Got milk (weed)?

Though I love (almost) all my plants, it’s hard not to choose favorites. And, while I have some perennial favorites, it seems that each year, something tends to stand out and capture my heart. This year it was a stunningly beautiful, abundantly blooming milkweed plant.

I planted it in mid spring, primarily to contribute to the milkweed population that is so important for the monarch butterflies. Although monarchs will sip nectar from a great number of plants, they will only lay their eggs on milkweeds. Milkweed used to be…well, a weed and could be found in abundance in sunny fields and prairies in a wide range across the country. But with fewer and fewer empty spaces available for “just weeds” to grow, milkweeds have disappeared at an alarming rate – and the monarchs right along beside them.

I knew better than to plant the beautiful – but somewhat harmful for the monarch – tropical butterfly weed that is readily available in plant stores and catalogs. The problem with this particular species is that it will overwinter in warm regions (including our own) and the monarchs are tricked into thinking that it’s a good idea to lay their eggs here instead of making that LONG trek back to Mexico. The results are not good. Not only does the tropical milkweed host a parasite detrimental to the monarch, but the adults who hatch from the eggs laid on these plants are diminished in size and display a shorter life span.

Instead, I planted a cultivar of a native and oh my! not only did I make the monarchs happy, it made me very happy as well. It has bloomed profusely for months, putting forth yellow – orange flowers over and over and over again. When it began to go to seed, the air was filled with silken parachutes. We’ll see if they land on fertile ground and germinate next year.

I was startled, one morning, to go out and find my plants covered with orange and black bugs. A little research informed me that these “milkweed bugs” (appropriately named) would not really harm the plant and to just let them be.

As thoughts of fall begin to occur to my garden, the milkweed has slowed down production. Flowers are few and far between, milkweed bugs have left for greener pastures and the monarchs, hopefully, are preparing to make their trek back to Mexico. May they journey safely and come back next year!