A couple of months ago I planted a few Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) on a whim. For this reason, within hours, possibly minutes, butterflies started gathering on the plants.
Consequently, this morning, as I topped off the bird baths I found two Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars.
Here’s the secret to attracting butterflies.
Choose plants butterflies like you’ll get butterflies. It’s that simple
Generally speaking, every time I’ve walked out the door and looked at the Swamp Milkweed there have been butterflies flitting around. It makes the yard an even more peaceful place to be.
Below is the grouping of Swamp Milkweed. It’s a spindly plant that grows 3-4 feet tall with small pink clusters of flowers. For this reason, it’s best for the back of the border or, obviously, wetland plantings.
A closeup of Swamp Milkweed flowers past their prime with some seedpods developing.
Here’s the picture from the top of the post. That’s a big, healthy Monarch Caterpillar.
Over the summer I planted a couple of Mandevilla Tropical Breeze ‘Velvet Red’ on a client’s property; moreover, the Mandevilla has bright red trumpet-shaped flowers which hummingbirds love. As a result, within minutes of planting a hummingbird was drinking nectar from the flowers.
Choose plants hummingbirds like you’ll get hummingbirds. It’s that simple.
I’d love to hear about any plants or methods, you’ve used to attract Monarch Butterflies, Monarch Caterpillars or other wildlife.
Comments
6 responses to “Attract Monarch Butterflies and Caterpillars”
Hummingbirds LOVE Crocosmia.
If you plant it, they will come.
If you’re not familiar with this plant, you do need to keep an eye on it because she will make a bigger and bigger and bigger patch if not tended to.
In one garden I care for I’ve been asked to decrease the size of just such a patch that has not been tended to for a long time. I am digging and digging to remove corms/bulbs that are densely packed down to about six inches deep. YIKES.
…been handing out bags of them to my friends along with ample cautions.
I saw that in bloom about a month ago at the nursery and it caught my eye. I’ll have to go pick some up and put it in the right spot, perhaps the middle of the drive. Thanks for the tip.
We have a vacant field beside our house and it is full of milkweed. They sprout up all over our yard. And we have had two caterpillars spin their cocoons on our deck. One emerged yesterday, the other will in about a week. I had brought one caterpillar up on a milkweed leaf to the deck railing and by the next morning, it had got into position (the hanging J shape) and spun its cocoon the following morning. We didn’t get to see that or to see the butterfly emerge from the second cocoon, but at least we know of 2 caterpillars that have been successful.
I have to try bringing a Chrysalis in the house and watch it emerge. I don’t like messing with nature but it sounds fun to watch.
Asclepias physocarpa (Swan plant) is most commonly planted to attract Monarch Butterflies in New Zealand. Kids also love popping the big fat swan bodies whenever adult backs are turned.
We don’t grow that one around here but it looks cool! The balls on the plant look prickly on the internet but they must not be if kids pop them.