I found a Butterfly Weed plant at local nursery and planted it a week and 3 days ago. The nursery man said Butterfly Weed is Milkweed, but I don't believe it. I keep looking for little holes in the leaves as garden-posters here have advised, as sign of the monarch. I see tiny "rust" holes, and 2 white grains, look like glue. These posters say the native milkweed is vastly superior as a monarch host, and I am waiting to see if you get replies as to where to acquire the real thing.

Could you have "asclepias" a native butterfly weed? Here in TN it grows as a wildflower and has orange flowers. This plant is not a milkweed but it is advertised as "butterfly weed" for sale at local nurseries and "Home Improvement Stores" It's very pretty and very tough, but I don't know if it harbors and nurtures Monarchs. Milkweeds also grow wild and native around here. One person's weed is another's cherished flower.

http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/catalog.htm

Appears to have a variety butterfly plants including milkweed.
Thanks,
Lynn

check the seed exchange. It has a very deep taproot and does not transplant/divide well. I have a variety called Ice ballerina (white flower heads in early spring) asclepias tuberosa, which the monarch catapillars are eating as I type. It get large seed pods which pop open with thousands of seeds on the silk like threads. I am sorry, I removed them this year to keep it from spreading throughout my garden or I would be able to send you some.

The local nursery here sells them (Big Bloomers), but NC is a long way from Texas. I saw some in the Van Bourgondien catalog last year. You might try to google them for their website. You will pay more for smaller plants mail order but it is an option if you can't find them elsewhere.

Kumquat12,

If you do your homework, you'll find that Butterfly Weed is questionable, at best. While the Monarchs might come to it for food, it doesn't embitter them like the other Milkweeds do. Actual Milkweeds make them distasteful to the bird which is why they don't eat them. I've got some Antelope Horn seeds (where they lay their eggs - one at a time), for postage, if you want some. Their roots go 6' down. So, you'll need to plant them in their forever home place. There are several good websites out there. I've just harvested the seeds last weekend, so they are very fresh. They'll need to go through stratification/winter before they'll attempt sprouting. So, you've got some time. The seeds in my refrigerator have been there for over 2 months. While I'd like to plant them now, I haven't identified their forever spot in the yard - which I hope to do shortly.

I've got some Butterfly Weed going and regret having bought it. But, this is how we learn. I want to plant a number of things to feed them. But, it's the Antelope Horns that they need for their eggs.

Xtal

http://www.monarchwatch.org

As said above, there are various species of Asclepias, about 140:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias

The common names butterfly weed and milkweed are fairly generic, being applied to many of the species. Many species also have other, more specific common names.

Antelope horn seems to refer to A. asperula:

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ASAS

Using a species native to your area is best, as described at the monarchwatch.org link in the above post.

To find the species native to your state, this link is handy. Type Asclepias in the top box, click the checkmark for your state, hit search.

http://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html

Lee, I've got some Antelope Horn seeds that I've collected solely for the purpose of sharing them. They'll have to be stratified for several weeks in the refrigerator. If anyone is interested, get back to me - maybe we can trade some seeds.

We need to plant a variety of milkweed as they bloom at different times. It's just the Antelope Horns on which they'll lay their eggs.

Xtal

All of the monarchs we reared & released in 2003 in OH were on A. incarnata. That's where the eggs were laid & that's what these former caterpillars ate. That species & A. syriacus are native in OH, but A. asperula is not. 3 butterflies that had hatched that morning, being taken outside to fly back to Mexico for winter.

Any of a wide variety of blooming nectar plants would be appreciated by adult monarchs (& other butterflies,) but flowers aren't necessary for egg laying or for caterpillars to eat. Sharing is great, glad to hear about any efforts in that direction, but if sending to locations where not native/hardy, a particular species may not do well.

If A. asperula was required for egg laying/caterpillar food, there would only be monarchs in places where that grows.