Dangermouse01

Noticed that my Apple banana is putting out a flower stalk for the new year. Supposed to get down to the upper 30's this Tuesday and Wednesday at night. Hope we don't have the big hard freezes like we have had for the last two years.


Also have a lot of milk weed growing in my backyard and on the city easement on the back side of my fence (I throw most of the seed pods there). So I have swarms of Monarch butterflies. Noticed that the Monarch caterpillars like to use the banana trees for cocooning.


Getting ready.

Cocoon (not the same caterpillar as the other picture)



Happy New year all.
DM

momoese

Wow very cool!

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Mitchel

Worm_Farmer

Thats awesome! I cant keep enough milkweed around.

palmtree

I hope your bananas stay nice and green during this cold spell. I dont think its going to be too bad for Florida and you should escape frost.
Nice butterfly pics! I definitely want to plant some milkweed next year to attract the butterflies. So far Lantana seems to be the flower that the butterflies like the most in my yard.

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Location: New York City, zone 7b

Dangermouse01

Two weeks later and still going. Cold snap at the start of the year pretty much made toast of all the upper tier leaves ( low 30's, almost to freezing but didn't get there, the wind chill was 28/29). Before the cold, I culled 18 Monarch cocoons from the plants in the back yard and brought them inside. Released 16 butterflies since, still two to go. )


DM