The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

It wasn’t your imagination, there really were more Monarch butterflies this fall and it wasn’t just because we were looking for them anymore than usual. The folks at Monarch Watch have evidence that the monarch migration is shaping up to be somewhat larger this year than last.

As more gardeners and homeowners become aware of the importance of milkweeds and start encouraging the plants instead of eradicating them, the monarch butterfly population should rise in proportion.

One statistic I saw was that there are 113 million gardeners in the USA. Now just think for a minute if each gardener added only one or two milkweed plants in their yards how many more places there would be for monarchs to grow and develop.

In a few growing seasons, a single milkweed plant can quickly turn into a sizable local population.  Like so many other “weeds” milkweeds produce a lot of seeds. In my yard I counted about 80 seeds in just one milkweed pod. That small plant had seven or eight  pods growing on it. That’s around 500 seeds per milkweed plant. In more fertile locations, a milkweed plant can produce 20 pods that contain over 400 seeds in each pod!

Inside a milkweed pod, the seeds grow in rows.

Collecting and planting seeds is the best option for propagating milkweed. Just keep in mind that milkweed seeds require a cold treatment  – called stratification — before they will germinate. In the wild this occurs naturally each winter as temperatures drop below freezing. The easiest way to provide the cold treatment is to plant them directly into the soil in the fall and let nature provide the stratification.

Milkweed plants are perennials, meaning once they establish themselves, they will continue to come up year after year. Mature plants have roots that grow horizontally underground. They will send up a new shoot at intervals that grow into a new milkweed plant. So you can see how quickly milkweeds can get out of hand if you’re not careful.

I’ve had milkweeds pop up in my garden from roots sent out by plants many feet away. They can be very  persistent since a piece of root as small as an inch long can grow into a new plant.

Let the seeds fly or plant the seeds where you want them to grow.

Milkweed pods are just starting to open in southern Michigan. If you want to collect seeds, now’s the time to do it. Otherwise, soon the seeds will be gone with the wind.

As an extra bonus, you can spray paint your empty pods with gold paint and use them in craft projects just like we used to do in elementary school.

Bob

Back when I was a kid, it seemed like milkweeds were everywhere. We used to play with the ripe pods by breaking them open and letting the seeds blow away in the wind. I remember asking my Grandfather why they were called milkweed. He told me it was because when you cut the stem, it oozes out sap that looks sweet and milky. He also told me not to try the sap because it didn’t taste good. Of course, later, when he wasn’t looking, I decided to taste the sap, yuk!

Milkweeds have had a checkered past. Sometimes they were considered just a weed that needed to be weeded out of farm fields and gardens. Other times they were highly desirable. For example, during World War Two, ripe milkweed pods were collected and processed into filling for life jackets. The weed helped to win the war in the Pacific.

After WWII, they were once again considered a nuisance. Now, milkweed is rapidly becoming everyone’s favorite weed, or should I say native plant. This is because milkweed is the sole source of food for Monarch butterflies. Without milkweed there are no Monarchs.

With the eradication of milkweed, the Monarch population has crashed from one billion individuals down to around 33 million.

There is a huge and growing effort to allow more milkweed to grow for the sake of the butterflies. The easiest thing for gardeners to do is just leave a few milkweed plants grow in the corner of the yard or garden. Since they are a perennial “weed”, they take absolutely no effort to maintain.

There are more than one species of milkweed in Michigan. Here in our yard we have two different types. The first one blossomed early in the summer and has large pods growing on it already. The other is a smaller plant that is just finishing blooming this week.

This milkweed developed pods early in the season

The second type has a wonderful fragrance.

The other milkweed is just finishing blooming. It also has a different looking growth habit.

Monarch butterflies are out and about in southern Michigan. These are breeding adults. I’ve only seen two so far at our place but other people I have talked to said they have seen several.

By growing milkweed you not only help the overall Monarch population but you get to enjoy watching the butterflies attracted to your garden.

Bob