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Having nights as low as 60 F (16 C) here now, and afternoon temperatures have remained rather mild; much more so than was the case just several weeks ago. My Lantanas are blooming well again, with the passage of the summer heat, and having had several recent rains.

Many butterflies are appearing again, and today on the Lantana, I saw P. cresphontes, P. glaucus, B. philenor, D. vanillae, D. plexippus, V. cardui, and Hemaris sp., along with various others.

These plants are an ecological "double-edged sword", but I can attribute a decent chunk of my Lepidoptera collection to the fact that there are a few bushes across the street from where I live

Lantana is getting very common in the place where I´m living in the east of Spain,I hope to find soon here Danaus plexippus.

In my local area, there are few plants that can attract as great a diversity of Lepidoptera as Lantana does. Also, it has the advantage of producing numerous flowers, blooming continuously for much of the year, and being tolerant of heat and drought. Perhaps next year, I might also try growing Caesalpinia pulcherrima, which hopefully, can survive my area's winters. In southern Arizona, this shrub is seen everywhere as a landscape plant, and is particularly attractive to Papilionidae -

https://apps.cals.arizona.edu/arboretum ... spx?id=881




(photos via Google Images)

Guess what, I have that in my garden. Indeed Papilionidae do like it.

I did a quick search and got

USDA hardiness zones: 8b-12. This plant may die to the ground in zones 8b-9a and recover from its roots in the spring.

I guess it may survive short cold spells, but you will know whether you are in a suitable zone or not.

Adam.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2024 7:37 pm Guess what, I have that in my garden. Indeed Papilionidae do like it.

I did a quick search and got

USDA hardiness zones: 8b-12. This plant may die to the ground in zones 8b-9a and recover from its roots in the spring.

I guess it may survive short cold spells, but you will know whether you are in a suitable zone or not.

Adam.

I'm in zone 8b, but not very far from the border of 8a. C. pulcherrima is sometimes available at my local (North TX) garden centers and nurseries, but as I've only rarely seen it planted in this area apart from at botanical gardens, I assume that it isn't particularly winter hardy here. If it were, it seems likely that it would be considerably more common. Quite a contrast from Lantana, which can be seen on virtually every street.

If you plant it near a south facing wall or somewhere protected from freezing underground it should survive. I read that it may die back to the ground and then shoot again in spring.

Adam.

As it attracts a lot of butterflies in SE Asia, I have planted one lantana in my French garden... never seen any lepidoptera on it.

I guess the "commercial" variety I have is less interesting than the wild variety.

adamcotton wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 11:07 am If you plant it near a south facing wall or somewhere protected from freezing underground it should survive. I read that it may die back to the ground and then shoot again in spring.

Yes, I will plan to try growing C. pulcherrima in one of the more protected areas of my yard next year. I have a neighbor who has had considerable success in keeping ornamental banana plants alive across multiple years, so it seems likely that pulcherrima should be able to survive here as well, with some care and attention to placement (and hopefully, no severe freezes). I've read that most of the pulcherrima growing in southern Arizona originated from a more cold-tolerant stock that came from Mexico, rather than from the Caribbean and other more tropical areas of its natural range.

wollastoni wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 5:42 pm As it attracts a lot of butterflies in SE Asia, I have planted one lantana in my French garden... never seen any lepidoptera on it.

I guess the "commercial" variety I have is less interesting than the wild variety.

I've noticed that some Lantana cultivars are definitely more attractive to Lepidoptera than others. Red, orange and yellow varieties appear to be most attractive; white and pink ones, less so. It doesn't seem to necessarily be related to color however, as I have one yellow variety that doesn't appear to attract much notice by butterflies at all. Perhaps some cultivars have a more attractive scent, or produce more nectar? Undoubtedly, the producers of these various cultivars are more focused on aspects such as an abundance of flowers, and their colors, rather than how attractive they are to butterflies and other insects.

I noticed the C. pulcherrima growing everywhere last time I was in AZ. I planted some in my yard in Houston, but it didn't do well and died in its second year. I'm not sure what the problem was. AZ gets colder winters than Houston, so it's not the temperature. Maybe Houston is too humid.

58chevy wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2024 9:35 pm I noticed the C. pulcherrima growing everywhere last time I was in AZ. I planted some in my yard in Houston, but it didn't do well and died in its second year. I'm not sure what the problem was. AZ gets colder winters than Houston, so it's not the temperature. Maybe Houston is too humid.

Sorry to hear that. There are many tropicals that I'd like to grow here in North TX, but most succumb to the occasional hard freeze. There are at least one or two palm species often planted in my area that can reasonably cope with our winters, but it can be very disappointing to have one grow up to a nice size during an 8-10 year stretch of somewhat mild winters, only to lose it when a really severe freeze eventually occurs.

Senna alata (candle tree) is quite a striking-looking Neotropical plant that's often available from garden centers, and although this tree can reach 30 feet in its natural habitat, it rarely manages to survive into its second year, in areas that go through hard freezes -

https://www.gardenstylesanantonio.com/p ... ick-senna/