There is nothing as graceful as a monarch butterfly sailing with strong wing strokes over the garden wall, and few moments as enjoyable as when that butterfly stays to visit, floating from flower to flower. Often, monarchs come in groups to frolic together in the sun, a spectacle that gardeners across America have come to cherish.
 |
Monarch adult and caterpillar on butterfly milkweed.
Photo by Alex James Bramwell.
|
Adult monarchs need plenty of nectar to fuel their legendary migration to and from the mountains of central Mexico, and butterfly-loving gardeners often plant nectar-heavy flowers to attract them. But equally essential to the monarch’s survival are the plants they lay their eggs on—the only plants their caterpillars are able to eat: the milkweeds. To really support the monarch, cultivate its food plants and learn to accept some leaf damage—the sign of happily growing baby monarchs. Their nibbles rarely harm these perennial plants.
There are many species of milkweed, and some are exceptionally beautiful. They grow to various heights and feature flowers in a range of colors including pink, purple, white, yellow and orange. There is a milkweed to complement every garden. All milkweeds fit in naturalized gardens with other native plants, but many can also work in the traditional border or cottage garden.
Each milkweed has its preferred ecological niche. The intensely fire-orange, short-statured butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), for example, doesn’t like wet feet and prefers sandy soil. Most of us know the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) from the empty lots and open fields of our childhoods. It is tall, spreads easily, and is quite happy in a range of conditions. Asclepias incarnata, AKA rose, red, or swamp milkweed, is a pretty, dark pink milkweed that doesn’t mind clay and periods of inundation. Unlike butterfly milkweed, this one doesn’t like dry soils. The stunning white Asclepias perennis can tolerate a bit of shade. The intensely colored purple milkweed, Asclepias purpurascens, has a habit much like common milkweed but does not spread. There are several other gorgeous milkweeds native to our area.
Learning which species are suited to your conditions can help you incorporate these important native plants into a garden that will host the entire lifecycle of the regal monarch. It takes a monarch less than a month to go from egg to adult, and in the northern summer our gardens can support as many as four generations before migration begins in the fall.
It has become essential, if our children are to enjoy these beautiful creatures, that city and suburban areas host healthy stands of milkweed. Developed complexes with lawns have taken over much of its habitat; farmland is now planted with roundup-ready crops, preventing wildflowers such as milkweeds from growing between the rows. Woodlands and prairies, with the full complement of native plants, are now extremely rare.
More and more, it is up to gardeners to provide the native plants that many of our butterflies require. For the monarch, it’s the milkweed. Plant some in your garden, or consult a native plant nursery or landscaper to choose the right combinations for your conditions.
Monica Buckley works with Art Gara, founder and owner of Art and Linda’s Wildflowers, a native plant landscaping company serving the Chicago area. Art and Linda’s uses many species of milkweed in its native plant wildflower gardens, which are ideal for attracting many kinds of butterflies, birds, and other creatures. Visit www.artandlindaswildflowers.com or Ballroom Booth # 808 or for more information.
