this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
60 points (98.4% liked)
Gardening
3556 readers
30 users here now
Your Ultimate Gardening Guide.
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Aphids love milkweed. If you want a butterfly host plant for the southeast, I recommend getting a passion vine native to your area. Monarchs don't be really need more milkweed, and you can host more species! It is cool to feed the lady bugs, though!
Do you have a source for the monarchs not needing more milkweed planted? I’m hoping I missed some great news.
Last I heard the advice was still to plant more milkweed because we’re below the level needed to try and grow the population - since it’s being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act and milkweed is the only plant the caterpillars can survive on. If we got that done or found a better way that’s awesome
Not good news. So I'm coming from a Florida perspective. The general wisdom here in the past has been native milkweed in the garden is important for the monarch.
After working at native plant nurseries, and now for the local government doing environmental work, I've seen the narrative shifting to no milkweed.
Basically, disease has become a big issue in our South Eastern monarch populations, and it turns out that gardens have become hotspots for it. Here is an article on the subject.
https://www.wuwf.org/2024-09-03/half-the-butterflies-in-northwest-florida-are-dying-from-a-parasite-on-milkweed-plants
I personally stopped recommending Milkweed of any kind to people years ago after seeing the effect of disease in the nursery I worked it.
Interesting. Do you know if this is a problem on the west coast? The article leaves it vague, with some indication that it may only be a Florida problem
Unfortunately, I do not know. If you find anything out, I'd like to hear about it.
Doesn't seem to be an issue in places where the milkweed dies every winter. It's a problem in Florida due to their climate, and especially with non-native tropical species of milkweed that have a longer lifespan.
Well damn, I was hoping it was for a good (happy) reason. I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for signs of OE in my native flower garden