I'll offer some of the more common ones used by these species since nobody else is replying.

Both species could use your hollyhocks, but especially the Vanessa cardui.

Vanessa cardui will use other Malvaceae as well, and Lupinus, Artemisia, Carduus and Circium among others.

Vanessa viginiensis will use Antennaria, Artemisia, Achillea and Cirsium among others.

I'm not in your area, Lila, so I didn't respond.
Down here, American ladies use good ole cudweed/Gnaphalium pensylvanicum, which pops up in winter, then grows and blooms in early spring and goes dormant and dies back in late spring/summer. So that's when I see AL's and find their nests on the cudweed - I haven't seen one in months.
I rarely ever see painted ladies here, just as the occasional adult. They would probably use Sida rhombifolia, the host plant used by common skippers, if they ever laid any eggs here or some member of the vast Aster family.
Sherry

Thank you for your reponse ladobe & Miss Sherry!
I am wanting to attract different species of butterfly cats to my garden & was hoping to get more responses from the other Texas/Oklahoma BF gardeners. A lot of plants don't do well here that you grow in your gardens because of our heat!
I tried to start pussytoes, pearly everlasting & false nettle seeds to no avail. I even bought 3 pussytoe plants at Lowe's that have all died. I have lots of plants for buckeyes but have never seen a cat here. I also have planted several varieties of senna & so far, no sulphur cats on them. I am looking for more varieties of seeds to plant & am in the process of making another sunny bed for butterfly host plants.
It has been a challenging summer with it being over 100-108 every day except a couple & no rain except for 1 day! I am hoping to sow seeds this fall for spring plants!
Again, thank you for responding!!!
Lila aka 'imabirdnut' & butterflynut!!!!!

iamabirdnut,

Since you are in an area that experiences extreme heat during the summer, you might try growing some of the host plants in an area that gets some dappled sunlight part of the day, rather than full sunlight all day long. Even though many of the plants I've planted say full sun, I've found that many of them do much better for me if given a break from our summer sun. I live in North Little Rock, AR but was raised in OKC so I'm quite familiar with the extreme summer weather in your area. Another suggestion, if you don't already mulch, is to provide a deep mulch, which will help keep the roots cooler so the plants don't become so heat stressed.

I have started Pearly Everlasting seed this summer but the seedlings are small and still in their germination pots. It was so hot this year, I just didn't want to take a chance in planting them in the garden until we had cooler daytime temps, plus, for me, they seem to be slow growers this first season. Next year I will know more about how they perform here and will be sure to post my results.

Pearly Everlasting seedlings started 5-15-2011; pretty pitiful but still alive after our many 100+degree days.

{{gwi:533016}}

American Lady (I think) in my garden; this is what prompted me to plant the Pearly Everlasting seed.

{{gwi:533017}}

~Mary

Mary, thanks for the suggestions! I think I will try deep mulching especially with rue...it never makes it past the early summer... even in the shade here!
What is your technique for starting the pearly everlasting seeds?

Look about midway down on the thread noted below, where I explain how I start my seedlings in 2 liter plastic bottles. I learned this technique on the Winter Sowing forum here on GardenWeb. It's proved to be an excellent way of starting small numbers of seedlings. I not only use this method for winter sowing, but also throughout the summer, as I see I need more of something or want to try new plants.

~Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 liter bottle - mini greenhouse for seed starting ...

Lila,

I have finally gotten Pearly Everlastings to survive! I've tried for years to grow them and they would succumb to the heat. So this year I selected a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. We've had horribly hot weather here, but more rain than Texas. The plants are surviving. They don't look great, but there is lots of new growth around the base. I planted some pussytoe plants that I bought at Lowe's in the same area. They also are still alive. I think the secret is that in our climate these plants cannot take the all day heat. In cooler climates, these may be "sun" plants, but here they are "part shade". They also require good drainage with less water. Too much sun and too much water seems to be fatal.

While I was in Yellowstone, I saw lots and lots of Pearly Everlastings, but I never saw either of the ladies. They must have taken a trip somewhere else!

I've raised 4 Am Ladies on the PEs this summer. Now we'll see if the plants make it through the winter.

Sandy