The best thing you can do is to buy from native plant sales and native nurseries.
Milkweed (Asclepias) is the plant species that the monarch butterfly exclusively uses to raise its caterpillars. After mating the gravid female butterfly flies from plant to plant laying one egg per leaf (usually, but there are exceptions) These eggs hatch on the milkweed and the caterpillar proceeds to eat ravenously until the time comes for it to make a chrysalis. One of the problems with the population of the monarch is that we have lost millions of acres of milkweed prairie in the last 20 years. I am not going to get into all of the politics and reasons for the decline here.
Why milkweed? Monarchs are specialist butterflies. They lay their eggs on milkweed in order to protect the caterpillars from predation. The sap of the milkweed contains a natural chemical called a cardenaloid compound. This is poisonous to birds and mammals. When the butterfly ecloses from the chrysalis, the cardenaloid compound then is in the wings of the butterfly and her colorings warn birds that they should not eat her. Birds do not eat monarchs. The largest amount of predation is by insects.
The sap in milkweed has a high level of an alkaloid called cardenaloid. It is a cardiac inhibitor. So when working with mw you must wear gloves. Don't get the sap in your eyes, mouth or nose. It can make you feel very ill and damage your eyes. I have ruined at least one pair of contact lenses. But thank God I had the contacts, they protected my cornea. Wash your hands well with soap and hot water after coming in contact with the sap. Just be careful like you would with any other plant.
Here I will be talking about the plant that we need to plant more of.
There are about 110 specie of Asclepias in North America and about 24 native to Illinois and Indiana (where I primarily work) and from that list of 24 there are 12 that monarchs use and 5-6 that are appropriate for the home garden. There is one non native milkweed I use to feed my caterpillars.
The 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year was Asclepias tuberosa, I am very happy the PPA (Perennial Plant Association) is focusing on yet another fantastic native plant. My concern comes when buying these plants at a nursery that may have treated the plant with pesticides. The best thing you can do is buy milkweed and other natives from native nurseries and local native plant sales.. You can also grow your own. As far as native plants go...Asclepias is a really easy species to start from seed.
Tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica : the only non native milkweed I have grown so far. There has been some controversy on this plant. To be clear, as of right now I am growing this plant in the great lakes region and this plant dies at the end of fall just like all other plants in our region. The risk of parasite spores (OE) overwintering on plants is low. If you live in a coastal region where this plant lives over the winter, it is necessary to cut your plants back at least 2x during the winter. This will reduce the likely hood of OE spores overwintering. the spores I am speaking of are mostly OE a parasitic organism that has evolved with the monarch. My suggestion is to grow as much native milkweed species as your garden can fir and have a few tropical mw in pots as an accent. I get most of eggs and cats from tropical mw so I do think it is worth it. Just cut it down Oct. 1st.
Jan 2017 Update: We had such a long warm season last year that trop. mw was still up and blooming well into November. I was horrified hearing about gardeners who were finding cats. in November. This is much too late in the season for our region. Sudden weather/ temp changes can kill monarchs trying to migrate. My new outlook on this species is grow it with care. Grow it, collect seeds for next year and cut it down October 1st. I do not think that having this plant in the garden will destroy the migration but our extended warm season late into fall does not help. Be a responsible gardener and cut it down Oct. 1st. Do not compost this plant. Because we have had 2 mild winters there is some preliminary evidence that the spores can overwinter in our gardens or compost.
Growing this plant is incredibly easy! Start seeds indoors in March or Winter Sow in February or start seeds outdoors by sowing in April in a large pot. When the plants are 6" tall transplant the seedlings to where you want them.
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca grows in more regions of North America than any other species. So when we say "Start A Revolution! Plant Milkweed!" we are mostly speaking of common. As a garden plant, it has a reputation for being invasive. Problem is, we reserve the term invasive for plant for species that are not native to a region and one that takes over native/ natural sites. Now, it is a plant that spreads but if you understand the life cycle of the plant, won't be so squeamish about planting it. First it does not always germinate from seed when you toss the seeds in the garden. Mature common mw does not transplant well at all. If you get it in the first season you can do it. The problem is that the roots are very brittle and it just don't take. Moving on...common mw needs cold moist stratification in order to germinate. You can then start it indoors or in a greenhouse under lights. I have the best results by winter sowing. Once in the garden common mw takes about 4 seasons to mature. The first two seasons the plant will be short and may not bloom. Since it has such a large root system it spends the first few seasons building that system so it is not surprising that it would not bloom. Speaking of blooms this plant is my favorite one in my garden, it smells like lilac and gardenia! I would plant it just for the fragrance. Regarding the plant moving around the garden, my theory is that is is a nutrient hungry plant and it moves around in search of nutrients in the soil. I simply let it go where it wants because my garden is a monarch-centric garden and I want it there. The good news is that this is the only milkweed that moves around that fast. Read on for more choices that are more garden friendly.
Swamp/ rose/ red milkweed Asclepias incarnata is a wide spread species around North America, it can grow in many habitats despite it's name. A. incarnata can grow in wet swampy areas around a pond or lake or in a rain garden at the bottom of the basin. However I have also seen it growing in very dry gardens out in the open as in a public garden or parking lot. Like other milkweed species A. incarnata prefers full sun. The greatest advantage of this species is that it does not get as tall common mw and that it only spreads through seeds. Monarchs do lay eggs on it as well as common and these are both the most popular species for monarchs to use.
Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa is a beautiful milkweed that should be grown by all gardeners! Like common and swamp, it is a native milkweed and it grows in habitats all over the country. The most important thing you need to know is that this plant has a taproot and it needs perfect drainage in the soil over the winter. Very important. It has beautiful cluster of orange flowers and it an important nectar plant for the adult butterflies. They don't lay eggs on it all that often but monarchs do occasionally use it late in the season.
Prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii is species of milkweed that is native to the Midwest and great lakes region. Prairie milkweed is a new species to my garden so I do not have a lot of experience with it. So far it is still maturing. It won't spread as fast as common and looks a lot like it. Needs full sun and medium wet to medium soil and grows about 3 feet tall.
Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurescens is a beautiful species of milkweed that looks very similar to common but grows slower. It is a little tricky to grow but I have had great success winter sowing the seeds.
Other species of milkweed that grows well in gardens:
For more information on all of these species and more follow this link to prairie Moon Nursery. https://www.prairiemoon.com/search.html?Search=asclepias
I have ordered form here many times and have never been disappointed.
Poke milkweed
Showy milkweed
Spider milkweed
Whorled milkweed
Milkweed (Asclepias) is the plant species that the monarch butterfly exclusively uses to raise its caterpillars. After mating the gravid female butterfly flies from plant to plant laying one egg per leaf (usually, but there are exceptions) These eggs hatch on the milkweed and the caterpillar proceeds to eat ravenously until the time comes for it to make a chrysalis. One of the problems with the population of the monarch is that we have lost millions of acres of milkweed prairie in the last 20 years. I am not going to get into all of the politics and reasons for the decline here.
Why milkweed? Monarchs are specialist butterflies. They lay their eggs on milkweed in order to protect the caterpillars from predation. The sap of the milkweed contains a natural chemical called a cardenaloid compound. This is poisonous to birds and mammals. When the butterfly ecloses from the chrysalis, the cardenaloid compound then is in the wings of the butterfly and her colorings warn birds that they should not eat her. Birds do not eat monarchs. The largest amount of predation is by insects.
The sap in milkweed has a high level of an alkaloid called cardenaloid. It is a cardiac inhibitor. So when working with mw you must wear gloves. Don't get the sap in your eyes, mouth or nose. It can make you feel very ill and damage your eyes. I have ruined at least one pair of contact lenses. But thank God I had the contacts, they protected my cornea. Wash your hands well with soap and hot water after coming in contact with the sap. Just be careful like you would with any other plant.
Here I will be talking about the plant that we need to plant more of.
There are about 110 specie of Asclepias in North America and about 24 native to Illinois and Indiana (where I primarily work) and from that list of 24 there are 12 that monarchs use and 5-6 that are appropriate for the home garden. There is one non native milkweed I use to feed my caterpillars.
The 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year was Asclepias tuberosa, I am very happy the PPA (Perennial Plant Association) is focusing on yet another fantastic native plant. My concern comes when buying these plants at a nursery that may have treated the plant with pesticides. The best thing you can do is buy milkweed and other natives from native nurseries and local native plant sales.. You can also grow your own. As far as native plants go...Asclepias is a really easy species to start from seed.
Tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica : the only non native milkweed I have grown so far. There has been some controversy on this plant. To be clear, as of right now I am growing this plant in the great lakes region and this plant dies at the end of fall just like all other plants in our region. The risk of parasite spores (OE) overwintering on plants is low. If you live in a coastal region where this plant lives over the winter, it is necessary to cut your plants back at least 2x during the winter. This will reduce the likely hood of OE spores overwintering. the spores I am speaking of are mostly OE a parasitic organism that has evolved with the monarch. My suggestion is to grow as much native milkweed species as your garden can fir and have a few tropical mw in pots as an accent. I get most of eggs and cats from tropical mw so I do think it is worth it. Just cut it down Oct. 1st.
Jan 2017 Update: We had such a long warm season last year that trop. mw was still up and blooming well into November. I was horrified hearing about gardeners who were finding cats. in November. This is much too late in the season for our region. Sudden weather/ temp changes can kill monarchs trying to migrate. My new outlook on this species is grow it with care. Grow it, collect seeds for next year and cut it down October 1st. I do not think that having this plant in the garden will destroy the migration but our extended warm season late into fall does not help. Be a responsible gardener and cut it down Oct. 1st. Do not compost this plant. Because we have had 2 mild winters there is some preliminary evidence that the spores can overwinter in our gardens or compost.
Growing this plant is incredibly easy! Start seeds indoors in March or Winter Sow in February or start seeds outdoors by sowing in April in a large pot. When the plants are 6" tall transplant the seedlings to where you want them.
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca grows in more regions of North America than any other species. So when we say "Start A Revolution! Plant Milkweed!" we are mostly speaking of common. As a garden plant, it has a reputation for being invasive. Problem is, we reserve the term invasive for plant for species that are not native to a region and one that takes over native/ natural sites. Now, it is a plant that spreads but if you understand the life cycle of the plant, won't be so squeamish about planting it. First it does not always germinate from seed when you toss the seeds in the garden. Mature common mw does not transplant well at all. If you get it in the first season you can do it. The problem is that the roots are very brittle and it just don't take. Moving on...common mw needs cold moist stratification in order to germinate. You can then start it indoors or in a greenhouse under lights. I have the best results by winter sowing. Once in the garden common mw takes about 4 seasons to mature. The first two seasons the plant will be short and may not bloom. Since it has such a large root system it spends the first few seasons building that system so it is not surprising that it would not bloom. Speaking of blooms this plant is my favorite one in my garden, it smells like lilac and gardenia! I would plant it just for the fragrance. Regarding the plant moving around the garden, my theory is that is is a nutrient hungry plant and it moves around in search of nutrients in the soil. I simply let it go where it wants because my garden is a monarch-centric garden and I want it there. The good news is that this is the only milkweed that moves around that fast. Read on for more choices that are more garden friendly.
Swamp/ rose/ red milkweed Asclepias incarnata is a wide spread species around North America, it can grow in many habitats despite it's name. A. incarnata can grow in wet swampy areas around a pond or lake or in a rain garden at the bottom of the basin. However I have also seen it growing in very dry gardens out in the open as in a public garden or parking lot. Like other milkweed species A. incarnata prefers full sun. The greatest advantage of this species is that it does not get as tall common mw and that it only spreads through seeds. Monarchs do lay eggs on it as well as common and these are both the most popular species for monarchs to use.
Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa is a beautiful milkweed that should be grown by all gardeners! Like common and swamp, it is a native milkweed and it grows in habitats all over the country. The most important thing you need to know is that this plant has a taproot and it needs perfect drainage in the soil over the winter. Very important. It has beautiful cluster of orange flowers and it an important nectar plant for the adult butterflies. They don't lay eggs on it all that often but monarchs do occasionally use it late in the season.
Prairie milkweed Asclepias sullivantii is species of milkweed that is native to the Midwest and great lakes region. Prairie milkweed is a new species to my garden so I do not have a lot of experience with it. So far it is still maturing. It won't spread as fast as common and looks a lot like it. Needs full sun and medium wet to medium soil and grows about 3 feet tall.
Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurescens is a beautiful species of milkweed that looks very similar to common but grows slower. It is a little tricky to grow but I have had great success winter sowing the seeds.
Other species of milkweed that grows well in gardens:
For more information on all of these species and more follow this link to prairie Moon Nursery. https://www.prairiemoon.com/search.html?Search=asclepias
I have ordered form here many times and have never been disappointed.
Poke milkweed
Showy milkweed
Spider milkweed
Whorled milkweed
