• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

July 8, 2011 · 6 Comments

A Good Year for Milkweed — and Monarchs

Plants

milkweed flower and bee

A bee lands on milkweed

Walking around the ponds near our house this spring, I’ve noticed this has been a great year for milkweed (Asclepias) with stands of it everywhere and many of the plants now in beautiful bloom. This plant gets its name partly because it spreads like a you-know-what, but in the case of this plant all that spread is to the benefit of bees and especially monarch butterflies.

I like the look of milkweed for both its broad leaves and pink, pom-pom flowers. The kind near my house is called common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). It grows about 4 feet tall and has round, pinkish blooms that bees adore. But its real benefit is that it is the only plant Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on. Last year, I planted a special type  to attract butterflies — and it worked, except that the caterpillars ate the plant down to the stalk! It’s fun for children to check the plants for signs of eggs or tiny caterpillars munching away—they really like the leaves.

I’ve seen Monarchs three times in the past two days on these plants, so I’m hoping that this year’s big crop of milkweed will mean an equally large crop of butterflies.

Related posts:

  1. Dealing with Eastern Tent Caterpillars Nearly every spring, I have to remove a nest or...
  2. Book Review: Attracting Native Pollinators After almost 50 hours of Master Gardener training this month,...
  3. Allium is a Bee Magnet I like to plant flowers that attract wildlife to the...
« A Well-Behaved Cranesbill
Slime Mold Attacks! Blame Heat Wave! »

Comments

  1. Karen says

    July 9, 2011 at 8:48 am

    After reading this post, I’ve decided to leave a stand of milkweed for the butterflies, too. The flowers really are pretty even if no caterpillars take advantage of the plant.

  2. commonweeder says

    July 10, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    I’m treasuring every milkweed plant I find, but I haven’t seen a single monarch so far, and very very very few last year.

  3. darcie says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:42 am

    I planted some swamp milkweed last year…and this year…
    one dozen little monarchs caterpillars…we brought them in and ‘raised’ them and enjoyed setting them free in our garden to lay more eggs!

    http://www.gustgab.com/2011/07/becoming-butterflies-our-monarchs-have.html

  4. Mary says

    July 18, 2011 at 11:15 am

    Live near liberty Missouri. Spotted first monarch caterpillar on this day. I would guess it is about a week old. I have swamp and the typical wild milkweed. I am very excited to see the new generation..!

Trackbacks

  1. Creating a Monarch-Friendly Garden | My Northern Garden says:
    May 15, 2015 at 9:42 am

    […] Wild Ones recommends having two types of milkweed in your landscape. I have lots (and lots!) of common milkweed on and near my property, but I think that is the only type. I’ll be looking this spring for […]

  2. Creating a Monarch-Friendly Garden – My Northern Garden says:
    August 10, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    […] Wild Ones recommends having two types of milkweed in your landscape. I have lots (and lots!) of common milkweed on and near my property, but I think that is the only type. I’ll be looking this spring for […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
.
.
.
#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
.
.
.
#amaryllis #amaryllisflower #magicgreenamaryllis #indoorplants #bulbs #wintergarden #indoorgarden #houseplants #topview #mngarden #mngardening #bloomingbulbs
We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting time, but I’m looking forward to having baby plants in the house. 🌱My conversation with Meg from @seedtofork on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast got me thinking about how I might change my set up this year. I’ve never used heat mats for seed starting since I keep my seedlings in the heated part of the house. But maybe this is the year to try that for peppers and tomatoes? Meg swears by heating mats! 

She also got me thinking about LED lights vs. fluorescent. I’m not inclined to replace lights that are still good, but light technology is changing. A lot to learn! 

Link to the podcast in the bio. Also links to seed starting charts and tips in the show notes at growitminnesota.com. 
.
.
.
#seedstarting #growyourownfood #startfromseed #gardentipsandtricks #seeds #veggies #vegetablegarden #coldclimategardening #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast #mngardening #minnesota
Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the loca Succulent Sunday. I bought this trio from the local Boy Scout troop during the holidays. It came with  snowman decorations and Christmas glitter, but once that came off it has a subtle charm. Low maintenance too!
.
.
.
#succulents #succulentsofinstagram #succulentdish #houseplants #januarygarden #echiveria #mynortherngarden
Wondering about what garden zone you are in or wha Wondering about what garden zone you are in or what first and last frost dates mean for your vegetable garden? Here’s the zone info for Minnesota and Midwest gardeners. 

My latest blog post on MyNorthernGarden.com has the basics on zones and frost dates. (Link in bio.) Knowing a few simple things about your climate is a key to success in the garden. 

With the warm temps we have had this winter, it feels like we are gardening in about zone 6, but never fear, it will get cold again. Listening to the weather the other night, I was reminded that in early January of 2019, it hit 47 (!) in the Twin Cities. On January 29 that year, I recorded the coldest temp I’ve ever seen in my garden—minus 23. 🥶🥶🥶 
 If you haven’t listened to it yet, check out the latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota to find out how to beat the cold with hoops, cold frames and more. Link to that in bio, too. Stay warm! 
.
.
#garden #coldclimategardening #gardenzones #zone3garden #zone4garden #itscoldouthere #gardenfacts #minnesota #minnesotaweather #minnesotagardens #minnesotapodcasts #growingundercover
Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Gr Super excited about tomorrow’s episode of the Grow it, Minnesota podcast. My guest is Niki Jabbour to talk about cold frames, mini hoops, poly tunnels and her new book, Growing Under Cover. The book is packed with information for northern gardeners who want to stretch our short growing season. The episode goes live tomorrow morning and you can subscribe in Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 
.
.
#vegetables #growyourown #growtourownfood #storeypublishing #extendtheseason #greenhouses #hoophouse #coldframe #polytunnel #growitmn #gardenpodcast #minnesota #minnesotapodcast
Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tool Top nine images from 2020! A bit surprised my tools made it into the list 🤔 but the rest are plants I love. I’m looking forward to more gardening friends and fun in 2021. Happy New Year! 🎈 
.
.
.
#goodbye2020 #happynewyear #gardeninglife #gardeninspo #gardenlife #gardenlove #mynortherngarden #northerngardener #mngarden #mngardening #minnesota #stpaulgarden #coldclimategardening #mnhort #gardentools
Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Yea! Look what came in today’s mail. The latest Northern Gardener is out with lots of great garden advice from @renegade_gardener @kopurdy @gbrownhudson (cover photo by Gail) and more. Just the thing for a long winter weekend. 
.
.
.
#northerngardener #coldclimategardening #gardenmagazine #magnoliascale #lavender #garden #mnhort #mnhorticulturalsociety
I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my I was listening to the @plantramapod podcast on my walk and the hosts were waxing poetic about wax plant, aka Hoya. I could not agree more! It is a great house plant, and the first one I had success with. My two plants are offspring of a Hoya that my grandmother had, which was passed to my mom and now me. The original plant 🪴 was planted at least 60 years ago! Hoya are long lived, don’t need much watering or fuss and do well in many sun situations even in our dry Minnesota homes. 

My plants have bloomed in the past but not since we’ve been in our current house. Maybe 2021 will be the lucky year. Anyone have tips for getting them to bloom? 
.
.
.
#hoya #hoyacarnosa #houseplantsofmsp #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #gardenpodcasts #gardeninfo #indoorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morn We snuck in a walk at Lebanon Hills park this morning before the weather turned. This old tree seemed to be smiling at us. 
.
.
.
#mntrees #dakotacountyparks #nature #takeawalk
Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would b Can’t imagine why my sister thought this would be a good shirt 👚 for me?  Thanks, @kelzenbergs ! 
.
.
.
#plantmama #plantsmakepeoplehappy #mynortherngarden #justonemoreplant
Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arrang Keeping my spirits bright with this book on arranging flowers. Inspiring and educational. Now, if I just had an acre or two of land for all the 🌻🌷🌺🌸.
.
.
.
#gardenbooks #flowerarranging #cutflowers #floretflowerfarm #myreadinglife #flowerfarm #alwayslearning #mynortherngarden #coldclimategardening #bloom
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • How to Winter Sow Wildflowers
  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • How to Use the Winter Sowing Method to Start Seeds Outdoors
  • Contact
  • Best Perennials for Northern Gardeners
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Snow's Insulation Power in Winter
  • Growing Lettuce in a Window Box

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316