Know your milkweed providers

[Bunny Jo]

I just had an unpleasant experience with a milkweed plant I purchased at our Home Depot Store here in Florida and have learned some lessons from it. I brought it home for all the caterpillars that had finished off all mine in the garden. Shortly after they crawled onto the plant, they seemed to be stunned or paralyzed and died--about 7 of them! I did not wash the plant down with water before I placed it in the garden. This plant was not from the usual supplier--Florida Friendly Plants--who does NOT use pesticides. I've never had a problem with their plants.
I called Home Depot and spoke with the buyer in the garden dep't. and told him of my dilemma. I explained to him the importance of the milkweed plant to Monarchs and he told me he would have the supplier of these plants give me a call. I think it is suggested when you buy a new milkweed that you wash it down with water and only place one cat on it to make sure it's ok. I won't make this mistake again!

[Mona Miller]

Usually hardware stores are not good places to buy milkweed to feed to butterflies. They have herbs that humans use that are generally sprayed, too. They don't want their plants eaten up before they get them sold. If they only knew that people would buy the plants just for the caterpillars, they'd stop selling sprayed plants.

[Bunny Jo]

I guess what we need to do as Monarch protectors is to educate the milkweed plant growers and nurseries. Hopefully they will listen...

[Mona Miller]

I also grow my own milkweed both tropical and native perennials, then you know exactly what has happened to it.

[MonarchLake1975]

This is really good information. My husband just found a cat last week and I've been deparately trying to find milkweed...didn't know you could buy it at a nursery. I'll have to call tomorrow. Thanks for the info!

[Mona Miller]

I have rarely found common milkweed, but tell them you are looking for asclepias. They may carry swamp milkweed, asclepias incarnata (which comes in many colors now, caterpillars don't care what color the flowers are ) and butterfly weed, asclepias tuberosa. I've even noted lately that at native plant sales another good place to pick up plants, in my area we are having several this month, have several varieties. I love native plant sales, cheaper than nurseries.

Plus, the tropicals, which depending upon your frost date will hold up better and regrow faster. If you have a sunny window indoors you can take them in for the winter. And, then you don't have to buy them. They are also easy to start from seed in the spring or summer.

[joann0811]

I'm glad I spotted this topic (as well as others on this subject). I've planted my seeds and am waiting (impatiently) for them to start sprouting. I've contacted my local garden center, who sell milkweek, about purchasing some plants so I can have them in hand earlier. I would never have thought to wash the plant prior to setting out.

Thanks much!!

[Mona Miller]

My 8 week old seedlings are planted out in 18 gallon plastic square totes that I picked up at Lowes for only $3.50. I drilled holes in the bottom, put it about 1/3 full of pinebark mulch, then added potting soil. I use Sta-Green with soil moist. It has chrystals which soak up water to save for the plants later. Then I clipped a garden blanket over the seedlings so they don't get sun burned and beat to death by heavy rain.

http://willtaft.com/gardening/how-to-grow-vegetables/
Scroll down there is a good picture of garden cloth (Reemay). I purchased mine at a local nursery.

Now, to wait for my Monarch friends.

[Will]

Last fall my college age daughter was doing an biology experiment that required milkweed plants, (nothing to do with Monarchs though). She had a heck of a time getting them. I wish I had seen this site back then and saved her a bunch of time.

I remember the Monarch from growing up in N.H. Here in Oregon we never see them although we have a lot of the large Monarch sized yellow butterfly. Western Swallowtail, I think?

[Mona Miller]

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/spec ... =41*Oregon
Almost every county in Oregon has reports of Monarchs on the Butterflies and Moth web page. Maybe if you planted more milkweed, you'd see more monarchs.