We had a most interesting plant in our yard this year. Nancy planted it in early summer and it survived the heat and prospered. We noticed as the tiny white blooms grew that ants flocked to the sweet smelling flowers, then bees, then hummingbirds. The plant is called – and I am not making this up – Hairy Balls.
Hairy Balls (gomphocarpus physocarpus) is a milkweed plant, and as most know, milkweed is vital to the survival of monarch butterflies. No milkweed, no monarchs. It’s that simple.
Because our society has been killing and poisoning milkweed over the past 20 or more years, monarch butterfly populations are at an all time low. We can help by planting milkweed and Hairy Balls, sometimes called balloon plants, is one choice among many.
Many backyard gardeners like to have multiple milkweed plants to improve the odds of survival. Most other milkweeds have longer and more slender seedpods. Hairy Balls look like oversized golf balls with tentacles. The seedpods of these balloon plants are round balls about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. They are covered with soft bristles, which earned them their names.
This milkweed variety is an annual, you have to plant each year, but we intend to save the seeds from with inside the pods. Gardeners often suggest starting Hairy Balls in the winter, indoors, and then transplanting, but we grew ours directly from seeds planted outdoors.
This is a beautiful plant, it attracts nectar users, helps monarch butterflies and elicits a chuckle or two each time you see it and think of its name.
Plant some next summer.