teragram on tue 10 jul 01

Gerry Strey said about Swamp milkweed:

All in all, a very satisfactory, though not spectacular, plant which I'd
recommend for wildflower or meadow gardens.
========================

Way cool, Gerry. Have you noticed any extra monarch butterflies hanging
around?

Monarch catepillars can only eat sap of milkweed plants, and it is what
gives them their famous toxicity as adults.

- T.

Gerry Strey on tue 10 jul 01

I bought a plant of this called "Ice Ballet" (white instead of the native =
pink) last fall at a plant sale and stuck it in the ground. This summer =
it's three feet tall with at least a dozen flowering stems with fairly =
small clusters of green-tinged white typical milkweed flowers.

It has been blooming since mid-June and looks, with its numerous secondary =
inflorescences, like it might continue flowering well into August. The =
area it's in is soggy in spring but dries out in summer, but so far it =
doesn't seem to be bothered. All in all, a very satisfactory, though not =
spectacular, plant which I'd recommend for wildflower or meadow gardens.

Gerry Strey
Madison, Wisconsin

Gerry Strey on tue 10 jul 01

I've seen very few Monarchs this summer, though more than average of =
several other species. What I'm waiting for is my first hummingbird moth =
of the year.

Gerry Strey
Madison, Wisconsin

Jackie Wellborn on tue 10 jul 01

Gerry,
We've had quite a few monarchs here and in the last week have begun seeing the hummingbird moths. They are so fun to watch.

Jackie
Iowa

Gerry Strey wrote:

Linda Baranowski-Smith on tue 10 jul 01

We have the 'Ice Ballet' also and it does well. We let the wild ones
grow too, among the daylilies. You don't see much, if any, milkweed
in the fields any more. We think the monarchs appreciate them. The
pods are nice to dry at season's end.
--
Linda, gardening in NW Ohio near Toledo / Lake Erie (USDA Zone 5)
Metrofarm known as Blue Clay Plantation
llbs@mail.accesstoledo.com

Margaret Lauterbach on wed 11 jul 01

Why, Gerry? They're the parents of tomato and tobacco hornworms. Margaret L

Gerry Strey on wed 11 jul 01

Because they're so striking. The first time I saw one, I could hardly =
believe my eyes! I seldom see more than one or two per summer, so I don't =
worry about their larval stage.

Gerry

> melauter@EARTHLINK.NET 07/11/01 07:53AM >>>
Why, Gerry? They're the parents of tomato and tobacco hornworms. Margaret =
L

> I've seen very few Monarchs this summer, though more than average of =3D
> several other species. What I'm waiting for is my first hummingbird moth =
=3D