Raising Monarchs

[CountryEscape]

You are sooooo correct, Lisa! I have been trying to tell people on the gardening sites I am on to cut off the pods, do NOT allow them to free fly into the air. Be courteous of your neighbors and, as you said, neighbors neighbors! Farmers have been working hard for many many years to eradicate them, thus the reason for losing monarch populations. I get that, and want to help the butterflies; however, not to the extent that the farmers have to come up with new chemicals to get rid of the plants in their fields. I cut off all pods. I have shared seeds with others who do not have the plants available. But, I cringe whenever I read that someone let the pods mature and the seeds "fly where they want". I am much more cautious, especially since I am surrounded by farmed fields. In fact, I'm tempted to dig up the 5-10 plants that I spotted growing in the road ditches near where I live! LOL None of them have seed pods, but they were mowed off halfway through the summer, too. Next year, I may cut off the top of my plants as they grow, and see if I can get them to branch out and get fuller. Guess that may keep them from blooming, and the flowers are soooooo fragrant!
I also have swamp milkweed. Flowers are similar, but not very fragrant, if at all. The leaves are thinner, and the plants grows in more of a bush like plant. The seed pods are much smaller, but mature sooner, and if you don't cut them all off (and there are TONS of seed pods ....) they will release the seeds on fuzzy stems like the common, and sprout everywhere. The best part is these seedlings are super easy to pull, even when the ground is dry.

 

[Lisak1]

Next year, I may cut off the top of my plants as they grow, and see if I can get them to branch out and get fuller.

That's a great idea! I think I'll try the same thing! The pods... they are EVERYWHERE!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

But, I cringe whenever I read that someone let the pods mature and the seeds "fly where they want".

If you're talking specifically about the non-native Tropical Milkweed, I agree. It's best to prevent a non-native specie from spreading. If you're talking about native species, that confuses me.

To start with your cautiousness of being near farm fields, my thoughts immediately go to the countless prairie restorations and remnants I frequently visit that are surrounded by and interwoven with farm fields and grazing fields. Those farmers do well out there, so a garden's worth of milkweed won't be a threat to them.

I'm not sure what caused @Lisak1's influx* of milkweed. Possibly caused by the non-native factor, where plants can tend to be more aggressive in a place they aren't from. As for neighbors, at least the neighborhoods around here, typical yards generally consist of grass that gets cut so often that milkweed couldn't survive, weedy areas where milkweed would be a welcome upgrade to the invasives that already grow there, and gardens that are either weeded so frequently or infrequently that it would never be noticeable over any weeds. Milkweeds aren't aggressive in residential areas the way dandelions, hawkweed, or creeping charlie is, since dandelions and hawkweed tolerate being consistently cut by lawnmowers, and have an extremely short blooming and seeding period where they can release seeds between cuts, whereas milkweeds usually don't produce seeds until the second year, and then need four months to grow, flower, and produce a ripe seedpod, not to mention continuous lawnmower cuts will just kill them off.


Lastly, of course, there are places that accept native seed donations, so if you still don't want them to fly free, I highly recommend letting the seeds ripen, and donating them. Sometimes there are prairie restorations that accept donations, many schools have native gardening projects and some highschools/colleges have prairie restorations of their own. Websites like Leaf2Wing accept seed donations, and you can always ask your local DNR about where to donate them as well. I asked my DNR in Spring during a native plant chat and they gave me a couple of places, though I forgot, so I'll have to ask again when the time comes. There is always a need for native seed somewhere, especially as more and more cities design restorations, and as people continue to learn the importance of native plants in gardens.

Next year, I may cut off the top of my plants as they grow, and see if I can get them to branch out and get fuller.

It works really well! I tried it out with one of mine this year just for experimental purposes and it has a good 15-20 branches growing from it, and maybe a foot high at most. That's with a first-year plant, so I didn't see many blooms. Next year I'll try again and see if it continues to affect the amount of blooms or if it drastically delays the blooming period.

Whew, that was way more typing than I intended!




* a word I don't think I've ever used before and had to double-check the meaning of.

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks, JB, you are correct on all accounts. I just still cringe when I hear about people letting the seeds "blow in the wind". I guess I'm picturing them in a subdivision, and worrying about unwanted "weeds" showing up in neighbor's yards. But, as you said, they are easily mowed over and killed. My common milkweed is coming up on the other side of a 3' wide sidewalk. LOL Those runners are strong and go where they need to. My front flower bed, where the original seed was "sown" this year had about 20-25 plants, and this was after only one plant 2 years ago. I should have moved it 2 years ago, but thought it would be fun. Now it's going to be hard to move them all, but I want to keep the mature plants for next year. Thinking I better move them this fall, when all other plants in that bed are dormant, and put them in my "wild" area, which is not mowed or tended to at all, and is mostly low clumps of grasses.
I cut off all the pods from my milkweed. I plan to donate most of the seeds, and sow some of them in the wild area, along with swamp milkweed and other wild flower seeds I have been gathering from the road ditches, etc. Oh, and I also have orange milkweed, but not going to "waste" the seeds direct sowing them, rather going to winter sow them to have a better chance of having more of these, as they are my favorite plant I found, rarely find wild orange flowers! Then will transplant the seedlings into the "wild" area. I used roundup and sprayed circles of about 2-3' in diameter so I'll have small areas to transplant into next spring, or that's my hope. I know some said not to spray, but I wanted an area that seedlings would have a chance to make it.

 

[j.w]

I thought of you @JBtheExplorer while visiting Pismo Beach in California this winter. It was kinda chilly there when we were viewing them and not many were in flight.I'd seen them before in Santa Cruz, Cali also. They were so neat to see again.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I thought of you @JBtheExplorer while visiting Pismo Beach in California this winter. It was kinda chilly there when we were viewing them and not many were in flight.I'd seen them before in Santa Cruz, Cali also. They were so neat to see again.

View attachment 88283
View attachment 88284

View attachment 88285

View attachment 88286
View attachment 88287
View attachment 88288

That's really cool! Looks like a great place to visit.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

HUGE news!

According to reports, the Monarch Butterfly population has jumped up significantly, from 2.8 acres in December of 2014, to 10 acres in December of 2015!

It's still only a fraction of what it was at it's peak, but it's a big deal. It shows that native gardeners and small habitat restorations on private lands are beginning to make a difference.

If you haven't yet added milkweed and native nectar plants to your property, now's the time! Let's double the population! Numbers can sway and the population can easily drop way down by this time next year. Let's do our best to prevent that!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'm planning on tripling the amount of Orange Milkweed in my yard this year.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I've got 21 Orange Milkweed seedlings growing so far. I'll probably be growing a total of 30. Then, of course, a total of a hundred or more other native seedlings.

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm growing orange milkweed seeds that I got from 2 friends, plus 2 packets I got from stores; tropical milkweed that has red/yellow flowers and is reported to be hardy to zone north of me, so I'm hopeful; swamp milkweed (and will transplant seedlings that come up volunteer form plants last year; and common milkweed. I'll be digging up small common milkweed from the road ditches and transplanting in my new "wildflower area", which is about 35x125'. I have another area that used to be farmed field, not been mowed for a year, and grew some tall type of wildflower that smells WONDERFUL in the late summer, and butterflies loved it! I am also adding host plants for numerous kinds of butterflies, including monarchs, and hoping to attract many new butterflies to my area. Here are the 50 or so milk jugs and smaller containers I've planted. Over half of them are sprouted, but not the orange butterfly weed yet! I'm jealous, JB! But, pretty sure they will sprout soon. We shall see. It's fun and exciting, no trouble with keeping them warm or watered, the weather and jugs pretty much do that for me. I've just had to water them a couple of times so far since planting them in late January through mid February.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, and I'm also growing a bunch of native wildflowers that I gathered seeds from last summer, plus others that I've traded seeds for. I'm hoping to have a lot of flowers in the new area. I will be planting about 10-12 different types of sunflowers, too, for the birds later in the year. Coneflowers of all sorts of colors for the birds; dill, fennel, rue for the black swallowtails ... I can't wait to see what grows and thrives! I've left the area unmowed for 2 years, and it's amazing how the grass is there, but didn't continue to get thick, it just grew, and then kind of laid over. I'm going to put large flat rocks and pieces of cardboard in places to kill the grass underneath it for new plants. Then move the flat rocks for a walkway so I don't step on the new seedlings.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'm jealous, JB! But, pretty sure they will sprout soon. We shall see.
View attachment 89762

I'm surprised they haven't sprouted yet, but in my limited experience, you should definitely not have a problem with them! I'm sure they will shoot up in no time! My final batch of Orange Milkweed seeds are growing now.

I purchased Meadow Blazing Star seeds awhile back (The BEST Monarch magnet! If you don't have it, you'll want it), but the seeds I tried to start inside all molded, so I'm really hoping the ones I sprinkled in the garden will do something. I've never had an issue like that before, some mold, but never an entire batch like that. I'll be disappointed if I don't get any from that packet.

I've also been eyeing an all-red Gaillardia seed packet I keep walking by at a local farm store. Thinking about adding that this year as well. I generally prefer the true native species, not a fan of hybrids and varieties that aren't found in nature, but thought it would look good around the pond or something. I also thought it would be worth purchasing because my Grandma's been wanting more plants the past two years and she'd love more red in her garden.

In yesterday's wind, she had a fence blow down, so I went over there today to get it out of the way and realized it was hiding a perfect spot for a native garden. I've already given her a few native plants last Spring, but I'm glad I grew some extra seeds this year because they're definitely going to that project! I look forward to sharing photos of that once it's coming along.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, that sounds wonderful, JB, adding native plants to your grandma's yard! I am doing both native and others, but focusing mainly on host plants for the butterflies. Looked again this morning, no milkweed is coming up (I have 3 different kinds, 4 jugs of it), and no rue yet. Dill, Mammoth Dill and Fennel are sprouting, though, and the dill is in first "real" leaf, and is adorable! Oh, and I also have flat leaf parsley and Queen Anne's Lace sprouting. I put tons of seeds in these jugs, not sure how many would sprout, and typically am getting tons of seedlings! I found some wild bergamot and that jug has about 10 seedlings, which is perfect. The other jugs are pretty full. LOL The idea is to plant them by "hunk-o-seedlings" and let the strongest survive. We shall see! I have a VERY large area to fill, so I'll be digging lots of small holes this spring, when they are ready to plant out.
Mammoth Dill seedlings

Queen Anne's Lace ... kind of looks like dill! I collected this from along the road. Wanted to dig up a plant behind one of my barns, too, but the silly horses ate it!

And, not positive really what these are, but I labeled them "wild black eyed susan", collected them along the road, too.

 

[CometKeith]

CE.This is a nice editorial about Monarchs and milkweed. The number of acres Monarchs covered this year in Mexico more than tripled from last year. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ed-varieties-edit-0327-md-20160324-story.html

 

[JBtheExplorer]

CE.This is a nice editorial about Monarchs and milkweed. The number of acres Monarchs covered this year in Mexico more than tripled from last year. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ed-varieties-edit-0327-md-20160324-story.html

It tripled, but then had a massive Winter storm go through Mexico and kill millions of them. Just another reason for us to continue planting milkweed!