My garden is a certified Monarch Waystation. Milkweed is a HOST plant (where the caterpillars will be found), therefore the plant will be stipped of the leaves by the cats. Don't expect pretty. I put it in the middle or back of a lot of nectar plants. Last year, they preferred the asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) over the ascelepias tuberosa or curassavica.

I also have bronze fennel for the swallowtails to use as a host plant (and it gets stripped, too). I have it at the very back of my butterfly garden. Since I can walk around all sides of my garden, I go up close to inspect the plants for eggs and cats. The cats usually move within 40 feet of the host plant to another plant for pupation. You won't find the pupa on the milkweed.

The Monarchs love tall verbena, Mexican sunflower (tithonia), coneflowers, agastache, buddleia, caryopteris, floss flower and many other nectar plants.

Some pix of a Monarch cat and a Monarch in my garden last year. It is great fun to watch them (and the swallowtails). August was peak season for my garden full of Monarchs.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch Watch

Here's a page from the Monarch Watch site with pictures of the various asclepsias (milkweed) varieties:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/guide/index.htm

The Asclepias tuberosa interior (Butterfly milkweed) is lovely and self seeds prolifically.

Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed Guide

Asclepias incarnata (prairie red milkweed) is a well-behaved clumping variety. The blooms are beautiful reddish-pink clusters, and fragrant. It's supposed to grow to a height of 5' in moist conditions, but mine tops out at about 3'. My gardens were pretty much left unattended for 2 years (i.e. zero water) while I was working out of state, and this milkweed is back looking as good as ever. After the Monarchs have had their buffet, it does look like it's been through its own personal hurricane, but tucked-in amongst other perennials as suggested above, it isn't really noticeable. I think I'll treat it to some regular waterings this year.

Thanks for asking this question. A girlfriend in TN who does butterflies and natives sent me a pot of milkweed. I couldn't decide where to plant it.

The common milkweed does run around, but it's actually a rather handsome plant and doesn't get all that big unless you really feed it. I've got a lot of it growing wild on my place. It's best as a meadow plant.

I'm trying purple milkweed (A. incarnata) for the first time this year. Can't wait to see it! I already grow butterfly weed and swamp milkweed and they are lovely. The only thing that bums me out is that blister beetles have come around and stripped my milkweeds every summer. :( The milkweeds grow back but the butterflies can't feed on them.

I am happy to see that my lone Asclepias variegata is blooming again this year! It took last year off I guess. Not sure if it is a host plant for any butterflies but it blooms for such a long time and is the most striking white flower in the deep shade of my yard I am thrilled every time I see it. I received seeds last year (thanks to Garden Web) so hopefully I will have more of these guys. I'm not sure why they call it 'variegata' since no part of it is variegated.

I have to also add my 2 cents! I have always grown a lone milweed plant waiting for the visits by monarchs! I have tried many times to transplant milkweed without success. Finally bought a few different varieties and planted them around the yard. Last year I had 6 milkweeds and tons of Monarchs! There were cats all over and they ate them to the ground! I have moved my garden this year. NONE of the milkweeds survived the move, so I have been madly scurrying the Charlotte area looking for a few varieties.... I have planted 5 plants already, hoping to draw them in this summer.

Monarchs mating on one of my milkweeds last year.

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Byrdlady, find someone that has a. tuberosum and gather seeds in fall. They start easily direct sown from seed and will take a few years to get big, but you'll have lots for little investment and no worries about transplanting. I have seen roots for tuberosum sold in the big boxes occasionally, so you may want to ck when they get those boxed roots (clematis, yarrows, columbines are some of the others they sell at the same time). I grow some currasavica in pots to help feed mine and attract the butterflies as they seem to prefer it (thanks ralph!). I overwinter those in a cool area since they aren't winter hardy here. I'm trying to get the big perennial syriaca, that's not as pretty, for feed plants. That one runs to make colonies. I have some incarnata seed i'm going to try, too. I hope my variegata seed sprouts soon.

We live in eastern NC, Craven County, and I've looked all over the county for milkweed with no success. Last year on a trip to OH, I collected some seed pods, put them in the freezer for 60 days, and planted the seeds in a pot this spring. Nothing ever came up. Anyone know why? And why no milkweed in Craven County?

I grow lots of the South American Milkweed known as Bloodflower or Mexican Butterfly Weed (Asclepias currasavica) not only for the Monarchs but also for the interesting bees and wasps that they attract. It has attractive orange flowers similar to our native Butterfly Weed, but is not hardy in the ground over winter. However, it usually comes back at various places in the garden so that I always have plenty to pot up. In my unheated greenhouse it usually blooms all winter and can get 3 or 4 feet tall after a year. If I carry potted plants with caterpillars on them into the greenhouse they will climb up the wall of the house (I have a lean-to greenhouse) to make their chrysalis. Watching them transform into a butterfly over a roughly 3 week period and finally exit the chrysalis before flying all the way to Mexico for the winter is an experience I recommend.