#physocarpus

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Sunday 16 June 2024

Purple foliaged shrubs need to be used with care in designed landscapes as when viewed from a distance they can appear as dark holes in the border. Here Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' (ninebark) was part of a skilful plant association of greens and purples in a partial shaded border.

Jill Raggett

[uxbridge]

Summer flowers blooming in the garden

[coffeenuts]

[faguscarolinensis]

Physocarpus opulifolius / Common Ninebark at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC

[clover-seeds]

monarch caterpillar on my hairy balls milkweed!!

Gymnocarpus physocarpus

[summerwages]

Pacific Ninebark..

[venus-garden]

Gomphocarpus physocarpus

[rattyexplores]

Balloonplant

The foodplant which the Monarch Butterfly caterpillars were feeding on. Keep an eye out for this plant in the Sydney area!

Gomphocarpus physocarpus

24/03/23 - NSW, Dapto

[thistransient]

[vandaliatraveler]

Despite its small size, Valley Falls State Park is a real treasure. Most people who visit the park come for the falls on the Tygart Valley River and completely ignore the beautiful trails. The Rhododendron and Glady Creek Trails wind through some lovely old cove forest anchored by impressive boulder fields smothered in moss. It has that LOTR thing going, especially along some of the more secluded sections of Glady Creek, culminating in an enchanting, multi-tiered waterfall draped in rhododendron. This time of the year, the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) are in bloom (I can't decide which is lovelier) and the fungi and ferns dominate the forest floor, now that the canopy has closed over. The American royal fern (Osmunda spectabilis), which grows in the nooks and crannies of the giant boulders at the edge of the river, is a personal favorite of mine.

[anskupics]

Physocarpus opulifolius — common ninebark a.k.a. Eastern ninebark a.k.a. Atlantic ninebark

[meetinginsamarra]

First Growth

Salix - Malus "Red Sentinel"

Physocarpus - Euphorbia

[drhoz]

#2203 - Gomphocarpus physocarpus - Balloonplant

AKA as balloon cotton-bush, swan plant, and nailhead. Two other common names are Hairy Balls and Bishop's Balls. Guess why.

It and the closely related Narrow-leaf Cotton Bush Gomphocarpus fruticosus are native to South Africa, but are now long-established weeds in Australa and New Zealand, where they are important hostplants for the Monarch or Wanderer Butterfly Danaus plexippus. Note the young caterpillar on one of the flowers in the first photo.

Katikati Bird Gardens, Bay of Plenty, NZ

[life-around-me-yura15cbx]

Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant in macro

[calaceae]

Gomphocarpus physocarpus

A wasp-pollinated milkweed with common names mostly referring to the seed pods looking like balls

[clover-seeds]

got my new perennials all planted! with the exception of the smallest solidago these were given to me by a very lovely friend and coworker who raises monarchs but has had to move into an apartment. i am very excited to have these in my care and i hope they flourish and invite more insects to my yard!!

left to right:

solidago spp. - native goldenrod

agastache ‘orange hyssop’

gomphocarpus physocarpus - hairy balls milkweed

monarda spp. - red bee balm

achillea ptarmica ‘peter cottontail’

solidago spp. - i think this is a non native goldenrod but i’m not sure

kcmo - zone 6b