I received butterfly weed seed; I think it is Silky Scarlet. I planted them first and then green house and set them out about June. Well, amazingly, some of the are blooming now. They have only tiny little bloom heads, though, perhaps 3 or 4 little flowers per head. Is this normal for them to bloom the first year? Also, will the bloom heads get much larger next year?
butterfly weed blooming habits
They should bloom the first year, as long as it had time to develop this summer, but with another year's root growth, it should be even better next year.
Thanks, can't wait. Will it eventually have the bigger bloom heads like the wild orange one?
My experience was that after the plant was established, it was larger and more vigorous, with larger bloom heads. I bet yours will do the same. Remember that Monarch butterflies do like to lay their eggs on this plant, which is a food source for the caterpillars. Plant lots of it so that the plants are eaten to skeletons! The adults drink the nectar, but the larvae eat the leaves!
thanks. Oddly, we don't see monarchs here. Here are some butterflies on my one wild butterfly weed that I grew from seed.
Oops! Another try.
What a great shot!
How long did you have to sit there waiting for them to pose for you?
I have some nice butterfly weed, but never with so many visitors!
Maybe I don't pay enough attention.
The great frittilaries were here for several days and my sposal unit got the shot.
woodspirit, that is one of the best photos I've ever seen. Wow !!
Thanks. I should have entered it into the photo contest
You'll still have your chance--this year's contest hasn't happened yet but I think it'll be starting soon.
it just finished.
What a wonderful pic!
The contest that just finished was the county fair not the photo contest. Terry just posted yesterday on the DG forum saying that the photo contest will be open beginning on Monday http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1136702/
oh great! I will enter it tomorrow then. Thanks for the heads up!
Oh, what a beautiful photo! Thanks for sharing. you should send that off to a magazine..what about Garden Gate magazine or Country gardens or even Fine Gardening?
I have never grown butterfly weed seeds but they are on my list this coming year. I saw where a nice combination is the Gay Butterfly weed with Goblin guailardia. I think I added that into my DG blog so I didn't forget it. I think I will order both the Yellow and orange butterfly weed seeds.