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— by Beth Erwin
We have two species of native milkweeds available in our Fall Sale this Saturday. We have quart pots of Zizotes, Asclepias oenotheroides, and quarts and gallons of orange flowering Butterflyweed, Asclepias tuberosa.
Butterflyweed would be a choice perennial in any garden, regardless of its native status. It is loaded with nectar and all sorts of pollinators flock to the clusters of orange flowers. I came across a lady many years ago that asked me to come to her yard and see her “chiggerbush” as she called it. It turned out to be a big bodacious Butterflyweed. True to its nature, it was loaded with insects of all sizes.
Butterflyweed is not the first choice of female Monarch butterflies to lay their eggs. It is slow to emerge from the ground in the spring. As the season progresses the narrow foliage gets tough. Zizotes, on the other hand, is a favorite. It very obligingly pops out of the ground in early spring several weeks ahead of other Asclepias species, with wide tender leaves for that first wave of migrating Monarchs to drop some eggs on. At this point in September, it is still producing plenty of soft broad leaves for the end-of-the-season crop of caterpillars and flowers full of nectar.
Buy some Butterflyweed for the pretty flowers. Buy some Zizotes for the Monarch butterflies. And the deer don’t eat them.
The photos are of plants that will be in the sale.
About the sale
The NPSOT-Wilco plant sale will be held September 25, 2021, at Berry Springs Park & Preserve, 1801 Co Rd 152, Georgetown, TX 78626 in the Main (Tonkawa) Pavilion. 10:00 AM—3:00 PM. (Note that the first plant walk being led by Ricky Linex begins at 9AM.) Cash, checks, and major credit cards accepted. We prefer that all customers wear masks and maintain social distance.
- For sale details and special requests, click this link.
- For info about plant walks led by expert Ricky Linex, click this link.
Plants to be offered as of September 18, 2021
The newest list is at this link September 18 PDF. The date is in the upper left corner on page 1. If we update the list again, we’ll send a new blog post out to alert subscribers.
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