What a gorgeous shade of blue! Where did you get this BF bush?

Sandy

I think I ordered it from Forest Farm, Sandy. I checked their catalog, and they still carry it, so my memory is probably right on that. I'm sure you can get it from other places, too.
I also like the size of it - it's thick and bushy, a nice medium size, about 5'-6' tall, not too big or too little.
Over the years I've had a lot of butterfly bushes, so for it to be my favorite is saying something. I've got a new, little bitty B. globosa, the yellow flowered one with the round flower clusters that I plan to plant up by the main road when it gets big enough. It's supposed to get about 15' tall, so I don't want it in my garden.
Sherry

Red admirals are known for NOT nectaring on flowers, preferring rotted fruit or the sweet concoctions people make to attract them. But this red admiral wouldn't get off the Ellen's Blue -
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Sherry

Very interesting point indeed Sherry. I never observed them nectaring from any of my usual nectar plants, I noticed them mostly sipping mineral salts from the topsoil, and from what I could tell, they would sip nectar secreting from Laurel Oaks amongst other trees.

They are SO erratic in flight, so it's cool to see one stop on the bush. It's quite hard to capitalize on decent red admiral shots, so good job.

Last year I observed Red Admirals from about Feb thru May. This year they are not present, but I have been told they are migratory :(

I think I remember somebody in Florida saying that they only saw red admirals during the winter months, Nick, so they probably do head north in spring. I see them year round, though not too many at one time - their somewhat low numbers are undoubtedly due to those awful parasitic wasps!
They "nectar" on my gravel driveway frequently, too, especially after rain - must be some kind of mineral in the gravel, like you say.
I just love their colors! If I can figure out how to keep them safe from the wasps, their numbers should go up. The ten chrysalids in the big release cage on my porch should help some.
Sherry

I have had an Ellen's Blue for some years now and I got it from Plant Delights. I believe the one from Forest Farm is called Miss Ellen and I don't know if they are the same plant. My Ellen's Blue is very large though and extremely dense. It is a real beauty but probably 8 feet already and full of buds but not yet blooming. It's size could be because I didn't cut it to the ground this year as I am always afraid of killing plant that way. In our zone they are fairly evergreen too which could also be a factor.

Now you have me curious about the two bushes. Plant Delights does say it is in the five feet range but I have found that many of these bushes will get as large as you let them to an extent. Murray

I prune mine to within about a foot of the ground every year, Murray, hoping to keep it from getting too big and encourage more new growth/flowers. It's nearly evergreen here, too, but the old leaves look real ratty by early spring when I do my pruning. I guess it could be Miss Ellen, though - I order from so many different places!
Sherry

I checked out Forest Farm and they have both plants available. I decided to pass for now as 13 bushes are enough to try to manage. My bicolor and yellow get lots of action. If I lose a plant I might consider replacing it with a Ellen's blue. I'm a sucker for blue blooming plants.

I love blue flowers, too, Sandy!
Sherry

And apparently this male tiger loves blue flowers, too!
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Sherry

Well, guess what happened to me today while wandering around the local Home Depot? Yes, I actually spotted an Ellen's Blue butterfly bush in a 5-gallon container. And guess what I did then. Right! I bought it and have been wondering where I will plant it now. And that is not an easy thing to do since I have a .07 acre lot which has a two bedroom house which is now surrounded by no less than 30 buddleias, at least 17 lantanas or more, a large coffeeberry(Rhamnus californica), a ceanothus, countless asclepias plants, tall verbenas, asters, buckwheats, centranthus rubers, hollyhocks, passionvines galore and pipe vines literally colonizing parts of the yard on three sides and I must not forget to mention 5 potted willows, two of which have established themselves and are huge and two full-size birch trees. And if I were not trying to do this count from memory I would probably have to count more plants in the inventory. Like I forgot the huge salvia guaranitica and the hebe speciosa.

But I simply could not walk by a find like that. I mean who woulda' thunk you would find one of those Ellen's Blue at a Home Depot. And by the way, the tag says 36" to 48" by 36 " to 48". So we will see what happens. Perhaps I need a support group for plant-a-holics. Murray

Your yard sounds heavenly to me, Murray! Surely you can find a place for it - maybe there's a deteriorating plant somewhere that you can dig up to make a spot?
I bet you don't have any grass to mow!
Sherry

Actually there is almost no grass left to mow except for a tiny section that I haven't gotten to yet and partly because my neighbor hates my garden and cuts down or pulls up anything that reaches over into her yard. I work very hard not to be a bad neighbor and keep things away from the fence line because if I don't I usually find it lying in my yard after being plucked up and thrown over the fence. Mostly, it is the common milkweed that comes up occasionally on her side and she returns it promptly.

I think it funny that just as I finished the last bed someone stole my lawnmower. I guess they didn't think I needed it anymore.

And as you said I did find a place for it that was not being appreciated by the plant that was there so it is already at home in the garden. This year I will have to take pictures and post some of them. I will include the Lantanas you sent. They are so beautiful I actually took some shots last season because I was so taken with them at one point in particular when the shades of color were at their peak. Murray

Murray, I wish you were my neighbor. My neighbor doesn't cut his fescue so it seeds and grows into my yard. My other neighbor built a dog run on our property line. And my third neighbor, who put a huge pool in the back yard ( I got a lot of the soil for my garden beds) planted Leyland Cypress all along the fence line. They were right up against the fence, but I asked them to move them in about 4 feet when they planted them. Ugh!! Now the cypress trees are dying. And none of my neighbors plant anything worth looking at! Your yard sounds like heaven to me.

Ditto what everyone said...I'd love to have a yard like that, Murray. Living in a condo seemed like a good idea in '87 but now that I've found "therapeutic" gardening and planting for butterflies & hummingbirds things are different.

Lucky for me that my father hasn't evicted my "gardens in progress", all the seed starting, tools and maintenance paraphenalia inside and out!

I guess to each their own but I can't understand how anyone could NOT like butterfly gardens and beautiful lots like you guys have.

I don't have a ground garden with room for Butterfly Bush so I put a "red" one in container last year but only half is showing any new growth this year. The dwarf White BB is doing fine in its container but I didn't see anything but bees at it last year. Guess I have to be patient until it gets to its full 3' height and flowers might be more prominent.

Butterfly gardeners are people who bring peace to a hectic world by inviting beauty into the lives of anyone who's wise enough to see and enjoy.

What a nice thing to say, Newbie - thanks!
Sherry

Misssherry, that is a beautiful butterfly bush. I'm going to see
if I can find it. I don't visit this forum often, but I was wondering
if you knew how to root butterfly bush easy. In case you don't,
just take a cutting, younger is better, put perlite or vermiculite
in a small container with drainage holes, and keep it moist. Keep
out of direct light. In a couple weeks you have roots, then plant.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I obviously agree or I suppose I wouldn't be doing the gardening thing. I just can't wait each morning to look outside at the forest to see if their are any new flowers that have opened and if I have had any visitors. Last summer my daughter was admiring the front area and she suddenly said with surprise and bewilderment, "What is that?" She was pointing at a small area right in front of her but all I could see was some remaining grassy area about 3 feet by 3 feet. I asked her what she meant and she said "Why is nothing planted there? " I had to explain to her that there were things there which had not come up yet.and that the other surroundng plants would be needing that area very soon. Actually, right after winter before everything has come up or back again my yard does seem like it has plenty of space left but before you know it every available inch has been spoken for. But the truth is I love it. I often find myself walking around the yard with a plant in one hand and a shovel in the other determined to make room for another friend for the butterflies. Murray

Miss Sherry, as I was seeking some info on butterfly bush, and I came across a statement from you that puzzled me. Red admirals usually don't like NECTAR flowers????

Last summer our garden was swarmed by red admirals. I've never seen so many in my life. They liked our come & cut again zinnias, lilliput zinnias, liatris spicata, and verbena bonariensis. I guess there must not be much rotting fruit in our area?

Back on topic, I'm going to try ellen's blue and attraction. I will put them in big pots so I can overwinter them in cold Minnesota. Thanks everyone for your input!