Milkweed for Monarchs

If You Plant It They Will Come!

Summer 2018

We had been trying to get milkweed established for a number of years now. Milkweed is a weed. One would think it would be easier! First mistake I made was to plant them in an already established flower bed. I didn't see them come up at all the following spring. I finally noticed them a year and a half later. They were minuscule, and soon dwarfed by the other plants in the bed.

Second mistake: I saved seed and attempted to germinate them in moist paper towels in the spring. Only one seed germinated. It turns out that milkweed seed needs a period of cold stratification.

Then finally we had success! Denny cleared a spot just for them, and planted the bed in the fall. In the early spring I was charmed by him thinking that every weed that appeared might be his milkweed. He left all the weeds just in case. But I had foraged for milkweed shoots, and knew that they came up later than many other weeds. Finally they appeared, and we painstakingly weeded around each tiny one. Next year I intend to weed the bed before the milkweed plants poke up.

I figured that it would take the milkweed plants at least a year to establish themselves and attract Monarch butterflies. But I was wrong about that, too. Lots of Monarch caterpillars feasted on the small plants. I was amazed by how many. As long as there was some foliage left, the monarchs kept laying eggs. It was as if they were desperate for every little plant. Or perhaps they favor young milkweed as a special delicacy. Regardless of the reason, watching the caterpillars devour the plants motivated me to provide more. So far I've just gathered seed from the common milkweed, but next year I plan to purchase seeds of some other varieties.

In the past we would see lots of Monarch Butterflies all summer long. In recent years we have hardly seen any at all. Each sighting feels memorable. Right now our young milkweed plants look ravaged and sad. But despite their pitiful appearance, they fill me with optimism that we may be saving some butterflies. May next year bring even more: monarchs, caterpillars, milkweed, and hope!

2018 first year milkweed plants almost completely defoliated by the Monarch caterpillars - some pathetic looking plants. I feel sorry for them.

Let me know about your own milkweed and Monarch failures and successes.