Florida Butterfly Gardening

[@mydragonflygardens]

Bravo!!! 🫶👏🏼

[@KimClark-1]

Great presentation! Thank you.

[@FIUPanther305]

Great presentation, thanks!

[@sean2val]

great info thank you cheers from Australia

[@ocextension]

Cheers to Australia! Glad it was helpful!

[@itziahurtado]

I learned so much..Thank u :)

[@ocextension]

So glad - Thanks!

[@SarahWhitmire]

Thank you so much for this!!

[@ocextension]

You're so welcome!

[@kellyjenkins8419]

Notes for self: 3:19 is red bottlebrush tree and purple salvia

[@susansloan9312]

11/1/2021 I have some monarch caterpillars ready to pupate on plants in containers. Will they survive the Central Florida winter? Should I move the pots from my carport to a different location?

[@ocextension]

The monarch caterpillars will freeze if we get temperatures below freezing for prolonged periods. I wouldn’t worry about them in Central Florida except in extreme cold temperatures you can put a sheet or blanket over them or bring them back inside under a protected area.

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

Is there a ratio of flowering plants and host plants ?

[@ocextension]

We try to provide host plants for the major species of butterflies in Central Florida and then fill the rest with nectar plants. For example milkweed, passionvine, and cassia are host plants for any species of butterflies. There is no specific ratio.

[@cjsoutherland1]

We now live in the Tampa area (port Richey) from Pismo Beach, ca which is also a monarch city. Is milkweed from there considered invasive here? I bought some seeds I think are the Native milkweed. I’ve had three caterpillars so far this year. Will it grow behind a shed in the shade? Working on our yard being a bug friendly one. I did find one of my chrysalis in the soil so I used dental floss to rehang it!

[@ocextension]

There are several types of milkweed that grow all over the world, some are native and some are nonnative to Florida. You can see photos and look for their scientific names of the milkweeds that grow well in Central Florida in our blog blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/2020/04/02/milkweed-for-monarchs-in-central-florida/.