The Short Version

But first, here’s what prompted this post:

I have discovered multiple plants at the front of my property. Odd shape and easily mistaken for a weed. Can you identify it?

It is the primary food source for our Monarch Butterflies

The plant name is ‘Asclepia’, also known as common milkweed. It is crucial to protect this species, as many of us invest time and resources into growing them to ensure the survival of our Monarchs and other pollinators.

Last year, I shared pictures of the pods, and now we are delighted to see an abundance of blooms. It has been our family’s dream to improve our property and bring back more butterflies. Our goal quickly turned to focusing on our Monarch population since synthetic lawn care and xeriscape maintenance each have drawbacks regarding our pollinator counts.

At our home, we strive to grow milkweed and wildflowers as well as plant ornamentals that pollinators will visit frequently. We try our best to avoid using harmful chemicals that hurt the organisms in the soil and instead, regularly re-introduce beneficial insects like ladybugs, praying mantis, and earthworms to our soil to keep it fresh and in less need of having to take drastic measures that cause nearly irreversible damage to the pollinators that keep our found source going. If we lose our monarchs, all others will quickly follow. Planting common white milkweed attracts Monarchs to your home. Start planting this Autumn to see pods and seeds next spring.

For those of you with larger properties, one question: Have you seen these in person yet? Chances are that you have but didn’t know what they were nor how important they are to our own survival.

You can buy seeds from Amazon, like I did. This is not an affiliate link. I choose to share because I want to.

Happy Growing, Everyone! 🌿

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