I am new at this, but am thinking that I already do not have enough milkweed !! Went out this morning and counted at least ten monarch cats trying to eat my milkweed to the ground!!
as you can see in the pic ........ it would appear that these two are having an eating contest!!
Cool. :)
Fantastic picture. Hope there's enough for the second course!
Unless they like something else in my garden they are likely to run through my milkweed rather quickly!!
my garden is new, made early this spring ........
This message was edited Sep 3, 2007 9:19 AM
Ah, yes, the infamous Monarch appetite! But it does look like those two won't be eating much longer, at least. Hopefully they will be wandering off and pupating.
I hope that they have a fairly good chance of making it in the wild ......... because I don't think that I am ready to start raising them indoors yet ....... am mostly just trying to get the garden established and was amazed that it seems like overnight the milkweed is just loaded with these monarch cats ........
realy cool !!
How lucky your first cats are Monarchs. That is so cool. I just planted this spring also so I know what you are going through. I had gulf frit cats and ended up having to buy two more passion vines just to feed them and I am still feeding them. Some have gone free though so it is all worth it. I am afraid come October when the Monarchs come through I am not going to have enough either. I have three plants but all pretty small. I did order some plants from Live Monarch and they are doing okay but are very small still. Good luck and we canjust hope for the best. Beautiful picture by the way.
Leslie
thanks Leslie,
I think that I will plant some more milkweed, however, I feel that it will spread rapidly, but probably not fast enough.
here is the latest picture of my garden.
and another looking back towards the house..........
Just beautiful. Those oranges and pinks are so pretty together. Your milkweed is about the same size as mine right now too. I don't really notice mine growing too much or spreading out too much. It does bloom pretty good though. But I don't know that I would have enough to feed a bunch of hungry Monarchs. I hope if you plant some it does well for you. These probably are not the only Monarchs you will see. I am right in the migration path for them, are you there in Marble Falls?
Leslie
Beautiful curb appeal garden! Do you have room in your backyard to plant more milkweed? From the looks of your pictures, your gardens are really going to draw the Monarchs to you and you're going to need more milkweed when the Monarchs tell all their friends where you live! LOL
beautiful pics ;-)
thank you all soo much ............. I was not aware of the attraction that the milkweed had to the monarchs ........ It was by deisgn that I planted it in that bed ......... I wanted to put a bed in the front yard and found a butterfly garden on Better Homes and Gardens website. Planted most of what the plans called for .........some did not thrive, some I could not find, others I substituted for more local alternatives .......... I think that I will need to definately plant more of the milkweed.
Very interesting gardening this butterfly gardening is !!!!!!!!!!
Just make sure you save the seedlings of the milkweed, so you can continue to have more for them to feed on. They reseed very easily, but seem to come up in bizarre places.
There aren't too many people near me who grow many flowers, but I find it amazing how the Monarchs can find the milkweed..they must send out "scouts" to look for it !
Not only is milkweed pretty, in it's different colors, but you get lots of new free plants, and they combine well with other things, too. I like them mixed with zinnias, coreopsis, and salvias...among other things.
I always consider butterflies to be the "prize" you get for cultivating a garden...it just makes it all seem so much more "alive" with their presence.
I love to increase the milkweed by root cuttings. It multiplies so easily just by cutting some and rooting the cutting either by water rooting or just sticking it into dampen soil. The original plant recoups from being cut by branching and also puts on new leaves and blooms. When my Monarch cats finish off a stem, I take it out of the cage and root it for a whole new plant. If I didn't, all my cats would starve because I would not have had enough milkweed plants to go around for all of these hungry cats.
Deborah
I've tried rooting cuttings, but they wilt within 10 minutes of cutting them ! The "milk" seems to drain out very quickly and then the whole stem is limp.
A lady I know cuts the stems for cut flowers, but holds them over a flame to sear the ends to keep them from wilting. It seems like if you did that to a cutting, it would kill the tissue and not allow it to form roots.
How do you do your cuttings and keep them from wilting?
Seriously Deborah, I tried the water rooting method and every one of mine wilted and "died" after like two days. I love the fact that after the cats eat the leaves you immediately root that stem. Would have no idea you could do that. Jasper has some good questions, cannot wait to hear the answers to those.
Also, I have a question about milkweed. I have some in two separate gardens. My best looking one (of course) has started getting grayish or whitish leaves. I had to cut two whole stalks off afraid it would infest the whole plant. Is this mildew or what could it be? Last night I was taking off single leaves that seemed to be affected because I do not want to lose my whole plant. Any help here is always appreciated. Thanks.
Leslie
I just use stem cuttings that I remove most of the leaves from (unless it's been stripped by cats...and it does okay then also). This is the Mexican Milkweed...I realize that some other species are not that easy. Most cuttings of it root easily. I just do enough to compensate for the ones that don't make it. But I keep them in shade until they get going and keep the pot moist.
This message was edited Sep 5, 2007 8:42 PM
Leslie...my milkweed gets that grayish look as well...it's just powdery mildew and won't kill the plant. I just pick off the bad leaves and NEVER use any chemicals on them, for fear it will kill the larvae and the eggs.
Leslie, try the water rooting again. This time, don't let the bottom of the stem touch the bottom of the jar, glass or whatever you're rooting them in. I cut slits around sides of water bottles )near the top) so that the stems fit somewhat snuggly. Add a cap full of H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) to room temp. water and change the water every day. You should have little white roots in a few days. Mine even leafs out before the roots show.
Right now, I'm in a pickle though. I've got too many cats to count in cages plus there are cats on every milkweed plant in my gardens. I'm running out of milkweed leaves faster than they can grow more. Even had a Monarch fly under my patio and lay eggs on the cuttings that were just barely leafing out. Back in May, I never in a millon years would have dreamed I'd run out of milkweed leaves with nearly 30 plants. But I have. I probably should have cut them back a few leaf nodes back in May so they could have branched more. Live and learn for next year.
Thanks Cordel. I will try that method. Sounds like a winner I hope. I would so love to root some in an easy fashion. I have let all my seeds blow all over the yard hoping some would come up somewhere but have not seen any yet. Is there any special way to cut the stem to root them? Any certain length? Did you say strip the leaves or it does not matter? Sorry so many questions but you have been very helpful so I am taking advantage. LOL. Thanks for all of your info.
Leslie
No certain length really, but around 8" or so is a good length. Always try to cut anything you may root at an angle and next to a leaf node. The cuttings I've started were the stems with leaves that I had cut to put in the foam container inside the cages. When the cats eat all the leaves (& sometimes some of the stems - the hungry booggers) I take the stems out of the cage and put them in water. I do snip off the very end of the stem again before I put it into the water bottle. If you are going to use fresh milkweed stems from the garden that actually has leaves on it, I think it would be best to take off several rows of the bottom leaves and leave a few at the top. Defininately snip off any blooms. You want to redirect the energy to go to making roots, not letting the MW try to finish budding.
I have also rooted cuttings by sticking MW stems in a potted plant that's under my patio. You can even stick them in the garden next to the mother plant. Not all will take root, but most well. Successful rooting in the garden depends on how much moisture is in the ground. Whether you water root or just stick them in dirt, it's a quick way to get more plants faster than by sowing seeds.
I do scatter some seeds around my plants as I'm harvesting seeds too, Leslie. Just be sure to press them down on the ground so that they'll have good soil contact.
Thanks for all that info. I am going to try some of the cuttings today, water rooting, and will follow your directions. I may have some luck this time. Thanks again.
Leslie
What good timing this thead is for me!
I planted my first milkweed about a month ago, and then promptly forgot about it. At first, I was waiting to see the butterflies discover it. After no one appeared to pay attention, I stopped paying attention as well.
Yesterday, I noticed that there were several catepillars in the milkweed. My initial panic was are they friend or foe. (I couldn't remember at the time that I had planted the milkweed for the catepillars and not the butterflies.) When I began investigating further, I noticed that several of the plants had been stripped bare - not a single leaf was left.
As I sat down to Davesgarden for the first time in a couple of weeks, I was wondering if I would have to take pictures and post a new thread to find out what these "plant killing catepillars" were doing in my garden, and how I could get rid of them! Instead, this thread totally refreshed my memory as to why I had planted them in the first place.
I loved reading about planting additional milkweed through cuttings, and I envy those of you who are able to do this. I don't think that this is an option in Virginia in early September. By the time any leaves began to grow, it would be fall here.
At any rate, thanks again for the insight. Next year, I wont be so freaked out when I see my plants are stripped.
James! It all looks so fabulous! I understand if you want to leave them to nature.. One of these days I will may do that as well. Not until I am satisfied with all the documentations though.
Really looks awesome!
Pennefeather, I am glad you came through and saw James' post too! Milkweed is definatly a true host and I am glad you planted it. Cuttings are very easy, and if you make cuttings from larger plants they root in no time at all. I'm looking foreward to all your pics next fall!
Debnes
