Monarch Butterflies Eat and Thrive on Milkweed

Creating habitat for monarch butterflies, one garden at a time...

Plant Milkweed Seeds for the Monarch Butterfly

Butterfly Encounters is encouraging everyone to plant milkweed seeds for the monarch butterfly. The caterpillar stage of the monarch butterfly feeds on milkweed plants. As land is developed and milkweed populations diminish, the monarch butterflies habitat is lost. We can rebuild this habitat by planting milkweed seeds in our gardens. There are over 100 types of milkweed and we pride ourselves on offering as many species as possible.

» Buy Milkweed Seeds
» Not sure which milkweed is best for you, come and ask on our Facebook Page.

January Planting Advice

Several milkweed species require cold moist stratification. We provide detailed instructions on cold moist stratification in our growing milkweed instructions. Check out Option 2 which allows you to purchase seeds through February and still have enough time to perform cold moist stratification in your refrigerator before Spring planting.

Swamp Milkweed and Spider Milkweed, as seen in the pictures to the left, are two milkweed species that require cold moist stratification. Spider Milkweed is a nice low growing species, while Swamp Milkweed makes for great cut flowers! Both are a favorite for the Monarch butterfly!

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