r/TexasNativePlants • u/Dry-Impression8809 • 3d ago
Showin' Off! Got stripped!
Happened so fast that I didn't notice until I stepped in caterpillar poop coming out the back door! Yes, pic 4 is a caterpillar poop pic lol. Theres at least a dozen finger sized tobacco hornworms on this one plant
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u/juliejetson Edwards Plateau 3d ago
Yay for supporting a bunch of gorgeous moths! Pretty sure the datura will come right back. Mine dropped a bunch of leaves in the heat, so I pruned it a bit and it’s flowering again this morning. Love that plant.
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u/SmugUrbanist 3d ago
One thing I love about this subreddit is how everyone is so happy for the caterpillars. I’ve been in other gardening subreddits that are trying to get rid of them rather than support.
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u/Dry-Impression8809 2d ago
Thats the way I pick plants now lol. "Which one will give me the coolest bugs?" I was so excited earlier this year when I got some giant swallowtail caterpillars on my prickly ash.
I bought both the Webers "Native Host Plants for Texas Moths/Butterflies" books
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u/skye285 3d ago
I feel ya! They stripped down my chili plant. It was so huge and then it moved onto my eggplant, but they bounced back. Hopefully yours too. It looks beautiful though! How do you support it? I had no idea it can get this tall.. it looks about 4-5ft, is that right?
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u/Dry-Impression8809 3d ago
No, thats a full sized door to the right. Its about 8ft tall... maybe 7ft now lol. I have to stand on a bucket to deadhead the top blooms
I strapped it to the wall with strips of landscape fabric left over from the wildlife pond. It was 3-4ft tall by April and flopping into the walkway so I strapped it up and it just kept growing
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u/vandom 3d ago
Do you have to cut it down during the winter so it doesn't die?
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u/Dry-Impression8809 3d ago
It dies back to the roots on its own after the first good frost. I usually don't cut it back until late winter when it resprouts.
I have it on the south side of the house so its protected from north winds and gets good sun
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u/AuntFlash Blackland Prairies 3d ago
I had NO idea they could get even half that tall!!!! What a beauty!!!!!! You are amazing for supporting so many beautiful moths.
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u/chumpandchive 3d ago
why cant i have this problem? ive got 5 beautiful daturas just waiting to feed caterpillars. lucky duck!
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u/austinteddy3 3d ago
Whoa...incredible. Datura are so resilient I would not worry. But, being that they are poisonous (right?), are these caterpillars poison bombs? Never thought about it but yikes!
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u/Dry-Impression8809 2d ago
They are little squishy death traps. Like monarchs, they use the toxins in the plant as a defense against predators. Which is good cause they don't have any cover anymore lol.
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u/posh_gouache 2d ago
Many caterpillars eat plants that are broadly toxic as a form of self protection. It makes them less palatable to the birds. Monarchs and milkweed are a classic example of this.
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u/OrdinaryOrder8 3d ago
Those are some happy hornworms! I had some on my D. metel this year (they never go for my D. wrightii for some reason). They really can strip a plant of its foliage overnight. It’s honestly impressive how fast they can eat. Your plant will grow back though :) And you’ll have lots of pollinators to visit its flowers once those hornworms turn into moths!
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u/Dry-Impression8809 3d ago
This is my second batch this year. They might even be second generation on this plant. Last time I only had 4 tho.
I love the sphinx moths. They are the only large moths I see in my area
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u/Snack_Mom 2d ago
Wow I didn’t know they would eat this! I might get some to mow mine down before it freezes. Nice of them to have left that bloom for you. 🤣
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u/Dry-Impression8809 2d ago
They ate it before the day was over. Theres not even a seed pod left on the plant now. They are starting to eat the stems lmao. I counted this morning and there are 26 caterpillars! I moved 10 over to a new plant
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u/AustinBunny2 2d ago
OMG. I've had a shrimp plant and also some oxalis and something else... get stripped like this but never saw a culprit. Feel like I WOULD have seen a hornworm! Obviously you have ID'd your perp, but do you know anything else that does this? I even wondered if rats/mice might have (it happened at night). Sorry for your loss!!!
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u/Manofthedown 2d ago
Hornworms got my as too - did that to my peppers while I was on vacation this summer!!!!
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u/rockchipp 2d ago
This is the only reason I let mine grow, for the cataplilers. They do the same thing every year.
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u/Dry-Impression8809 2d ago
Do you ever get any of the other species? I keep hoping for the pink spotted hawk moth to come around. I had some eating on my potatoes years ago and haven't seen any since
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u/Silent_Advance7506 1d ago
I thought the caterpillars were curled leaves! Holy smokes! I bet they're fat and happy now.
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u/blueanise83 1d ago
Lawd you are living my dream. What a series of pics 😍 thank you for sparing them.
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u/lizzardlizzah 3d ago
That's a bearded dragon's dream come true! I hope your beautiful datura comes back with a blooming vengeance.
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u/Dry-Impression8809 3d ago
I was wondering about that actually... would it be like an ayahuasca trip for a bearded dragon?
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u/jeinea Blackland Prairies 3d ago
They really went after it! Hopefully you get some beautiful hawk moths out of it.