I have compiled a short list and description of various Milkweeds and wish to share. As some of you know, I have jumped in with both feet, or is that seeds and dirt with milkweeds since last spring. This is a primer for some, old news for others, and always do your own research!
The Monarch butterfly is in decline due to several factors. The larvae only eat milkweed leaves, and adults enjoy nectar from a number of flowers. Fortunately as the adult enjoys a variety of blooms, other pollinators love the milkweed flowers. The monarch migrates, so geographic regions are widespread. As I am in the MidSouth, looking at the eastern ones.
Milkweed, Asclepias
Butterflyweed A tuberosa. Fairy easy to start from seed, a year out to bloom, small leaves, slow to spread. From my reading and own experience, doesn't attract much in the way of Monarchs.
Common (A. syriaca). Large plant, can spread, may be a year out to bloom. This one may be best for fields and open areas, not urban back yards.
Purple (A. purpurascens). Native to much of eastern US. I haven't come across seeds for it yet.
Rose aka Swamp. (A. incarnata). Perennial, native to eastern US. 3-4', pretty blooms, spreads but not wildly so. Seeds need chilled. I have a couple from last season, hopes they'll show green this spring, and more seeds in the starting system (in frig).
Whorled (A. verticillata). Native to eastern US, perennial, late to bloom. Seeds need chilled, and there are some in my frig. We'll see!
Tropical (A. curassavica). Annual, zones 8-10. I had a few last summer, can even grow in a container, outstanding blooms in shades of red-orange-yellow. There is some controversy if they hurt more than help monarchs if grown in colder zones. Hurt being they are green and blooming into fall, may attract adult butterfly, lays eggs, cats don't make it. Help is they are a pollinator magnet. Also they are a great food source for the monarch during the summer having yummy leaves for the cats and nectar blooms for the adults.
A sub group of the tropical is the yellow bloom one, Silky Gold.
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indigobluetomato
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I have some Butterfly Weed seeds chillin now. After driving around this fall I saw lots of Common. There is a couple 1000 acres of horse parks and wildlife refuges within a mile along the river that was full of them. I did miss the boat collecting some Swamp Milkweed seeds. I weed wacked some before they flowered. Next year I will know better and try spreading seeds along the river bank. I think I only saw 2 Monarchs all year.
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LIcenter
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I still have plenty of swamp weed seeds (Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella) if you are interested. Let me know if you would like a bunch.Rairdog wrote:I have some Butterfly Weed seeds chillin now. After driving around this fall I saw lots of Common. There is a couple 1000 acres of horse parks and wildlife refuges within a mile along the river that was full of them. I did miss the boat collecting some Swamp Milkweed seeds. I weed wacked some before they flowered. Next year I will know better and try spreading seeds along the river bank. I think I only saw 2 Monarchs all year.
Frank
LIcenter wrote:I still have plenty of swamp weed seeds (Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella) if you are interested. Let me know if you would like a bunch.Rairdog wrote:I have some Butterfly Weed seeds chillin now. After driving around this fall I saw lots of Common. There is a couple 1000 acres of horse parks and wildlife refuges within a mile along the river that was full of them. I did miss the boat collecting some Swamp Milkweed seeds. I weed wacked some before they flowered. Next year I will know better and try spreading seeds along the river bank. I think I only saw 2 Monarchs all year.
Frank
I would like some but am leery of spreading seeds along river bank that come from a different region.
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LIcenter
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Well if you only whacked them down, they will grow back, and probably a few more due to their spreading rhizomes. If you look at this link you will see swamp weed is native to just about 90% of the US, so there is that. There is no regional plant that I know of. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=asin
Common garden chives, crown flower, and salvia will also attract butterflies including monarchs. They are easier to find, except the crown flower, and grow from seed and they mature faster. Butterfly weed will take a while to mature and bloom and it does not transplant well because of its' long taproot.
I have some milkweed that just came up on it's own years ago. I usually leave 3-5 of them growing in my flower garden just for the monarchs. When my son was younger we had the fun of taking one of the caterpillars and keeping it in a big jar and feeding it. We saw it turn into a cocoon and one wonderful morning we found the butterfly. We named him and let him go. My son still talks about that.
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LIcenter
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The goal is to have a host plant for the caterpillar to munch on after the Monarch lays her egg. While those plants you listed will in fact bring butterflies in. The Monarch will not lay her eggs on them nor will the cat feed on those plants you listed. So swamp, or milk weed is crucial to their survival.imafan26 wrote:Common garden chives, crown flower, and salvia will also attract butterflies including monarchs. They are easier to find, except the crown flower, and grow from seed and they mature faster. Butterfly weed will take a while to mature and bloom and it does not transplant well because of its' long taproot.
I think dill can be planted for Swallowtails if I remember correctly.
Actually the crown flower here is the main food source for the monarch. Every crown flower is nearly leafless during the summer because of it. It is a giant milkweed.
But, thanks for the information on the other plants. I got my information from this source that said these plants were good for monarchs. Maybe they are good as nectar plants for the adults.
https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/5-spr ... tterflies/
But, thanks for the information on the other plants. I got my information from this source that said these plants were good for monarchs. Maybe they are good as nectar plants for the adults.
https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/5-spr ... tterflies/
Actually there are a couple of butterfly gardens at public gardens that I know of. Foster Botanical Garden and Urban Garden Center both have butterfly gardens. I get fiery skippers visiting the herb garden all of the time. At Urban Garden Center there is a crown flower tree over 10 ft tall. Someone called last year because they had trimmed their crown flower and found some caterpillars so they brought it to the garden to release them in the butterfly garden. Monarch are not the most common butterfly here but they are definitely around. Crown flowers are not very common but they are not endangered either, people grow them for the flowers to make lei. But they all look leafless for a few weeks because of the voracious feeding of the caterpillars.
Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea)
https://garden-notes-from-hawaii.blogspo ... antea.html
Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea)
https://garden-notes-from-hawaii.blogspo ... antea.html
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