Playing in the Dirt: A Better Butterfly Garden in a Small Space ...Middle East

97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com have partnered with NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Orange County for “Playing in the Dirt,” a monthly column providing information and inspiration to gardeners of all skill levels! Check back on Chapelboro each month for a new subject – from our gardens to yours!

By Margaret Alford Cloud, , Orange County Master Gardener℠ volunteer

Monarch on butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). Photo by Martin LaBar CC BY-NC 2.0.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky have identified effective ways to attract monarch butterflies to small urban gardens. Most important are garden design and plant placement, and selection of the most effective milkweed and nectar plants.

The monarch butterfly population in the eastern United States has declined sharply — an estimated 80% loss since the 1990s. Among the factors contributing to the decline: Loss of habitat, exposure to pesticides and extreme weather. In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that monarchs be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed. Photo by Debbie Roos, NC State Extension, Chatham County Center.

Monarchs lay eggs on milkweed and their caterpillars only eat milkweed as they develop. Adult monarch butterflies need nectar throughout the year, including during their long migration from Mexico to the United States and Canada in the spring, and to Mexico in the fall.

Studies have shown that monarchs find and use small urban gardens. Plants in the gardens also support bees, moths and other pollinators.

Entomologist Adam Baker, then a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky, examined milkweed plants in a test garden. Photo by Matt Barton, University of Kentucky.

To learn more about gardens that support monarchs, University of Kentucky entomologists Daniel Potter and Adam Baker spent about two years studying 22 monarch waystations (managed gardens planted with milkweed and nectar-producing plants). They looked at characteristics such as the accessibility of the gardens to butterflies, the number and proximity of structures near the gardens, the density and arrangement of milkweed and nectar plants, the size of the gardens and the spacing of plants.

They planted eight species of milkweeds and regularly counted the number of eggs on the plants and, later, larval growth and survival. They also counted visits by bees to the milkweeds.

In a recent webinar presentation to Master Gardener volunteers in North Carolina, Potter talked about some fascinating research results that are of value to home gardeners:

Planting milkweed around the perimeter of the garden and setting off the milkweed plants with mulch produced the most visits by monarchs and the most eggs. Separating milkweed plants with mulch makes the plants obvious to butterflies. Gardens where milkweed grew among masses of other plants attracted fewer monarchs.

An effective monarch garden has milkweed planted on the perimeter, spaced with mulch, and nectar plants in the middle. Separating the milkweed makes it more obvious to monarchs. Adam Baker, University of Kentucky.

North-south access is important to attract incoming butterflies.

Urban gardens surrounded by pavement, buildings and traffic attracted fewer butterflies than other locations.

The three tallest milkweed species attracted the most egg-laying monarchs. The tallest are swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa). Common and showy milkweeds may not work well in smaller gardens — they can spread aggressively via underground rhizomes and may overtake a small garden bed.

Left: Swamp milkweed (photo by Charlotte Glen, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Right: Butterfly milkweed (photo by Cathy DeWitt, CC BY 4.0).

For home gardens, four milkweed species that take up less space will support monarchs: Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) will support egg-laying monarchs, and butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), green milkweed (Asclepias viridis) and whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) will support caterpillar growth and development. All four of these are attractive to bees.

Left: Whorled milkweed (photo by Joshua Mayer, CC-BY-SA 2.0). Right: Green milkweed (photo by Elizabeth McGreevy, CC BY-NC 4.0).

Cultivars supported as many monarchs as straight, “wild type” native species. Cultivars are variants of native plants that have been cross-bred or hybridized for traits such as size or bloom time.

The non-native tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) should not be planted. In temperate climates, it doesn’t die back in cold weather, which could prompt monarchs not to migrate southward. It also can hold a pathogen that kills monarchs.

 “Ecological traps” in the garden can harm monarchs. Examples are allowing invasive wasps to flourish and then kill caterpillars (European paper wasps are the worst) or including unsuitable plants such as tropical milkweed. Planting a garden near a busy road where monarchs might be hit by vehicles is also a bad idea.

A monarch on blazing star (Liatris spicata). Photo by Debbie Roos.

A Xerces Society publication lists nectar plants in the mid-Atlantic region that attract and support adult monarchs. (Visit the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox for plant details). Examples include:

Don’t have space for a garden? You can still support monarchs by planting milkweed or nectar plants in pots. Butterfly milkweed is easy to grow in a container or in a small garden. It spreads by seed and doesn’t produce rhizomes. (It does produce a taproot so if you want to plant it in the ground, do so while the plant is young.) Whorled milkweed and swamp milkweed are also suitable for containers. Use a large pot with good drainage. Plant nectar plants in pots nearby.

Monarch nectaring on an aster. Photo by Debbie Roos, NC State Extension, Chatham County.

Learn more about monarchs and the plant research by Potter and Baker:

Monarch development (left to right): a. Caterpillar suspends from common milkweed leaf, ready to form chrysalis. b. Same caterpillar a few minutes later. c. Chrysalis is complete; pupation begins. d. Monarch butterfly emerges from the chrysalis 10 days later. All photos by Debbie Roos.

More from the Master Gardener volunteers of Orange County:

Gardening talks: Join us for “Dig Deeper With Us,” a series of free, monthly gardening presentations. May’s topic is Humane Gardening. The talk will be given twice: Sunday, May 18, 2-3:30 p.m. at the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough, and Monday, May 19, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Seymour Center in Chapel Hill.

Join us at farmers’ markets! We host booths at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market (8 a.m.-noon every Saturday through June 14; resuming Sept. 13) and at the Eno River Farmers’ Market in Hillsborough (third Saturday of month, 8 a.m.-noon, through October; next booth is on May 17).

Have a plant or garden question? Email us at [email protected] or phone 919-245-2061 (leave message).

Visit our website: TheOrangeGardener.org

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Garden Buzz.

Follow us on Facebook: Our page is NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers, Orange County.

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