This month the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was put on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. I heard the call to plant Milkweed. But it isn’t as simple as planting any species of Milkweed, but native milkweed and the timing and location of such planting is also critical. Taken from the Xerces.org website, “PLEASE NOTE: In general, milkweed should not be planted within 5 miles of the coast north of Santa Barbara, nor within 1 mile of the coast from Santa Barbara south. These areas are generally outside of milkweed’s historical range and planting milkweed too close to overwintering sites may interfere with monarch migration and overwintering behavior”

My photo of a cluster of Monarch Butterflies was taken in 2010 at the Pismo Monarch butterfly grove overwintering site. as seen in the small insert of the wayside board above.

So, what can you do currently if you do not fall in an area that supports native milkweed planting? Plant native nectar-bearing plants: A list of native nectar plants for your area can be found here in this pdf for download: https://xerces.org/…/18-003_02_Monarch-Nectar-Plant…
It is crucial that the right plants for the right zones and time of year be planted. These are native plants that will help support the Monarchs during their migrations. Of course, plant native milkweed too if it suits your area and zone. I will write a follow-up post on how that can be done also.

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