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Thread: Plant milkweed

  1. #1
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    Plant milkweed

    Monarch butterflies need it

    https://dnyuz.com/2022/07/21/leading...dangered-list/

    So sad.

    The numbers of Western monarchs, which live west of the Rocky Mountains, plummeted by an estimated 99.9 percent between the 1980s and 2021. While they rebounded somewhat this year, they remain in great peril. Eastern monarchs, which make up most of the population in North America, dropped by 84 percent from 1996 to 2014. The new designation of endangered covers both populations.

  2. #2
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    I planted 5 milkweed plants this year. I'll be adding some butterfly and bee balm soon and a few more Joe Pye Weed plants too. I already have a bunch of pollinator draws and add a few more every year.

  3. #3
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    Monarch butterflies are amazing. I've never seen one here in Washington. I guess we must not have any milkweed.

  4. #4
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    Make sure it's the correct milkweed species. Tropical milkweed = bad; Showy milkweed also seems to be uninteresting to monarchs and a pain in the ass in your garden.

  5. #5
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    Here the right one is Asclepias Tuberosa I think.

  6. #6
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    Picky fuckers ain't they?

  7. #7
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    I have been leaving all the milkweed that grows around my garden. My kids and I love to capture the caterpillars and watch them cocoon and turn into butterflies. So neat

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by teletech View Post
    I have been leaving all the milkweed that grows around my garden. My kids and I love to capture the caterpillars and watch them cocoon and turn into butterflies. So neat
    I've been leaving all milk weed growing around my property unless it directly in the way. In the fall, I've been taking the seeds and spreading them around the edges of hayfields. Now I have a lot of monarchs around in the late summer.
    Aim for the chopping block. If you aim for the wood, you will have nothing. Aim past the wood, aim through the wood.
    http://tim-kirchoff.pixels.com/

  9. #9
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    As a kid, milkweed was the enemy. I grew up on a small farm. But all we did was bitch about it, and fork it out of the hay when we found it. We did loose hay so there was a lot of forking. No chemicals were applied. Some of it was pulled up by hand but not enough to make a difference.

    Now I need to go plant some milkweed. Just not near any hayfields. I'm surprised none has blown onto my property as the hayfields here are thick with it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
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    ^ Ha, grew up on a small farm too. If milkweed invaded the horse pasture or old hayfield it became an enemy to some. Our animals were always smart enough not to eat it anyways.

    I actually was thinking about starting a thread on native seed collection and propagation.

    There's populations of milkweed south of my place (NW Colorado), closer to the Colorado River corridor. I'm gonna keep an eye on them as I'd like to get some seed this season.

    I planted some Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) in the yard the last two falls. First year was a bust, but I had decent germination this year and currently have about 60 plants that are about 10" tall, should get blooms next summer. Now I regret not doing more research into the native species here and I worry that I should have planted a different variety thats better suited the site where I planted. I've also planted monarda's, and asteracea's, penstemons, etc.

    This time of year I start collecting seed on hikes to throw around the yard. It's our third year in the place and things are starting to become established. Less non-native lawn, more wild flowers and native grasses. Just yesterday I was watching native bees and some moths & butterflies doing their thing in the yard.

    Growing up in the midwest we had milkweed around our property. My dad would protect natives plants to some extent. I remember monarchs, mantis's, walking sticks, etc. My folks split and my uncle took over grounds keeping for year or two and mowed and cut everything he could reach, milkweed included. It would still pop up in pastures along a creek we had but for whatever reason my mom started mowing it down too.



  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by ötzi View Post
    Picky fuckers ain't they?
    No wonder they are going extinct...if only they would eat ragweed.


    We have been planting, and letting it re-seed for years, ever since the kids got involved in a 4H project tagging monarchs. It is really cool to find the green chrysalis with bright and shiny gold accents. We used to have them winter here by the thousands in eucalyptus groves, but the numbers are way, way down.

    I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...
    iscariot

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chair 6 View Post
    Our animals were always smart enough not to eat it anyways.
    This. So it was funny that it was the enemy.

    We didn't own much property, but this was two towns over from Burlington, VT in the 70s and the family farms were dying fast. All of his equipment was bought at auction from old-timers retiring. There were enough neighbors who wanted to keep their property open and therefore they were willing to have him hay it. That's what you get when you buy the 3.5 acre farm yard and some developers buy the fields in order to play the long game.

  13. #13
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    Swamp milkweed in our garden

  14. #14
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    Damn swallowtails be stealing' all da weed.

  15. #15
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    FWIW I haven't seen a Monarch in the 14 years we've lived here.

  16. #16
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    Same here: the locals are all let's-pat-ourselves-on-the-head for planting 300 milkweed plants in a local drainage ditch that I walk my dogs on - haven't seen a Monarch or caterpillar since they were planted 4 years ago. We do get lots of pipe vine swallowtails however in our back yard, drawn to our out of control pipe vine.

  17. #17
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    Having just driven 16 hours cross country I’m shocked by the freshly mowed lawns in a median that’s 100 yards wide for hundreds of miles.

    That could be wildflowers for a lot less money. And better for the planet. Humans are as doomed as the insects.

  18. #18
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    1 y/o swamp milkweed in my yard, blooms expected next year.
    Just was out of town and saw some showy milkweed, spider milkweed and butterfly milkweed in my travels, maybe one other type too. I might collect some seed this weekend if I see any.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chair 6 View Post
    ^ Ha, grew up on a small farm too. If milkweed invaded the horse pasture or old hayfield it became an enemy to some. Our animals were always smart enough not to eat it anyways.

    I actually was thinking about starting a thread on native seed collection and propagation.

    There's populations of milkweed south of my place (NW Colorado), closer to the Colorado River corridor. I'm gonna keep an eye on them as I'd like to get some seed this season.

    I planted some Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) in the yard the last two falls. First year was a bust, but I had decent germination this year and currently have about 60 plants that are about 10" tall, should get blooms next summer. Now I regret not doing more research into the native species here and I worry that I should have planted a different variety thats better suited the site where I planted. I've also planted monarda's, and asteracea's, penstemons, etc.

    This time of year I start collecting seed on hikes to throw around the yard. It's our third year in the place and things are starting to become established. Less non-native lawn, more wild flowers and native grasses. Just yesterday I was watching native bees and some moths & butterflies doing their thing in the yard.

    Growing up in the midwest we had milkweed around our property. My dad would protect natives plants to some extent. I remember monarchs, mantis's, walking sticks, etc. My folks split and my uncle took over grounds keeping for year or two and mowed and cut everything he could reach, milkweed included. It would still pop up in pastures along a creek we had but for whatever reason my mom started mowing it down too.



    Dat guy is from Chicago. Serious bears fan.

  20. #20
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    My milkweed hat I planted last year came up well this year. We don’t get Monarchs, but hopefully other butterflies n pollinators enjoy them. But I think deer chomped my big ones, which I heard is not good for them. So maybe something or someone picked them?

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