About this time each year we watch Monarch butterflies float about our gardens and reflect on their silent beauty. They are in the midst of their migration down Mexico way, and they are very, very hungry. We congratulate ourselves for providing plenty of nectar plants like asters, Joe-Pye weed and goldenrods, but have we considered their offspring? Although fall is when Monarchs show their full-grown faces in my part of the world, we should also be thinking of them in spring and plant various milkweeds for egg laying.
You see, being queenly butterflies, little Monarch princes and princesses want to feast upon only one type of food, milkweeds, and this food source is disappearing throughout the United States due to land cultivation and changing times. Monarch larvae, like all members of the family Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies in the subfamily, Danainae, eat only milkweeds.
So, what does that mean to gardeners throughout the world? We need to plant more milkweeds, and in America, we should grow our native ones because many are in danger of disappearing. Asclepias curassavica, although beautifully colored, is native to Mexico.
You think there are no native milkweeds? Au contraire, my friend. There are approximately 110 species in North America with seventy-three species native to the U.S. One of the easiest to find and grow is A. incarnata, or pink swamp milkweed. As its name suggests, it likes the wet places in your garden, and like most native milkweeds, it is a short-lived perennial. You can buy swamp milkweed at Bustani Plant Farm and Wild Things Nursery. Wild Things, which specializes in native and butterfly plants, has four, different, native milkweeds to offer including swamp milkweed. With a quick search, I also found Milkweed Farm, which has a huge selection of native and non-native types, but I’ve yet to buy from them–and it appears they haven’t updated their site in a long time.
Another good thing about our native milkweeds is that they are perennial. Although listed some places as hardy to Zones 7 thru 10, I’ve never known tropical milkweeds to be perennial in my part of Oklahoma. I also noticed when I grew tropical ones they were continually covered in aphids. I don’t usually see a lot of aphids on swamp milkweed.
Swamp milkweed has taken a couple of seasons to establish in my garden, and because the soil it’s growing in is too rich, it does tend to flop over. I might move it to leaner spot next summer. It is tall, about four to five feet and sports a lovely puff of pink blooms atop its slender stalk. The color is a dusty pink. By now, it’s into seed production, and I’ve taken many pictures of the blowing seeds. I think I’ll plant some of them in the prairie meadow garden and maybe spread a few at Mitch Park since it’s a native. Yes, that’s exactly what I think I’ll do. I’ll wait on moving my plant just in case. I don’t want to disturb any chrysalises.
If you want to help our Monarchs who had a bad winter in 2010 and now a difficult 2011 summer, plant some native milkweeds like A. incarnata. They’ll thank you by soaring to new heights over your garden. Because it doesn’t spread by rhizomes, swamp milkweed won’t take over your garden like A. syriaca, common milkweed. Plus, swamp milkweed smells like bubblegum. Yum.
This post was brought to you via our hostess, Gail of Clay and Limestone who works diligently to inform everyone about the beauty of natives in our landscapes. She sponsors Wildflower Wednesday this time each month. Many Tennessee natives are also native to Oklahoma so plant some of her suggestions too.
Just beautiful…and as lovely as the flowers are, I love the seed pods even more 🙂
There are quite a few milkweed plants in the Minnippi Parkland near me where I walk my dogs. They have a white flower and big puffy pods (Asclepias physocarpa?) and I have also seen the red Asclepias Curassavica, but I don’t think we have anywhere near the variety here in Australia that you seem to have. I have only seen one monarch so far this season, and I must admit I have never forgiven the regular milkweed since I was a child and someone told me that if I floated the pod in water overnight, it would turn into a butterfly.
You have monarch caterpillars! I have milkweed, and I’ve had monarch butterflies flying around it, but I’ve yet to see a monarch caterpillar.
I’ve yet to meet a milkweed I didn’t like Dee! We have purple milkweed in our garden since it’s fairly shade-tolerant. It has taken awhile to establish, and bloomed this year for the first time. The swamp milkweed seeds I tried to start this year didn’t germinate, but I’ll try again, or order a plant. A couple of struggling tuberosas were moved to the front for more sun this fall – hope to see them come back in the spring. Monarchs have become pretty rare around here and it would be wonderful if more people would add milkweed to their gardens. Thanks for a wonderful post!
I’d happily plant more of the native Asclepias if they were available. Since the only species readily available in my part of Texas is the non-native A. curassavica, I’ve had to settle for those. I planted several flats over the last couple of months and the Monarchs are munching away. I do have what I believe to be an Asclepias that rode in on some plants a friend brought me but I’m not sure which one it is, maybe A. asperula. I need to check it for caterpillars!
Hi Dee,
Great post! I’ve become a real fan of milkweeds over the last few years and have discovered 8 species that occur naturally on our little 10 acre plot in south central Kansas. (I’ve added a few butterfly milkweeds in the gardens, too, so now I’ve got 9!) The one that I see monarch caterpillars on most often is showy or Sullivan’s milkweed, Asclepias sullivantii. Its form is similar to both the common milkweed and the swamp milkweed, fairly tall with with pink flowers that smell amazingly good. I don’t know if it spreads by rhizomes or not, though.
Also, I thought you might be interested to know that there is a species of aphid that is specific to milkweeds too, so chances are that if you see aphids on your milkweeds, they won’t spread to other, non-milkweed, plants in your garden. You can let them be to attract (and feed) their predators: lacewings and ladybugs.
Growing up on a farm, it was ingrained in me early on that milkweeds were weeds, and I spent many hours as a teenager pulling or chopping them out of bean fields. As I’ve learned more about wildlife and gardening in the past few years, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to sneak some milkweed into the garden without my husband noticing. I do have a few Ascelpias tuberosa, but the swamp milkweed sounds like the perfect addition. The Monarchs have been few in number around here the past few years; I’d love to have more of them stop by for a visit.
We don’t have Monarchs here (at least, I don’t think we do) which is a shame because, from the pictures I have seen of them, they are very beautiful.
They sound a very practical butterfly to attract too. Very often, we want butterflies – but not caterpillars! If you are able to provide one food source for them without being worried they will tuck into the rest of your garden – sounds good!
I adore the thought that the butterflies (or their cousins/offspring) who passed through my garden on the other side of Lake Ontario get to sample a variety of Asclepias. I let the brute A. syriaca take a small section of the garden just so the creatures have purchase in my garden. It loves the dry sandy soil. I was surprised to see the monarchs fly through so late, but their numbers were far higher than last year. Let’s hope it’s positive trend. Thanks for the great post.
Well, I am going to have to take a wiff of Swamp Milkweed sometime. I have never noticed the scent before. Hmmmm They say the smell sensory is the first to go.
Dee, my native milkweeds brought the monarchs in droves this year and then they feasted on asters before they flew South. They also love native butterfly weed and someone brought the common milkweed to my yard. There is none in the surrounding area and suddenly this year it appeared with the monarchs. I also see it growing again in many spots reclaiming those areas…so happy to see it. I am crazy for milkweed.
Dee, Excellent post and the links to plant sources is very helpful. It’s rare to find very many local nurseries carrying anything other than A tuberosa (which is also a fine plant) and usually they are sold out. Does Bustani do mail order? xogail
Hooray for your monarchs, dear Dee! We get a lost soul or two in the fall as they make their way south to Mexico and have Asclepias tuberosa on offer for them, among the many blooming fall flowers. We love seeing them and their silent beauty, such a sweet description.
Thanks for the posts on Wildflowers! I bought this asclepias from Bustani this fall along with the standard orange. How much water does the incarnata need? I put in my daylily bed in a lower area. Sure hope it lives! I love the butterflies.
LaDonna, I water mine a couple of times a week. It doesn’t need all that much water, but it does grow near streams and in wetlands.
What a fascinating post Dee. Last year I spent a happy hour looking at the display the holder of the UK’s national collection of milkweeds had put together for Hampton Court flower show. I learned they’re such versatile plants, not just for what they do to nourish the beloved offspring of the Monarch butterflies 🙂
VP, they are very interesting plants and so important to our ecosystem in so many ways. Thanks for the comment!