On the left is a butterfly I would like to identify. Its wings are closed but you can see the orange & black coloring on the wing. This is the second blooming of the texas lilac this year.
I think Ellen is right. If the wings are a grey-blue when opened it is an Eastern-tailed blue, Everes comyntas. Glad to see your vitex doing what it's supposed to: attract bees and butterflies.
Oh my goodness, I haven't seen one of these in decades! I'd forgotten all about them. Beautiful particularly in compliment to the lilac. Sherrie, would you post a pic of your lilac plants? I'd like to see more of them.
Ellen H, it absolutely is a gray hairstreak butterfly. Before your post I looked everywhere & couldn't find anything to match my butterfly. Thank you so very much!!
Becky H, the plant is reblooming & just started so I'll wait till the flowers turn lilac early next week. They start out a grey color and then turn lovely lilac.
Becky H, you're lucky you didn't try a lilac because it would not have lived in Florida . This is a TEXAS lilac that does grow here. I only bought a 2 gallon plant (I think in May) and it is reblooming now.
Becky, Sherrie's "Texas" lilac is Vitex agnus-castus, or chaste tree. They are a great shrub/small tree for Florida as well. They need sun and a good amount of space as they can get quite large. A good local nursery should have them. I drove to Jacksonville to get mine because I like plant road trips and because I wanted a bigger one than my local nursery had, but they do grow pretty fast. They can easily be limbed up like a crepe myrtle or a Ligustrum.
Becky H, I have a local nursery called Debary Nursery. Since I always loved the lilac but they couldn't be grown in Florida I was so happy when Douglas Hunt posted about this Texas Lilac.
Becky H, I haven't posted the Texas Lilac picture because it likes sun for it to turn lilac and it has rained everyday. The plant starts out a gray color and then turns lilac.
Well Sherrie, it's nice to hear someone is getting rainfall besides us!! I'm watching with amusement to see if the Republican reps. will have to evacuate next week. Our ground is so saturated anything this storm brings will be sitting above ground. I have begun a search for the Texas Lilac around the Tampa Bay Area. Really don't want to have to drive too far North or E. to get one. Not to worry though, I am a patient person, and can wait for photos and to find the plant.
Becky, you might call Sun City Tree Farm, a wholesaler in Ruskin, and see if there is a nursery near you that they have supplied plants to. They grow "Shoal Creek," which is a fine cultivar of Vitex.
Becky H, the plant is reblooming & just started so I'll wait till the flowers turn lilac early next week. They start out a grey color and then turn lovely lilac.