Hi there--So glad to have another butterfly gardener come on board!

The plant you mentioned I had to look up--looks like it is from Asia and is restricted to warmer zones? What state/region are you in--that can help a lot with recommendations.

There are many attractive native species of milkweeds for Monarchs--Swamp milkweed or Asclepias incarnata is a great one; it does like moist conditions, but can adapt to when it's a little drier. I usally supplement mine with water from my dehumidifier. It's planted with some Sweet Joe-Pye Weed too.

So, for starters, native milkweeds are good--they will come back year after.

But planting what you have now won't hurt anything since it won't survive your winters. I would wait until after frost to put out your plant, and maybe start the seeds indoors in a month or so if you have a situation to start seeds indoors.

You'll want to have some nectar plants to feed the adult butterflies--good ones to have are species of Coneflowers (echinaceas), Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species), eupatoriums (Bonesets, Joe Pye Weeds), native asters and goldenrods for the very important fall nectar. It seems many areas in the U.S. have some relatives of these plants.

If Butterfly Bush is not invasive in your area, that is also another sure magnet for butterflies.

Annuals that seem to be universally loved are zinnias (single flowered variety), Mexican Sunflowers, Verbena bonariensis. These are easy to grow from seed, and will definitely bring in butterflies and other pollinators.

Thank you for sharing your land with the important animals. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

I'm linking to a blog I keep for my local chapter of Wild Ones, an organization devoted to native plants because of all the good they do. I've written a little bit of some of our favorite plants for this area--there may be some overlap for you.

There might be a Wild Ones chapter in your area which is a great resource--connecting you to people with your interest and knowledge about where and what to plant.

I applaud your decision to start small--keep it simple. That way it's not overwhelming.

Even if you just planted milkweed and pollinator friendly annuals, that is a huge start.

Best to you!

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden friendly native plants

Perennials will take some time to mature, so I would use some annuals to provide nectar this coming season while the perennials fill in. Zinnias are great nectar plants that aren't invasive anywhere and are simple to grow. Contact your local butterfly association to find out what kinds of butterflies would be expected in your area. Once you know that, you can plant host plants to attract those species. Natives wild flowers are also excellent choices for nectar plants long term. They are much more likely to do well in your climate, and the insects you want to attract will have evolved with the same plants.

What kind of milkweed have you planted? How much gardening space do you have and what else are you growing so far? I can't help you out with the Calotropos gigantus. I've never grown it.

Good luck and keep posting.

Martha

Looks like Bernergrrl beat me to an answer and was much more thorough!

Martha

The Giant Milkweed mentioned above as Calotropis gigantus is much more commonly referred to as Calotropis gigantea, and would be an annual in zone 6, would need replanting every year.

I am currently overwintering calotropis procera, and it's doing very well indoors.

Overwintering may be a better option than starting every year from scratch...then you'll have mature plants for most of the season. Good luck! Tony

PS...I just started some gigantea seeds last week. I'll post an update soon.

I grew Calotropis gigantea in SoFla and man could it produce!! Queens by the squadron as well. Whitevine attracted all three Danaus spp. in SoFla, namely the Tropic Queen, or Soldier.