Why you should grow milkweed
Does anyone have seed pods available? We'd like to plant some this fall.
We have four different kinds of milkweed in our garden - it has done very well this year. We love it, as do the bees and butterflies.
I have a bunch, too. It's a really great plant, overall. Spring, summer and fall interest, although I'm sorry to say I haven't seen much monarch action on them over the years. Readily available at garden centers, too.
Sweetsnuggles said:
Does anyone have seed pods available? We'd like to plant some this fall.
I have plenty, just PM me. (I say that, but I don't really understand what that means. I'll look for messages though.) Plus there are a lot more on the way.
But I have to say I've never seen monarch caterpillars on them in the 15 years I've had them. Monarchs hang out there, and I have a zillion other butterflies in the garden, but the only insects that love the milkweed seem to be the yellow milkweed aphids and the black and orange milkweed bugs. Those are great to watch though, and apparently don't hurt the plant.
Monarch butterflies lay eggs individually. A lot of the eggs and very small caterpillars are found by ants, so not too many reach adulthood. Some years, when I have the time, if I notice a monarch laying eggs, I will collect the eggs (on the leaves) and raise the caterpillars in captivity. I get close to 100% survival rates when do this.
tjohn said:
Monarch butterflies lay eggs individually. A lot of the eggs and very small caterpillars are found by ants, so not too many reach adulthood. Some years, when I have the time, if I notice a monarch laying eggs, I will collect the eggs (on the leaves) and raise the caterpillars in captivity. I get close to 100% survival rates when do this.
Pretty cool!
tjohn said:
Monarch butterflies lay eggs individually. A lot of the eggs and very small caterpillars are found by ants, so not too many reach adulthood. Some years, when I have the time, if I notice a monarch laying eggs, I will collect the eggs (on the leaves) and raise the caterpillars in captivity. I get close to 100% survival rates when do this.
I would love to do this with my son who had a similar project in daycare and totally love it!
What conditions does milkweed prefer? Sun, shade? Wet, dry? (I'll look it up, but I'm trying now to figure out where in our yard they would do well. I actually love the seed pods that form in the fall. So pretty. And the butterflies would be a nice bonus, particularly if we can help the species survive.
They're not very particular. The ones I have that do best get a half day of sun and not a lot of water -- If it doesn't rain for three or four days I'll give it a shot from the hose. But they're weeds, they're used to dealing with whatever they get.
They reseed well -- which means they show up everywhere in the late spring but are easy to pull out if you don't want them. But the plants from the previous year keep coming back, better every year.
PeggyC said:
What conditions does milkweed prefer? Sun, shade? Wet, dry? (I'll look it up, but I'm trying now to figure out where in our yard they would do well. I actually love the seed pods that form in the fall. So pretty. And the butterflies would be a nice bonus, particularly if we can help the species survive.
They do best with a lot of sun. They seem to be able to handle a range of soil conditions. Common milkweed blooms early in the season. The flowers are very fragrant the bees love them. Butterfly milkweed (orange flowers) blooms later in the summer. I have some of that as well and plan to grow more. It doesn't self-propagate very well whereas with common milkweed, once established, all you have to do is pull out the plants you don't want.
If you want butterflies, you will want some other flowering plants to attract them such as butterfly bush and Joe-Pye weed.
OMG, I planted Joe-Pye Weed at our last house, and the last time we were there, the stalks were about 8' high, no joke! They are spectacular, but I'm considering digging them up for fear they will turn off potential buyers by distracting them from the rest of the house. "Honey, what houses did we see last weekend?" "Well, there was the one with the beautiful kitchen, the one that needed a ton of work in the bathroom, the one with the leaks in the basement, and the one with those HUGE PURPLE FLOWERING PLANTS."
That is Joe-Pye Weed, right? And I'll give them this: They are gorgeous. Come to think of it, they would be great in one of my current planting beds, if I can transplant them successfully.
I looked up milkweed yesterday, and to my joy there's a swamp version I can add to our wetlands. 
Now I just have to find some to buy.
Oh, and tjohn, we have two enormous butterfly bushes at the new house, cheek-by-jowl with something that looks like giant Black-Eyed Susans.
I think I read that a lot of the milkweed that the garden centers sell may not be the kind that monarchs prefer. I'm not sure though.
My boys and I made beautiful Christmas ornaments with milkweed seed pods that we picked in the wild one year before I knew they were good for monarchs.
If I try to find it I will go online and look for the kind that is recommended for monarchs. Although I like it enough that I would be happy even to have the wrong kind in the garden somewhere. 
I think common milkweed is the preferred food on monarch caterpillars in our area. They also eat swamp milkweed and butterfly week. Milkweed contains a substance that is poisonous to birds and mammals. Monarchs accumulate this poison as a defense against predators.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_syriaca
I buy my plants from a nursery in PA specializing in plants for butterflies and hummingbirds. I love trying a few new varieties each season.
johanna said:
I buy my plants from a nursery in PA specializing in plants for butterflies and hummingbirds. I love trying a few new varieties each season.
What is the name of the nursery. I prefer a sort of prairie garden with a Darwinian management approach. My Joe-Pye weed does well as does goldenrod and milkweed and day lillies. Some plants such as a peony and bee-balm I pamper a little bit.
Inspired by this thread, I just ordered 3 'Butterfly' milkweed plants from my favorite online nursery:
http://www.santarosagardens.com/Asclepias-p/asc-tub.htm
They're on sale now, and from past experiences with Santa Rosa, I expect they'll arrive in great shape. Hope I'll find some of those amazing caterpillars next spring.
The monarchs don't seem to arrive in our area now until mid to late July. If you want to speed the process along, you can probably buy some eggs or caterpillars. For best survival rates, you can raise some indoors away from ants and other predators that eat the eggs and very small caterpillars.
joy said:
I will have some in the fall. They're still green right now.
Thank you Joy.
FC_ said:
Sweetsnuggles said:I have plenty, just PM me. (I say that, but I don't really understand what that means. I'll look for messages though.) Plus there are a lot more on the way.
Does anyone have seed pods available? We'd like to plant some this fall.
But I have to say I've never seen monarch caterpillars on them in the 15 years I've had them. Monarchs hang out there, and I have a zillion other butterflies in the garden, but the only insects that love the milkweed seem to be the yellow milkweed aphids and the black and orange milkweed bugs. Those are great to watch though, and apparently don't hurt the plant.
Thank you! I'll PM you.
tjohn said:
The monarchs don't seem to arrive in our area now until mid to late July. If you want to speed the process along, you can probably buy some eggs or caterpillars. For best survival rates, you can raise some indoors away from ants and other predators that eat the eggs and very small caterpillars.
I don't know when the monarchs arrive in our area, but I'm pretty sure that they head south in mid to late September. A few years ago, when I was riding my bicycle near Jacob Riis Park I came upon thousands or perhaps millions of monarchs. It was amazing! Butterflies were everywhere you looked - in the air, hanging from the branches of the trees, on the grass - and also all over the bike path. To keep from running over them I walked my bike through the area.
to help with a borderline endangered species...