Great Design Plant: Milkweed

atistler I had milkweed in my back yard and it was extremely invasive, so plant with care. It ended up choking out many of my other plants and getting rid of it is a task in itself.

Benjamin Vogt As a rule, most milkweed is not invasive. If you have fertile, loamy soil and plant syriaca or speciosa, yes, you'll certainly get runners over time. But if you have heavy clay those two species will be slowed down. The best behaved milkweeds (ones that clump and do not spread at all) are the two I most strongly suggest: A. incarnata and A. sullivanttii. Monarchs and other butterflies vastly prefer the nectar of A. incarnata over the others, as well. This has been my experience in Nebraska, as well as the experience of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.

Sheila Schmitz Your story reminded me of all the butterflies and milkweed we had in our Oregon yard when I was growing up. I just ordered a variety of West Coast native milkweed seeds to sprout and give away. Is there any concern about how much you need to have in the yard to support the butterflies they attract?

atistler Interesting. It must be our soil and the species then, because every year it seems to come back stronger and stronger no matter what I do. I wouldn't mind it so much if it didn't kill the other plants in the yard. Our neighborhood seems to have an abundance of milkweed.

Benjamin Vogt Sheila, I follow the "you can't have too much" credo, but the key is to have both host plants and nectar sources for butterflies. For example here in Nebraska, when I plant Liatris ligulistylis next to swamp milkweed the monarchs go crazy--I bring them in with a drink, and get them to stay with the plant they lay eggs on. I found out through trial and error which nectar plant they liked (and a native one at that), and for you it may be different based on region. I have noticed that native plants are FAR better butterfly attractors than non natives, which is why I'm phasing out non natives and ma up to 75% natives to eastern Nebraska.

Benjamin Vogt atistler, I'd love to have an abundance of milkweed--they are a sign that the environment is healthy (no chemical over spray, soil is decent, etc). There are fewer and fewer native plants in our environments--due to invasive non-native introductions, chemicals, land development--that I smile every day at the stubborn stand of milkweed on my daily drive to work. Those natives sustain pollinating insects (bees, wasps, butterflies, beetles, flies) that pollinate 2/3 or more of our food supply. I always urge natives whenever I can as I design client garden beds.

danvo We have swamp milkweed that we've planted by a lake in NJ. We actually found it in the garden center at Lowes. Monarchs love it and it fits nicely in between other natives that we've planted or that have appeared over time by the lake. We have not found it to crowd out other plants at all.

c2blum Milkweed is a butterfly's bff! The seed pods we have on our woodland property are maturing and in a few weeks my youngest daughter will help me in reseeding the yard. Sure, we have plants shooting up in the middle of the yard all summer, and a few get cut by the mower. As Benjiman commented, this plant is soooo beneficial to the ecosystem; it just keeps on giving!!

Lorraine Chadwick I ate milkweed leaves this summer. My 93 year old aunt cooked them for me. They weren't bad.

julietjones Veryhelpful comments, everyone. Thanks! Appreciate Benjamin's suggested varieties, also good to know you can eat the leaves!

Benjamin Vogt It pleases me to no end to see this conversation, and to have so many people respond to the piece in various ways. Milkweed is absolutely vital to the health of our land--please don't use chemicals in your landscapes. I wrote a piece on the imperiled monarch migration for a regional newspaper (monarchs may soon become a threatened species), and you can read it here if interested: http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/2010/07/monarch-butterflies-the-last-migration

pattigandy Ok Benjamin. I am building a house in Virginia beach, Va on the bay and my yard is small. Which of the species will best tolerate sandy soil ( good drainage) and not be invasive to my other plants. Remember ....small yard but I do want to attract the monarch.

Benjamin Vogt PattiG, I'd try Asclepias purpurascens--it's native to your region (and most of the eastern U.S.). It should take it dry, but will take a few years to flower (mine is in dry clay with part sun, but sand / gravel should be fine). It's a slow grower and will not spread. If you want to try A. speciosa you could, but it's native west of the Mississippi.

pattigandy Thank you for your advise.

lalea You have great timing! I have been on a quest to bring monarchs to my garden here in Southern California. I checked the local Osh and Home Depot and they both seemed baffled by my request of milkweed plants. I finally found some at the local garden center but after reading this article, I don't think they are natives. Can you direct me in the best host and nectar plants for my zone (11) and where to find them? Would this be a good time to plant seeds if I can't find the plants?

Benjamin Vogt Lalea, oh never ever buy plants from big box stores. I could go on and on about how drugged up they are with chemicals, not grown locally, likely not even adapted to your climate IF they're even native. Try to find a smaller independent nursery that knows the region, and look for university extensions that may have a nursery and plant sales (University of Nebraska grows and sells their own native plants, for example).

If you can't find plants locally, I'd try High Country Gardens which specialize in drought tolerant plants for warmer zones. For info on California monarchs I'd look at http://www.monarchbutterfly.org/ AND http://www.xerces.org/western-monarchs . That's the best I can do being far far away in Nebraska! :)

ruthieq lalea, you can check with your local Master Gardener Program at the Extension office of the unvirsity..from my experence they know their natives..

perezfam I am ashamed to say I have been trying to eradicate the milkweed at my home in Eastern Washington. But I promise to stop... or at least let it be in some areas (it pops up in the middle of the lawn in places!)

My dad used to tell me to "leave it alone, it's good for the butterflies and bees." I need to remember to listen to his advice, it was almost always good.

cde2012 Hi Benjamin

I live in South Africa in the coastal town of KZN. I love working in my garden (find it therapeutic) and enjoy watching the birds and butterflies that roam freely through the plants I have in there. However, I am not familiar with "milkweed" nor its Botanical name -
Asclepias spp. I would love to try some in my garden!

What should I be asking for at the Nurseries here in South Africa?

Thank you
Michelle

Benjamin Vogt I really don't know what native milkweed species you may have in South Africa, if any. But if you have local extension offices at universities I'd start there, or just a plain old google search and start asking nurseries or hunting for sales online once you know what's native for you.

julietjones To Michelle In South Africa: If you can't find this plant in your area, perhaps it was not meant to be there! Don't try to import it; I'd be rather wary of taking plants from a very different geographical area. Often they turn into invasive pests. Here in Memphis TN there are several examples of that: Kudzu is the worst offender. Imported from Japan to prevent erosion, it has now taken over literally entire roadsides out in the country. And privet, from England,has invaded our native old growth forest. Milkweed can be invasive in some areas.

Benjamin Vogt That's what I was trying to say but more roundabout--don't import non natives. Find a butterfly host plant native to you, find many. Europeans are in love with Great Plains grasses and wildflowers, but they don't belong there, who knows--maybe coneflower will become invasive in France or England. :)

cde2012 Thank you both Benjamin and Juliet. I am already in discussion with my Nurseries and Milkweed is considered - wait for it... ha! ha! "an alien plant " and definitely NOT recommended here. BUT, the Nursery man gave me a list of many plants that attract butterflies.. so, yipee.....

maryby We are in southeastern OK, lots of clay, wooded property.
What species of milkweed do you recommend?
Also, do you have a nectar plant suggestion?

Benjamin Vogt Maryby--I'd look at A. purpurascens. It is fairly adaptable to light and moisture and is native to Oklahoma... takes clay, too. It's a slow grower, taking a year or two to flower and establish, and doesn't spread fast or even at all. I'd say it even prefers a bit of shade. Should've included it in the list above! :)

Swamp milkweed, A. incarnata, is also more adaptable than people give it credit for. I have some growing in dry clay, half sun half shade and it's big and flowers, so I'd try it. Also well-behaved clumper.

maryby Do you happen to have a pic of a. purpurascens and what size it will be?

Benjamin Vogt You can certainly Google it. But I know Prairie Moon Nursery has info on it for you.

krancmm For those in the steaming Deep South, our go-to milkweed is Asclepias curassavica, the tropical milkweed. In winter, I usually have the lazy (or maybe more evolved?) Monarchs who don't feel like making the trans-Gulf migration to Mexico. Last January I counted over 50 chrysalis hanging on one nearby plant and watched most emerge...quite an experience.

Queen butterflies also use Asclepias, as do milkweed bugs and oleander aphids - one plant can be quite an ecosystem.

Actually Monarchs and Queens use any plant in the Asclepidaceae (now Apocynaceae) family, so the South African Gomphocarpus physocarpus (previously Aslcepias physocarpa) whose common name is Balloon Plant or Hairy Balls is equally attractive. My young ones were lost when the Queens and Monarchs ate leaves and stems right to the roots.

Photo shows a few of the astoundingly beautiful chrysalis and one cat starting to pupate in late December, 2011.

Benjamin Vogt That's lovely. Yes, heard good things about hairy balls (I hate using that name for it though, ahem). And yep, monarchs will eat any milkweed, but I sure have seen and heard of regional preferences, even local preferences. Those southern monarchs seem to be migrating less and less each year, thanks to climate change, I'm sure.

krancmm Must be only us women who find Hairy Balls amusing. Maybe you could start calling it by one of the Zulu common names, like umbababa. When I checked PlantzAfrica I was surprised that Gomphocarpus wasn't indigenous to South Africa, but naturalized from tropical Africa. If you're interested, here's the link: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/gomphophysocarp.htm

Plenty of Monarchs still stage in my area of the Texas Gulf Coast. My photo was late December, but here's one from late October same year of a very common sight: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/pattybrinkmeyer/6314488802/in/photostream/

Usually only get Monarchs in spring and autumn/early winter this close to the Third Coast, so I don't know if last year was a fluke or a trend. To date there haven't been as many in my yard as previous years - a bit worrisome.

Thanks for the interesting article. Hope it spurs gardeners to try these wonderful plants.

kattaycar In reference to Southern California, I'm in Zone 24, our A. Tuberosa is doing great and we have lots of caterpillars and of eggs. We created our first butterfly garden in early October and the caterpillars have been very active. Our only problem is we cannot keep up with their eating...we've had to add more milkweed as they've eaten everything! We did find it at a local nursery -- not at Home Depot. Just this week we found our first Queen Butterfly caterpillar munching happily alongside all the monarchs. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend "Flight of the Butterflies" film which is being shown in IMAX theaters. I saw it over the weekend..these creatures are not only breathtakingly beautiful but miraculous as well.

growler63 Although a small farmer in one town here cultivates Milkweed Thistle to harvest the silk, it is listed as a noxious weed in the state of Wyoming and is illegal to plant/sell/purchase, so check with your state regs. on the variety before planting this stuff. (that town is a different universe..lol-if memory serves, his field quickly became too infested to control, so they found a way to use what was "given").