We see a number of butterflies here during the summer, but very seldom a monarch. They do live in Phoenix however, and there are "tagging parties" in a valley not far west from here, so I figure I have a chance of attracting some, feeding them, and providing a breeding ground before they move on to Mexico. This winter a monarch was tagged in Phoenix that later showed up in Mexico.
So this morning I planted milkweed, all Arizona natives to keep it simple and natural in our desert landscape. There is some Asclepias subulata, A angustifolia and A linaria. They have drip irrigation installed and are protected by cages because, although the plants are said to be poisonous, some jack rabbit would have to taste to make sure.
I have no experience growing milkweed, but hopefully growing a weed will not be too challenging. Stay tuned for the first sighting, I am keeping my fingers crossed.
2 comments:
I've seen the population decline firsthand - when I was a kid, there were lots of monarchs around, and we'd collect the caterpillars and hatch them in the house (then release them back outside, of course.) Now there aren't very many at all. My mom always lets the milkweed grow, though. For a weed, it's really pretty.
6,000 acres a day? Holy cow!!
thanks for doing your part and trying to help. Have grown milkweed here - Virginia swallowtails like it, too - and it grew like the proverbial weed - well, duh! I finally dug it up becasue of my limited space, but it may do really well for you and you have plenty of , er, space!
Good luck. Pictures soon maybe?
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