Video

I have the amistad

Not amistad, sapphire sage by Seed Needs

I was talking about the candle tree

Thank you for your comment! I can't wait to see the blooms. I also really like the leaves on this plant. It is good to know they grow like this as annuals. 😍

Hi Renae! Yes, we are seeing hummingbirds pretty regularly. I am up in the DFW area this weekend visiting family and I have seen a couple up here too! 😍 Are you still seeing the hummers pass through?

@@ButterfliesNBirds Yes, I am! I’ve been getting some amazing video! There’s five, I believe that are coming every morning around 7, and throughout the day. This morning I think there was a baby and mother on my tree branch. I love it! I have like 9 feeders in my backyard😅

It stays green and even will flower in a mild winter. When there is a freeze, I will take the potted porterweed into the garage. Otherwise it will die in a freeze. Sometimes the purple porterweed will return from the roots/ground if we have a mild winter with freezing temperatures if it is planted in the ground.

Hello! You can deadhead the spent bloom spikes/stalks, and I try to do that. I will also cut back the porterweed in the very early spring to manage the growth. If you are in the Houston area, I purchase all my Porterweed from Enchanted Gardens in Richmond, TX. I understand you can also order porterweed from some online nurseries, but I have not done that.

Hello! I know, right? We are told to always pinch the blooms. I understand this recommendation because the coleus will then not put the energy into the beautiful foliage. So, I let mine flower like I mentioned later in the summer / early fall so the pollinators can enjoy. Good luck, and let me know how it goes! 😊

Unfortunately I'm not sure of the cultivar because the tag only listed "Red Porterweed". I know there are quite a few different cultivars, so I know that my answer isn't helpful. If you are in the Houston area, I purchase all my Porterweed from Enchanted Gardens in Richmond, TX.

Oh, you are so spot on ... we needed these rains! (And the slightly lower temps).

That is fantastic!!! I am loving my blue porterweed that came up as volunteers (from seed from the bloom spikes). I get all my bird feeding pole systems from a store called, Wild Birds Unlimited. They have great products, although they are a little more expensive than other places.

Thank you! And thanks for watching! 😀

A commenter on one of my videos said her husband calls squirrels "tree rats"! They have done so much damage to our home/yard throughout the years. I'm sorry you are having issues with them this year. I think some years it is worse than others. 😕

@@ButterfliesNBirds * I love the term "tree rats", lol!!!

Hello neighbor! I will fertilize my containers with Bloom! from Espoma. (It is a liquid organic fertilizer). I should fertilize my containers more than I do though. I also fertilize my hibiscus with fertilizer specifically for tropical hibiscus. I don't fertilize my garden beds. I only put down compost or soil conditioner after our last frost.

I did take cuttings two years ago and kept them through to the next spring. I didn't really like them though when spring came (I didn't like the color), so I didn't plant them in the garden, but kept them in the containers. They did fine, but weren't wonderful. I also think I should take cuttings each year, but I don't do it.

I think they will sprout for you, especially if it is still warm where you are at.

@@ButterfliesNBirds Thank you so much for your response. That would be great. It's definitely still warm/hot here. I'm trying to check on them every day and keep the soil moist. Thanks!

Argh ... squirrels are my nemesis! lol.

I am right there with you! It is interesting that the squirrels will use all our bird baths to drink from, so they have no need to destroy my drip irrigation, other than they want to chew on the hard plastic. 😕

I have heard of these from another commenter (maybe you recommended scat cat to me earlier!), but I just haven't done it yet because I have a puppy. Maybe that wouldn't be an issue?

@@ButterfliesNBirds I’m brand new to gardening this year… So I am still learning something new every week. It seems like…. The squirrels still come and visit my yard and drink from the birdbaths but they don’t dig around the plants anymore it’s been very effective … loving all your videos❤

That is awesome you saw a hummer on your tiny coleus blooms! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it because those blooms are to small. I am lucky that I don't deal with spidermites. I think we are way too humid for them.

Oh dear, is Almost Eden closing? I have my red porterweed in a container, so I will take that in the garage if we have freezing temperatures this winter. I think I am going to take cuttings from my "dwarf" red porterweed though because I have that one planted in the ground.

I haven't cut it yet to control the size. I did cut some of it though after our hurricane because it was laid down.

Hi neighbor! I am right there with you enjoying the slightly cooler weather and rain! 👍😊🌦 The plants love this too! 🌼🌞

Isn't it just wonderful when the porterweed blooms like this?! The hummers are starting to come through, and having all this porterweed blooming is attracting them in! I'm so glad yours is blooming like crazy now!!! 😍

That is awesome! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed mine! 😊

I know ... isn't this so much fun?! I am starting to see more males, so I know they are coming through. Love it! I went out very early this morning to change out nectar in my feeders (it was barely light outside) and a hummer was sitting on a feeder. It surprised me, so I just talked to it and it stayed for quite awhile. They are so used to feeders and people that they aren't startled when you approach.

That is so EXCITING!!! 😍😀 50 is a fantastic number ... it is so much fun to have that many! That means they are coming through now - thank you for the "heads up". I am starting to see more of them, and especially more males. But they haven't reached us yet for the peak numbers.

@@ButterfliesNBirds my husband joked about maybe we should go put sunglasses on because they were dive bombing so close to us so the fighting is very serious right now definitely more males . just wondering if you have any videos I could watch about butterfly migration? so many butterflies with all the new flowers that I planted this year. Thanks so much.

LOL - I know what you mean about dive bombing so close to you. And they are so fast that I have turned my head at times thinking they would hit me. But they haven't yet! Yes, the males are always the first ones to come through. The monarch butterflies are the only butterflies I know that migrate down to Mexico for the winter. I don't have any videos of that. Some of the butterfly caterpillars/chrysalis of various butterflies will not emerge this year but will overwinter and then emerge in the spring. Then the process starts again in the spring!

I know - this has happened to me two years in a row now. It flowers like crazy in the spring time and then it stops flowering for me sometime in May. And it hasn't flowered for me all summer long the past two summers. Then it will flower again for me in the fall. I'm not a huge fan of that. If it blooms for me again this fall I might have to rely on it as just a spring and fall bloomer. But I don't know if I want it prominently in my yard with that kind of blooming schedule. I am getting ready to fertilize mine with an organic fertilizer to see if that helps it along.

@@ButterfliesNBirds thank you and I will try fertilizing it again since I have not since spring. It’s just too pretty not to bloom. Good luck with yours as well

I haven't fertilized mine either since spring. Good luck, and let me know how yours does. 😊

That is FANTASTIC!!! I have just started to see a few more arriving. By you having both nectar flowers and feeders, they might stay for a few days and just "beef up" at your place. People that have both have a higher chance of hummingbirds visiting their yards in our area during the fall migration. 😍

Good morning Renae! Do you think it was too hot and dry for your porterweed and cardinal climber? I know both of these plants need quite a bit of water down here. I start the cardinal climber seeds (usually) in early March here. You need to wait until after your last frost date because even a light frost will kill the seedlings. I direct sow the seeds into the ground. I'm finally starting to see more hummingbirds! Yay! I hope you have a blessed Labor Day weekend too! 😊🌞🌼🌺

Wonderful! Happy gardening! 🌺🌼🌞