Milkweed at Enchanted Gardens, 2020
Why is milkweed so important?
Milkweed plants (family Asclepiadaceae) are the only food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. However, milkweed has severely declined in North America due to drastic changes in land use or management, like agriculture and housing developments. Milkweed losses and other stressors are associated with declines in migratory monarch butterflies over the past 20 years. To compensate for the loss of milkweed, gardeners across North America are helping monarchs by planting milkweeds, and by keeping milkweeds safe from pesticides. Native varieties are especially important and difficult to grow. In 2019, we expanded our selection to include many native varieties whose seeds were carefully prepared with cold-stratification by the local non-profit Mustard Seed Farm & Market.
feeding our favorite caterpillars!
On top of being a delightful spectacle of nature, Monarch butterflies help keep world ecosystems in balance. As Texas is a main rest stop during their migration from Mexico, the Monarch butterflies depend on local gardeners to provide milkweed host plants for their young caterpillars.
#MILKWEED
MOVEMENT
2020
Our #MILKWEEDMOVEMENT promotes local community development and Monarch butterfly habitat restoration through the planting of milkweed. We are proud to donate all proceeds from the sales to local nonprofit organizations that raise awareness and provide support for families living with autism spectrum disorder. Join us by purchasing your milkweed from Enchanted, posting photos on social media using our hashtag, and helping to spread the word about our #MILKWEEDMOVEMENT.
We had a spectacular start of our movement in 2019! GrowerTalks/Green Profit magazine featured Enchanted Gardens on the May 2019 cover for our community-centric conservation approach using #MILKWEEDMOVEMENT. Proceeds from the sales of native/non-native milkweed sales raised more than $18,000.00 for local nonprofits. Our beneficiaries for 2019 included Hope for Three, The Monarch School, and Mustard Seed Farm & Market. With the busy spring season coming after a warm winter and monarch butterflies already fluttering about, Joey and Enchanted Gardens are hoping for an even more successful year in 2020.
Don’t miss our March event all about butterfly gardening! Our guest speaker Erin Mills is the current Director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There’s no better way to learn about attracting butterflies than at the center of Enchanted Gardens from Erin!
Why plant native milkweed species?
Native milkweed species are in tune with monarchs’ annual migration cycle. Each spring, native milkweeds emerge from dormancy as the monarchs leave their overwintering sites (either in Mexico, for monarchs in eastern North America, or in California, for monarchs in western North America). Monarchs migrate to breeding grounds across the U.S. and into southern Canada, where females lay eggs on milkweed throughout the spring and summer. In late summer, shorter days and cooler nights signal to developing monarchs that they should delay reproduction and prepare for migration to their overwintering grounds. These same environmental cues cause native milkweeds to turn yellow and die back for the year, encouraging the monarchs to migrate.
We are growing our milkweed as fast as the caterpillars will let us! If we are out of stock, please be patient—we will have more soon!
Green Milkweed
Asclepias viridis
Also known as Spider Milkweed. This milkweed spreads easily once established in the garden and is tolerant of dry conditions. Seeds were collected locally.
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium–dry, Dry
Height: 12 inches
Bloom Time/Color: Early Summer/Green
Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa
Voted the perennial plant of the year in 2017. These plants are great for dry, sunny areas and since they don’t have the typical messy, milky sap that milkweeds are known for they are a great choice for borders and the front of landscape beds. Once they’re established they will make lots of pretty blooming stems off each plant.
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium to Dry
Height: 2 feet
Bloom Time/Color: Summer/Orange
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
The longer, fancy petals on this milkweeds flowers are where it gets its name. This variety is more upright and a little more slender than others and would be a good fit for tighter spaces or tucked into an already established butterfly garden.
Sun Exposure: Full
Soil Moisture: Medium to Dry
Height: 4 feet
Bloom Time/Color: Mid to Late Summer/ Pink
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Also called Rose Milkweed, this variety smells like vanilla. It will grow best in consistently moist to wet soil. The flowers are larger and more showy than some other species, and this milkweed has one of the widest distributions throughout the US.
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Wet
Height: 4 feet
Bloom Time/Color: Late summer/Pink
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
This variety establishes easily and spreads well. Large clusters of flowers top each stem when it blooms later in the year than most other kinds. Deer and rabbits will avoid it in the landscape, so it makes a great option as a perimeter plant to protect more desirable plants within a bed.
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium to Dry
Height: 2 feet
Bloom Time/Color: Early Fall/White
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
This is one of the easiest milkweeds to grow and is a great option for first-time gardeners. It establishes and spreads easily and will return year after year. Lightly scented, it attracts a variety of pollinators and has a longer blooming period.
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Any
Height: 3 feet
Bloom Time/Color: Summer/Pink
Oscar Milkweed
Gomphocarpus physocarpa formerly Asclepias physocarpa
Also called Hairy Balls. This variety grows long stems that feed caterpillars and also make nice cut-flower arrangements. Typically the last of the perennial milkweeds to go dormant in the fall, this is a great food source for the last lingering butterflies and caterpillars each year.
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Average
Height: 4–6 ft.
Bloom Time/Color: Mid to Late Summer/ White with Purple Accents
Antelope-horns
Asclepias asperula
This is a tough variety. It has the most interesting seed pods that resemble horns, and is a low-growing species, so it is easily incorporated into landscape plantings with other butterfly plants.
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Moisture: Moderate w/ rocky, sandy soil
Height: 1–2 ft.
Bloom Time/Color: March–October/White & Green
Zizotes Milkweed
Asclepias oenotheroides
This is another tough variety found in ditches along roadsides all over the Houston area. It is extremely tolerant of poor, dry soil. The leaves of this plant develop a nice purple hue as the intensity of the sun increases. Plants are small and compact.
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Height: 1–2 ft.
Bloom Time/Color: March–October/Green
Blue Milkweed
Tweedia caerulea
Not a true milkweed, or native to Texas, but is a good perennial, cold-hardy food source for hungry monarch caterpillars. Great as a fill-in for the times when there are more caterpillars than available milkweed plants to feed them. Also makes a nice decorative accent in mixed pots. Bees love it too!
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium
Height: 2–3 ft. (Will vine higher with support)
Bloom Time/Color: Summer/Bright Blue
Aquatic Milkweed
Asclepias perennis
The white, light pink flower clusters have a delicate, lacy appearance. As the name suggests, Aquatic Milkweed prefers wet, rich soil and can be found in wetlands and swamps throughout the Southeastern United States. Great for areas in the yard or containers with poor drainage.
Sun Exposure: Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet
Height: 1–2 ft.
Bloom Time/Color: Late Spring/White
Tropical Milkweed
Asclepias curassavica
One of the easiest milkweed varieties to grow. Tropical milkweed is not native to the US but loves our Texas weather and will grow happily with very little care. An excellent choice for beginners. This plant will be perennial in all but the coldest winters. It can be cut back any time of year if it gets too leggy and will regrow quickly.
*Important to note*
Butterflies enjoy visiting this plant year-round and because of their fondness for it, if not properly maintained it can become a place where diseases accumulate that disfigure and kill Monarchs. Please be sure to cut back your milkweed after large populations of butterflies and caterpillars visit it (if the caterpillars don’t do it for you) and also cut back in the late fall to ensure that the new spring growth is disease free. Approximately 2–4 cutbacks per year.
Sun Exposure: Sun | Soil Moisture: Average | Height: 3–4 ft.
Bloom Time/Color: Spring–Fall/Red & Yellow
Giant Milkweed
Calotropis gigantea
Not a true milkweed, but is a food source that will sustain a lot of caterpillars. This plant is tropical and will freeze, but grows quickly and has very large, thick leaves; root-hardy in mild winters. Give it plenty of space as they can grow 6–8 ft. wide.
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium
Height: 8–10 ft. or more!
Bloom Time/Color: Spring–Fall/White or Purple