The monarch chrysalis turns black right before they emerge... I actually had one emerge early this morning and another that is all black... so soon!! I put them both in a netted cage since I won't be home for a while today... Zachary's first day of Pre-School, so I'm going there to wish him well!! As far as the ants on the chrysalis goes... I have no idea about that and that was the reason it would have been best to put it in a safe place until it came out. So many predators out there, they need our help. Looks like you have your handfull with the swallowtails... I remember you saying this last year. I would think parsley is much easier to chew through than milkweed... I'm sure there are lots of eggs on the plant that are now eaten by the hungry cats!!!

I sent you a pm last night... watching the news on the hurricane was very upsetting.... please be safe and if they tell you to evacuate, do it right away!!! Florence looks like trouble!!!! Keep me posted if you can.... take care and be safe!!!!

The thought of that does make me smile.... I know they enjoyed their visit with you and your tasty flowers!!
Last night I was chatting with a woman from Chicago... we posted on the same facebook site and she commented about my butterflies. She's been growing milkweed in her garden since 2010 and this year helped raise and release 93!!!!! She also tags the ones that emerge late August/September since those are the ones that migrate to Mexico. Next year I'm ordering the tagging kit!! She also said it was a banner year for the Chicago area she lives in and has seen so many more monarchs this year... so I hope you have plenty of milkweed for next year!!

Thank you kindly, Tazzy!

You're too kind, Stan..... I will miss them dearly until next season!! I'm so silly, I find myself getting teary eyed when I set them free...

I hope they say only good things about me!! Next year I'd love to get the stickers and tag the ones I release!!
So plant seeds and help them survive!!

Thanks!!!! After thinking 18 from last year was good!!! I'm planting more seeds so they can tell all their friends about my garden!

I think they do!!!
I'll be planting more seeds this fall so next year they can invite everyone they know to my garden!!

Thanks so much, Stan! If all goes well with my remaining chrysalis and cats.... I will have released 61 this season!!!

Take care and keep clicking!!

You are very welcome, Marg... glad they arrived safely and hope they grow big and strong and bring you lots of monarchs in the coming years!!! When all mine leave, my total this year is 61!!!! ...and I thought the 18 from last year was a good thing!!!

If you need any more seeds... I still have plenty, just send me a pm!!

Thanks.... I'm following you!!

Thanks Rob... when they all leave my total will be 61!!!! ...unless I find more cats hiding from me on the plant!!

Good morning, Corky...
Even at 7' your butterfly bush is huge compared to ours. We had 5, one didn't make it and only three bloomed but not that many flowers. Because of what I've read, we always cut ours down to the ground in March...
So glad to hear you have many swallowtails and that you do have a pasley backup plant... that was good thinking!!! Why don't you take the leaf off your milkweed, the one with the Chrysalis and clip it to something on your deck... that way you can watch as it emerges and keep it safe!!! We've had two days of rain and thankfully the day I released the 6, the rain had stopped for a bit and they all fluttered away... but yesterday I had three that emerged... it was only drizzling, so I brought them outside and put them under a tall juniper for shelter... well, this morning when I went out to get leaves for the remaing cats, I spot two of the three still there... it's still misting out and it's only 60*!!! Hoping the sun comes out at some point!! So I go get a few leaves from the milkweed... bring them inside and what do I see, a small cat on one of the leaves!!!! So now I have 2 large cats, soon to go into Jhook and 2 teeny tiny ones that I will have to 'cook' for... I'm glad they will be safe and warm inside with me!!

I pray that the hurricane doesn't come anywhere near you or LI... the weather has been crazy all across the world. Start putting things away that can easily be blown around. Take care and keep me posted!!!

WOW!!!!! First off, you have an 8-10' butterfly bush??? My three didn't do so well this year, actually the white flowers didn't bloom at all....
but I love those passion flowers... they are just so different!! So I'm guessing they self seed and that's why you're finding them all over!! I can't wait for mine to start doing something!!

Did Ellen tell you, I had a record breaking day yesterday... released 6 monarchs, 4 girls/2 boys and today another 3, 2 girls/1 boy. The weather has been very rainy and I had to keep them inside until it let up... but they all took off without a hitch!! Getting down to the end... 10 more chrysalis and only 4 more cats and the smallest one is not even 1/2" so that will be my last mouth to feed as the other three are in the last stage before they JHook. I will miss them....
And my milkweed supply is perfect... just enough to feed the last little one!!

Take care and hope you guys had a good weekend... and not as much rain as we're getting!

That's wonderful that you have so many of these really unusual blooms popping out daily... I'm looking forward and hoping that mine does something next year!!
Your garden must be all aflutter with all those butterflies....
Positive thoughts that the new storm blows out to sea and doesn't interfere with your plans, which sound like a fun time!!!

Take care and enjoy your lunch and thank the magician for saying those magic words!!

[quote=Swamp-Cork]Angela, on losing the messages I can't determine what triggers it, but think that its something about the way I lay my left hand on the keyboard, but am unable to duplicate it when I purposely try. It seems to have started or at least increased greatly after I replace a worn out keyboard. I type in a conventional manner since I did manage to stay awake in my high school typing class as the instructor was a very beautiful lady. I think that as I become more tired I must somehow allow the heel of my left hand to put enough pressure on the Caps Lock, Shift, or Ctrl keys or maybe some combination of them but when I purposely try I never lose anything--oh well!... I purchased our first three Common Milkweed from our local nursery about the middle of last season and then the owner knowing my interests gave me three more about six weeks ago, I think. I remember that I had to wait quite a while for the first three because his supplier said that the plants were taking a long time to reach any size and I planted all directly into the ground and none have come even close to blooming so far Come to think of it only one the swamp milkweed had any blooms on it this year and they were much smaller than in the last two years---thinking not enough sun for the first ones that I planted! The only ones that I have planted from seeds are ones obtained from several butterfly weed plants we had a few years ago in which I just took seeds from the plants and sprinkled them in one of the pots which I had just removed a dead flower at the end of the season and added just a very thin layer of potting soil over them. I left the pot outside over the winter to take care of the chill cycle and was surprised the next spring with many little seedlings. After they had grown quite a bit I just planted the entire bunch in the ground and this is their third season and all have seed heads on them which are splitting open and if you like will be glad to save some for you. They have beautiful blooms but have yet to see a butterfly lay any eggs on them, and have heard similar comments from several others...Looks like you may top the fifty Monarch mark this season which is great and our Maypop is about like yours. I think that maybe we just started a little late, but am expecting big things next season as everything I've read says that they are very hardy and productive. Talking about productive, the offspring from the passion flower that we purchased locally last year is putting off blooms like I've never seen We recently had seven blooms in one day and several days have had double-digit blooms and according to the information provided with it was supposedly only hardy down into the twenties. I think that it must have come back from seeds as I dug the original one up this Spring when I did not see any signs of life! Well, guess I'd better go water the flowers before it gets any hotter and hope you guys have a nice cool weekend!




Thanks for all that info, Corky!! I will be planting my swamp milkweed seeds right into the ground like I did last fall... I did have many tiny plants sprouting and the monarch did lay many eggs on them! I thought I took them all in, but just yesterday I found 2 1" cats munching away on them... so nothing left, but I'm sure the root system is still good. Of course I brought them inside to be safe! Very dark here which concerns me because a male did just emerge and they say not to release them if it rains... so I'm waiting a few hours to see what happens! I still have to find a permanent place to plant my Maypop and if I don't, I'll be putting the pot in the garage over the winter. How wonderful that your other plant is blooming like crazy!!! Do the flowers last longer than a clematis?

Anyway... enjoy this day and the weekend!!