milkweed Archives - Gardenerd

Monarch on a happy milkweed plant

Ask Gardenerd: Milkweed for New York?

A question came into Ask Gardenerd this week about milkweed plants and seeds: "Could you please recommend a reliable source to buy African milkweed? I would like to grow some in Rochester NY. Is this the correct kind for my area, by the way? Thank you, Julia Joshpe" Hi Julia, while African Milkweed is beautiful and fun to grow, it's not a native milkweed in New York. Take heart, though. We found a site that has plenty of recommendations for…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 13, 2016
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:6 Comments

Perennial milkweeds grow back year after year. They provide habitat for traveling Monarch butterflies.

Native Milkweed Only, Please.

I've been hearing it for awhile, especially from the native plant enthusiasts and experts among us: pull out non-native milkweeds, it's making our Monarchs sick. What? Aren't we supposed to be growing milkweed for Monarch butterflies, you ask. The answer is yes, but it's more complicated than that. Nobody ever really explained to me why we need to stop growing non-native milkweeds, just that we need to stop. But finally something came across my desk to explain it succinctly. Recent…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 1, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:5 Comments

Flowers form into balloon shaped "hairy balls"

Ask Gardenerd: Pruning Back Milkweed?

A question came into Ask Gardenerd this week that I even asked myself last year: "First year planting swamp milkweed for Monarchs - just had two butterflies exit their cocoons this morning. Had five plants this year - going big next year. Question - lots of info on how to get plants started but nothing on end of season maintenance. Should we cut back the stems on the existing plants or do we just leave them? Not sure what to…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 22, 2014
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:114 Comments

Evidence of life in our milkweed habitat

Milkweed and Monarchs – Update

For those following the path of the Monarch butterfly migration, and for those providing milkweed as habitat for them along the way, you'll be pleased to know that we have had a visitor over the past month in the Gardenerd Test Garden. When last we posted, we were starting to see eggs and tiny worms. In this post we'll share new "developments." At first we spied three caterpillars, but over time they became harder to find. We witnessed a spider…

Post author:Christy
Post published:October 23, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:8 Comments

Tiny eggs on the undersides of milkweed leaves

Milkweed and Monarchs

Perhaps the most important part of any vegetable garden is the habitat surrounding the garden itself. Having a place where good bugs can thrive can be the difference between a successful garden, or one full of pests. Milkweed plays an important role in keeping one species happy: the Monarch butterfly. Monarchs are amazing for a number of reasons. First, they only lay their eggs on milkweed plants, because that is the single food of their young larvae. Second, most monarchs…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 17, 2013
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments