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Evening Primrose with Dianthus and an ant.

flower_nut 7 Dec 4
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9 comments

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1

You take amazing photos.

HeathenFarmer
Thank you, It's a learning curve to catch a good photo. Flowers seem easy to photography and I try to focus as best as possible to deliver a clear image.

1

Very nice full flowers. In Florida there is a similar native flower called Primrose Willow which mainly grows by swampy edges. It can get to be about 9' tall generally about 4'

@Artistlover
I know this one blooms better by keeping the ground moist. I've seen this one get bigger with more rain early in the year. It won't get much taller but does become fuller by keeping it wet.
I wish I had time to supplement the gardens with everything they need. I depend on mother nature to water the gardens and only supplement plants that struggle. The primrose does okay but could do better with more water. It's planted in a dry location with full sun.

1

Where's the ant?

@WarmFluffy
The ant turned out to be an aphid I mistook for an ant. Sorry to misinform but that's the way it goes sometimes.

1

I love these flowers. Here in Texas, the Showy Evening Primrose are shades of pink to almost white. They grow wild along the roadways. I was able to get a couple established in my garden. I'll have to post pictures when they bloom in the spring.

RussRAB Level 8 Dec 4, 2018

@RussRAB
We had a pink version of this primrose that was invasive so it got removed. The yellow one is 11 years old and spreads much slower. I can't remember what the pink one looks like.
I do the same thing you do. Finding plants in the wild and put them in the garden. This works well with the many ferns native to eastern Canada. We've stopped along the highway to grab a certain colour Lupin for the garden. I love evergreens and relocated several to our yard.
Hope to see what your garden looks like in the spring. 🙂

1

Great contrasting colors.

OldGoat43 Level 9 Dec 4, 2018

@OldGoat43
Yes, the Dianthus seeds in the garden and grows where it wants to. I remove a lot of it each year but the pink and white Dianthus doesn't spread as much as the rest. I'm glad it made its way close to the primrose.

1

That looks like an aphid

Leafhead Level 8 Dec 4, 2018

@Leafhead
I'm not completely sure what an aphid looks like. I know ants help them somehow and I think they feed off them too.

@flower_nut
Winged aphids lay eggs, while wingless aphids are parthenogenic and livebearing. Parthenogenesis is the ability to give live birth or lay eggs without males involved. Wingless aphids are born pregnant!
Shown is a winged aphid
Ants help aphids because they defend them from predators.
Aphids help ants by excreting sugar, or honeydew.
The ants relish this, and herd aphids just like cattle.

@Leafhead
Wow, you know your stuff. I've seen winged ones that are light green. Googling an aphid gives many images. After looking at them I agree with you and appreciate the information you've provided. It sure looked like an ant to me and still does. I try my best to ignore them and spray them off with a water hose when I notice a big bunch. Whenever there are ants on plants aphids aren't far.
The bloom of the primrose only lasts 24 hours and not a serious problem. Our mock orange and yucca blooms get invested with black dots and ants. Any suggestions on how to control them?

@flower_nut
The black dots sound like some sort of scale. Scale is an insect that lives under a protective shell or scale, much like a barnacle. The bug underneath likewise secretes honeydew and ants swarm to them.
Scale is a bit harder to get rid of than aphids.
Some Volk oil usually does the trick, a couple applications at dusk 5 days apart to kill hatching eggs.
You can also use mineral oil, but hose it off before the sun rises.

@Leafhead
Thank you very much! You make more sense than Google ever will. I'll definitely take the advice next season with my aphid problem.
While taking photos of the yucca I stay at distance to keep them out of the photo as much as possible. I have no close-up photos of the aphids and don't like them.

@flower_nut the Yucca is beautiful. It looks to be a very mature, healthy specimen

@Leafhead
The golden sword yucca has been in this spot for about 8 years. It started in a different garden and was moved after 3 years. The regular kind of yucca had taken over the garden so I removed it.

1

very good, those are both winter flowers here,(Texas). How about NS?

glennlab Level 10 Dec 4, 2018

@glennlab
It's one of the early ones for us. Late June early July. The stems grow up to 24 inches long. The buds have an interesting after growth which I don't have a photo, yet.

Also a larval food source for the White Lined Sphinx Moth

@Leafhead
I try to let mother nature take its course. I don't mind when plants become food for others but some plants just aren't appealing. I need more White Lined Sphinx Moth. 🙂

@flower_nut
White Lined Sphinx Moth will also lay eggs on 4 O'Clock and Lilacs.
The caterpillar is pretty too, but the moth is stunning! They'll nectar on Hostas, Monarda and Phlox. They look like hummingbirds

@flower_nut
Here's a couple of shots...

@Leafhead
This one showed up in 2010. A friend said it looks like a “flying lobster”. I thought it was a hummingbird, my neighbour said it was a hawk moth. I've seen a few since and hope to get more photos.
Here are some caterpillars to look at. The green one was from my workplace the other was a few hundred feet behind my place.
I like bugs too just not on me.

@flower_nut
The Hawk Moths are Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. We have those in abundance here too.
The first caterpillar looks like a Tomato Hornworm, also a type of Hawk Moth.
I'm lost on the second caterpillar, but it sure is pretty

@Leafhead
Thank you. The green one was very aggressive, I relocated him to a safer place away from other employees. The second caterpillar caught my eye right away. I took more than 2 photos because I liked him so much.

@flower_nut I often relocate my tomato hook worms to my dartura, both are good host plants, but the datura doesn't produce edible fruit. I hate killing them anymore now that i have discovered their benefits.

@glennlab
I don't like killing or removing them unless the plant is at risk. Moving them around is something I never thought of. If they'll eat aphids I'll bread the little suckers.

1

This time of year or from earlier. Beautiful either way.

freeofgod Level 8 Dec 4, 2018

@freeofgod
Early summer. It blooms better with deadheading and has a better look. I like the pattern on the buds before they open.

2

Pretty!

Thank you @Untamedshrew.

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