Milkweed (asclepias) is a native wildflower essential to monarch butterflies There are 140 species of milkweed, but only a quarter of them are known to be important host plants for monarchs and even less are available commercially for planting. Milkweed supports monarch butterflies and adds beauty to gardens—but is it right for you Explore the pros and cons before you plant. Its botanical name, asclepias syriaca, pays homage to asclepius, the greek god of healing, emphasizing the plant’s historical medicinal uses. As pollinators emerge this spring, it’s time to boost their resources with milkweed
Gardening expert katherine rowe explores how to plant milkweed now for a thriving future colony. Milkweed seeds require a period of cold stratification to exit dormancy and sprout While many gardeners replicate nature by stratifying seeds in a refrigerator in spring when sowing seeds indoors, the beauty of planting milkweed seeds in the fall is that you can stratify the seeds naturally. Learn how to plant milkweed, get care tips and recommendations for which types to grow. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon milkweed leaves or the nectar from their flowers A noteworthy feeder on milkweeds is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for its larvae.
