What a pretty picture! I'm going to have to get some of that coral honeysuckle next year.

Karen

Very pretty picture! Love that Honeysuckle! In my Georgia yard, I am seeing tons of Cloudless Sulphurs right now. It is interesting to me that they so adore the tubular blooms. They are all over the Lady in Red Salvia, Cardinal Climber, and Red Cypress Vines. I do not ever see other Sulphurs on tubular blooms in my yard. The Cloudless also loves to nectar on Impatiens in my yard. The only other thing I ever see on the Impatiens is Skippers.
I did see a Pipevine SWT the other day. Not seeing any Monarchs. Seeing lots of Gulf Frit's. Also still seeing many Questions Marks, and Red Admirals on my fruit, with an occ. RSP.

Very nice photo, Ron!

Bob

Wow! Love that Honeysuckle. I just put in a L. sempervirens hybrid, 'Blanche Sandman', this last spring, so hasn't flowered yet. It did get pretty big - at least 8-10' tall - so I am hoping for blooms this spring. I didn't know that they flowered in the fall, too.

Bandzmom - I had hummingbirds nectar on an Impatiens I grew one year. It was an orange flowering one. I need to have some pots of it again next year to see if the Cloudless and other large butterflies like it, too.

Susan

My next door neighbor has a "trumpet" honeysuckle growing on the fence inbetween us. Is that the same as "coral" honeysuckle? She also grows Salvia darcyi and Anisacanthus quadrifidus for the Hummingbirds, and the Cloudless Sulphurs are all over them too.

That is interesting Susan. I have loads of Hummingbirds, and I have never seen them on my Impatiens. Of course, I have a lot of other plant choices that they would naturally gravitate to. They spend a good bit of time on anything with a red tubular bloom, but I also see them on Lantana and Butterfly Bush quite a lot.~`Angie

Angie, are the blooms red on the honeysuckle? If so, it is the same. I have the yellow flowering honeysuckle, too, L. flava, which is many moons old, and the hummers love it, too. I just wanted a red one, so I got the 'Blanche Sandman', which is actually more of a deep orange color, supposedly, from dogwooderitternet. He has a lot of hummingbird and butterfly nectar and host plants on eBay.

I thought it was strange that they liked the Impatiens, too. I didn't buy it with that in mind at all, but it was a big bonus! LOL

I tried to grow S. darcyi from seed this year, but failed. I think because we had such a weird, cold spring. I grew the Flame Acanthus from seed this year. If you like it, you could maybe ask for seeds. Supposedly, it reseeds a lot. Mine didn't bloom this year, but got about 18-24" tall. It is perennial here in OKC, so I am hoping I can get blooms next year. It is also a host plant for the Texan Crescent butterfly. I don't know if Georgia is in its range or not, but it is a cute, pretty little butterfly. Bigger than most of the crescents.

I also grow other Salvias that the hummers like - 'Lady in Red', 'Black and Blue', 'Forest Fire', 'Cherry Queen', and 'Hot Lips' (bicolor red and white). But their favorite this year was the Dwarf Red Porterweed, and the Cloudless, Monarchs, and Gulf Frits adored it, too.

Susan

Hmmmm. Dwarf Red Porterweed, you say? Is that something that is easily grown from seed or do I need to buy the plants? You know that I MUST need some of it!!

My neighbor bought the Flame Acanthus from Bustani and planted it in Spring 2009. It did come back (on the old wood) this year here and bloomed its heart out. I noticed that it was a late bloomer though. The Salvia darcyi does not come back here, and she had to replace those plants this year. They have been in bloom for a long time, and they are covered in blooms right now. I did collect a little seed from them last year, and ended up with one little plant as a result. I think that her Trumpet Honeysuckle blooms look just like the ones above.

I bought my Spicebush from dogwooderitternet.

Bustani Plant Farm is located here in Oklahoma. Steve Owens, the owner, is a fine plantsman. Their prices are reasonable for what you get, and what I got last year was fantastic. Everything survived; most everything was blooming when I received the plants, too.

I have posted info about Bustani here on the Butterfly Forum and elsewhere.

I am going to try to collect seed from the Dwarf Red Porterweed, but I am not sure I will be successful or not. It is a difficult plant to retrieve seed from, I understand, so we will see. If I am able to get seed, I will be happy to send you some. Right now, it's still blooming and the Monarchs and Cloudless Sulphurs are still visiting (and pollinating, I hope) the blooms.

Salvia darcyi is supposed to be hardy to Zone 7. But, this last winter we had here was more like a zone 6 winter. Many of my zone 7 plants did not survive as a result. I think Georgia had about as severe a winter as we did, so maybe that's why your neighbor's plant of darcyi did not come back. Steve also carried this Salvia. I do know that most Salvias are painstakingly particular about having good drainage, especially in winter. They do not like wet roots.

Will let you know if I get the seed from the Dwarf Red Porterweed.

Susan

Ok, thanks Susan. I am definitely going to want to try some of that Porterweed next year. I'll order it if need be.
My neighbor was very disappointed when the Salvia darcyi did not come back. You are right though. We had a horribly cold winter. We even had quite a bit of snow. (YUCK) She has ordered quite a bit from Bustani and has always been well pleased with the plants. She also orders from Thyme after Thyme and likes their plants.

OMG! Now I have another online nursery to look at! I definitely want their Crossvine 'Jekyll' and another Passiflora caerulea. For some reason, I have not been able to winter this one over and it's supposed to be hardier than my 'Lavendar Lady' so I don't know what the problem is. I've planted it twice.

They also have a tall Red Phlox and I don't think I've ever seen a red Phlox paniculata. Must have that, too!

Oh, you bad, bad girl! I have to continue looking at the goodies on this website!

If your friend likes Thyme after Thyme as well as Bustani, they must be darned good, too. If anyone else is interested in looking, I've attached a link to their website.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Thyme after Thyme

Oopsie! Sorry bout that Susan. :o)
I have not ordered from them, but my neighbor has been well pleased with her orders.

Beautiful!
I've been seeing loads of cloudless sulphurs, too - they're nectaring on a variety of flowers, but I especially enjoy seeing them on the BIG Salvia regla blooms I'm getting now.
It's good to hear you've seen gulf frits! I finally saw some, got 12 cats, and I've released all but one of them. There are at least 5 more cats on the vines, but I'm going to leave them there.
I saw a newly emerged male tiger swallowtail yesterday - strange!
Sherry