The Monarch butterfly requires the Butterfly weed and other milkweeds. The female lays her eggs on these plants so that the baby caterpillars will have the right food. The caterpillars eat milkweed leaves which contains toxins to protect them from birds. Makes the birds vomit teaching them not to eat Monarchs. This symbiotic relationship between milkweeds and Monarchs is critical to Monarch survival.
Thus, I now have a small, long-term project to expand my wildflower plot and grow Butterfly weed. Eventually, it may catch the eye of some Monarchs while migrating North from Mexico in the Spring.
Last year (2026) during summer, I cut the weeds/grass down to the roots. Then, I covered the ground with black tarp to cook and kill the grass roots in the summer’s heat. In late November, I hoed the ground, put a wire fence around the plot (to keep deer out), added bone meal and seeds. I got seeds from all over—hardware stores, Eden Bros. Perennial Wildflower Mix, and those I collected along roadways. In my opinion, you cannot have enough seeds or plant species! (Easy enough to thin plants out later.) Then, I covered the ground with dead tree leaves to shelter dirt/seeds and let it sit over winter.
Key things: choose sunny spot, protect from deer, plant in late Fall, and water in the Spring as needed.
Results were fabulous. Every month this spring, I got different flowers. Little plot became a hotspot for bees, animals, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This year, I am expanding my plot for planting Butterfly weed, Bee Balm, and other wildflowers I have not yet met.
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