers start at the bottom and bloom all the way up the stem. But they don't all bloom at once--just a few at a time.

I like the red ones for the beautiful color and their dwarf habit. For attracting butterflies, I've found the best colors are the coral (pink) and the purple. These plants, however, can get very, very large. But when they are blooming there are usually butterflies nectaring on them. The hummers love the coral as well.

Enjoy your new plants. Wish I'd known you wanted a Turk's cap. My Turk's cap survived the harsh winter, and I have babies coming up everywhere! This is the first year the seeds have germinated. If you decide you want another one, just let me know. Mine is covered with Cloudless Sulfurs in the fall. I've had it for about 5 years now.

Sandy

Once you have turk's cap, you always have turk's cap, but that's okay, because the hummers and sulphurs adore it.
I've been craving a native delphinium/D. carolinianum that they carry at Bustani's, Susan. You've driven me to ordering it plus some other plants - I'll get to clicking now!
Sherry

Sandy, I knew you had asked me at one time if I had the Turk's Cap (I didn't then). So I just went ahead and ordered one.

If the butterflies don't like the Porterweed, maybe the hummers will????

I know the Porterweed is not hardy here, but am wondering if you can save the seed. I understand there is a trick to extracting them??

Am so glad I finally ordered from Steve!

Susan

I just made my order - I ordered two Helianthus angustifolius, two Delphinium carolinianum, and one Rudbeckia maximus. I plan to plant the R. maximus in a hot, dry spot up by the main road, the delphiniums in my garden, and the H. angustifolius in my new meadow. I'll post a thread soon about my new meadow/new project - it's going to be a lot of work!
Sherry

OMG, MissSherry - you're doing a meadow? That's fantastic! Do let us follow your project so we can see how it develops. I think that is an admirable adventure.

Had to go feed my HEs and TEs (yes, Jeff! LOL!) this morning and I have lots of chrysalises now! I put my browning banana in a plastic bag yesterday and set it outside to hasten the "ripening" process so I will have some fruit for them when they emerge.

It's rainy this morning so I will wash pots to get them ready for transplanting milkweeds and my new plants til I can get them in the ground. I am thrilled my Giant Milkweed is up from seed as well as my Caelsapinia gillesii (bird of paradise). If the rain stops by noon, as expected, I will get out and pull up more bermuda grass.......argh.....the laundry can wait; my clothes get dirty anyway LOL!

I have one of those gorgeous Golden Delicious Salvia elegans that needs repotting already. I just potted it up 3 weeks ago and it has already outgrown its pot. I bought it at a local nursery in a 3" pot; potted up to a 6" deep pot, and shazamm! The foliage is just gorgeous. Those hot red blooms will look magnificent with that gold foliage come fall.

I should have some happy hummers and Cloudless Sulphurs this year.

Gonna have to look up your plants to see what they look like, MissSherry. Didn't realize there was a Delph that could be grown in the south. I have grown some Helianthus laciniatums from seed this year (seed was 6 yo and still germinated without storing it properly). They appear to be very vigorous, like the plant itself will eventually be. Also a good meadow plant.

Susan

The Red Porterweed should attract hummers and probably will get some butterfly action as well. You can start new plants by taking cuttings in the fall. So far, I have had no luck with growing Porterweed from seed, but I grew several from cuttings last winter.

Yes, Sherry, I do believe Turk's cap is a long lived plant, even though it is not supposed to be hardy in my zone. But, I also have Lantanas come back that shouldn't. I have a large bush lantana that comes back. It has been absolutely the best nectar plant. I need to take some cuttings this year and start some small plants. If it can survive 2 degrees, it's really hardy.

I have the Delphinium you are talking about. It is beautiful when it blooms. I have lots of little "delphs" coming up also. The plant disappears in the heat of the summer and returns each spring.

Can't wait to see photos of your meadow project. It's those kinds of things that make me want more land. The land next to our subdivision is up for sale--11 beautiful acres, with a meadow, woods, water wells, etc. Wish I could buy it. I think the guy is asking 550,000 for it. Can you imagine, $50,000 an acre? It's been on the market for a while. Who can afford that? Guess he wants a developer to buy it. I don't. I'd like to see it remain the way it is.

Sandy

We really need more developers, huh, Sandy, what with the habitats disappearing like they are. I have been thinking about Biophilia and her nature center and wondering if she will be affected by this oil spill. They found the first bird - water fowl - covered in oil this morning - and I know it won't be the last. Offshore drilling has become too destructive and I wish they would outlaw it entirely. The well that was damaged/destroyed, was supposedly an "experimental" one and the oil produced would not even have benefited the public. This is happening during the sea turtles migration to shore to lay eggs, and it just upsets me to no end to think of all the habitat and critters that are supposedly going to be destroyed from this latest debacle. They are saying it could have far greater impact on wildlife than the Exxon-Valdez situation did. Grrrrrr

Also found 8-spotted forester cats on the Virginia Creeper this morning. They are always the earliest moths I find on it.

Susan

I am so sick about the oil spill, I don't even want to think about it!!! :(
The Chandeleur Islands are real close to the spill, and I think this is where the majority of the pelicans nest. How are they going to dive to get fish for themselves and their babies without getting oil all over them?
They've put out "booms" as they call them to supposedly keep it from coming inside the barrier islands, but I'll be surprised if it works. The seafood industry will undoubtedly be destroyed for years, so I won't get to enjoy one of my favorite foods, fresh shrimp from the Gulf. I love to go down to the port in the early morning with my ice chest and buy shrimp right off the boat. I'm getting paranoid about all these disasters befalling my state and this area. I mean, we already had the worst disaster in the nation's history a few years ago (Katrina) then there was a massive tornado last week that killed people and destroyed vast amounts of property, and now this? I don't think we deserve it. I heard that the shrimpers have already gotten a lawyer - I'm glad, I hope BP gets their pants sued off 'em!
Sandy, D. carolinianum is supposed to be native to the east central part of my state, so hopefully it'll do here. Turk's cap spreads all over the place here - I have to pull up a lot of it to keep it from taking over everything. It's one vigorous plant!
Sherry

I just get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I hear more about the devastation of this spill, MissSherry, and yes, you have really had your problems in Mississippi! Enough already. I think it's going to have far reaching effects that we haven't even considered yet.

Sounds like a nice little delph. Maybe the Turk's Cap won't be quite as vigorous here in Oklahoma as it is in Miss. since our winters are colder. Gulp! Maybe I should reconsider. Think it would survive in a container?

Susan

Susan,
I have Turks Cap and it is very vigorous. Will it live in a pot?? I have a couple in a pot, but they don't every get very big or bloom. It may be me, but there you have it.
Faith

Thanks, Faith! I am still deliberating and the verdict is as yet still out.....

Mine has buds on it and one opened today. In fact all of my plants that I got from Bustani had buds or were already blooming when I got them, except for the Dianthus, which is a humongous clump.

How is everything going your way? Seen any Monarchs down there?

Susan

My Turk's Cap doesn't bloom until about July and then continues through October.

I have not seen any Monarchs as yet, but have seen Swallowtails, Sulphurs, Skippers, and some orange medium sized butterflies that flew tooooooooo fast to identify even remotely. (I call them the speed demon butterflies)

I am so glad you posted about Bustani Plant Farms. I have bookmarked them for next year (new plant budget is shot for this year)and it is always good to know a place such as this that has natives as well as the others.

Thanks,
Faith