Show your butterfly and hummingbird gardens/plants

[GoDawgs]

WOW, PJ! Those are trumpets of FIRE! Just gorgeous.

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

WOW, PJ! Those are trumpets of FIRE! Just gorgeous.

And it’s a low care plant.
Only downside is it’s a bit ungainly if you don’t trim it now and again and a severe freeze will kill the top growth.
It is probably root hardy in your area if you mulch the roots well. It grows quickly so dieback hasn’t been an issue.

[SpookyShoe]

Those orange bells suck the hummingbirds out of the sky! I often see those mostly coral/orange type of vines growing wild in vacant lots.

2 years ago I got this Angiozanthos as a potential pollinator plant that would tough it out in the hot, dry part of the garden. It hasn’t exactly exploded with growth but has at least decided to flower this year. From the buds I’m guessing it will be yellow. We’ll see!

[Whwoz]

PJ , from the open flowers I see on the Kangaroo Paw, it is what it will be colour wise. From its size it would be one of the A. flavidus hybrids, which tend to be the tougher but generally least colourful of the paws. They can take a fair bit of punishment but do love full sun - and I mean full sun in our summers down under, topping out over 100F. Do you have or can you get a metal 20 litre (roughly 5 US gallons) drum or something similar with the ends cut out? I ask because the black spotting on the leaves is a fungal infection we call black ink (or similar) down here and the the best way to treat it is to wait until the plant has finished flowering cut off flower spikes , place drum around plant scrunch up some newspaper and lite it, burning most of the growth to ground level. Normally kick away like mad then. Could do with better air flow around it too.

Originally Posted by Whwoz

PJ , from the open flowers I see on the Kangaroo Paw, it is what it will be colour wise. From its size it would be one of the A. flavidus hybrids, which tend to be the tougher but generally least colourful of the paws. They can take a fair bit of punishment but do love full sun - and I mean full sun in our summers down under, topping out over 100F. Do you have or can you get a metal 20 litre (roughly 5 US gallons) drum or something similar with the ends cut out? I ask because the black spotting on the leaves is a fungal infection we call black ink (or similar) down here and the the best way to treat it is to wait until the plant has finished flowering cut off flower spikes , place drum around plant scrunch up some newspaper and lite it, burning most of the growth to ground level. Normally kick away like mad then. Could do with better air flow around it too.

Thanks for all this info, Whwoz. It is baking away in full sun but there is no escaping our humidity here in Florida. That’s contributing to the fungal problem, I’m sure.
So the idea is to burn off the leaves without scorching the roots?

[Whwoz]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

Thanks for all this info, Whwoz. It is baking away in full sun but there is no escaping our humidity here in Florida. That’s contributing to the fungal problem, I’m sure.
So the idea is to burn off the leaves without scorching the roots?

Yes, bearing in mind that all kangaroo paws come from South West Western Australia where summer humidity is very low. Cannot say for sure how your humidity will affect the plant with a burn. A. flavidus is tough, can be divided when larger and can self seed

[SpookyShoe]

The Mexican Bird of Paradise is just starting to bloom. The Mona Lavender is a new plant for me, so I haven't observed any butterflies or hummingbirds on it. It is supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, but only if they have a long proboscis. If you have a dappled shade spot the Mona Lavender will work very well for you. In my climate it cannot tolerate full sun.

[SpookyShoe]

The Tradewinds series of hibiscus are small, so they can easily be grown in a pot. I have this on the front porch.

Spooky, just wonderful.

[SpookyShoe]

Thanks!

[SpookyShoe]

This guy was very interested in the butterfly and hummingbird area.

[SpookyShoe]

Not a good photo, but I was able to capture this while I was walking around in the backyard today.

Gorgeous swallowtail!

[roper2008]

Spooky, that's a milkweed bug.