Table of Contents
What should I plant with milkweed?
A few companion plants that come to mind include Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), coneflower (Echinacea), Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), bergamot (Monarda), goldenrod (Solidago), ironweed (Vernonia), and various asters.
What can I plant with butterfly milkweed?
COMPANION & UNDERSTUDY PLANTS: Asclepias tuberosa mingles well with Coreopsis tripteris, Echinacea purpurea, Liatris aspera and Rudbeckia hirta. Asclepias verticillata has similar height and habitat needs and can be substituted if needed.
Is milkweed toxic to other plants?
Leaves or other above-ground parts of the plant are poisonous. They contain several glucosidic substances called cardenolides that are toxic. Milkweed may cause losses at any time, but it is most dangerous during the active growing season.
What pollinator does the milkweed plant attract?
The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (L.), may be the most well-known visitor to milkweed flowers, but milkweeds attract a large suite of butterflies, flies, beetles, bees, and wasps. Many people grow milkweeds for pollinators and other beneficial insects that feed on the plant’s copious nectar.
Which milkweed is best for monarchs?
Three species have particularly wide ranges and are good choices in most regions: common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), and butterflyweed (A. tuberosa).
How many milkweed plants attract monarchs?
By planting at least two milkweed species, as well as other nectar-rich plants, you’ll attract monarchs and other pollinators throughout the breeding season.
How many caterpillars can one milkweed plant support?
The Milkweed in Picture #3 is a southern variety and is a very nice specimen. Each stem has about 10 leaves. A 4 foot plant this size will feed only 5 Monarch caterpillars! Each monarch caterpillar will consume 20 or more large leaves.
Will Monarchs eat any milkweed?
Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape.
Can monarch caterpillars eat anything other than milkweed?
Actually, no. Monarch caterpillars do only eat plants in the Milkweed family (Asclepias spp), so if we want to help them out in our wildlife gardens, we still need to add these plants to our gardens. Monarch caterpillars do not feed on tomato plants, despite what may seem like circumstantial evidence to the contrary.