I really wanted to love my Gomphocarpus physocarpus* aka balloon plant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, monkey balls, hairy balls, nailhead and swan plant. I obtained an 8" plant and it grew incredibly fast and floppy as reported and soon needed the tomato cage I had installed. The flowers were plentiful and fascinating and pods developed quickly. When it was about five feet tall the Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe arrived—a fancy name for Milkweed aphids—in massive numbers. If I had a bigger garden and could grow this plant somewhere off in a corner, I would have ignored them, but I had parked it between herbs and tomatoes and even though the aphids clearly preferred the milkweed, they did travel to surrounding plants. Their honeydew coated everything nearby. Then the ants arrived. With heavy heart I cut it down, sealed it in a plastic bag and put it in the trash because it was too infested with aphids to compost.

*Its name changed from Asclepias physocarpa in 2001 to reflect that it is in the family of African milkweeds.

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This member of the Milkweed Family is from southern Africa. It is used as an annual flower in the northern US. I came upon this new species to me in a neighbor's yard this September 2021. The neighbor said she was given the plant from a friend who ordered some online from a company that sells plants good for butterflies. I've never seen it in a garden center yet. I'm sure my friends in the American Native Plant Movement would have doubts about this Balloon-Plant or Hairy Balls really being good for the Monarch Butterfly, as they oppose the use of the Annual Milkweed from South America as not really being good for Monarchs. I have not seen any literature so far saying that there is a down side.

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My plant isn't blooming. I planted it this spring. It's between 4 and 5 feet high, full sun. Central Ks

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