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Zinnia and Monarch butterflys

12 years ago

I was surprised yesterday to find four Monarch butterflys on my little Zinnia patch (Cut and Come Again). Years ago I grew a few different plants for butterflys but saw none. Other than Cabbage Whites and Red Admiral, I've never even seen more than two butterflys in the yard.

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Comments (10)

susanlynne48
12 years ago
Hi, Dave, aren't they gorgeous? I had 4 in my garden yesterday, too! I garden specifically to attract butterflies and their larvae (I grow host plants for them). If you really want to see lots of them, grow some milkweed. There are perennial Asclepias native to your area, and many of us "butterfliers" grow Tropical Milkweed, which performs as an annual North of Zone 8 (Asclepias curassavica). I may have some seeds to share if a freeze doesn't get them first.

The Monarchs are migrating right now and lots are showing up in gardens coast to coast. The Monarchs seen East of the Rockies migrate to Mexico. It would be helpful to report your sightings to Journey North, an organization that tracks the progress of the migration. I'll give you a link.

Zinnias are a favorite nectar plant for them. I grow them, Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonias, also annual for me), Cosmos, especially C. sulphureus, e.g, 'Cosmic Orange', Golden Crownbeard (a true native annual, Verbesina encelioides), Sunflowers, and the Tropical Milkweed, which is also a nectar plant and larval host plant.

Congrats on your Monarch beauties!

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Journey North
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
12 years ago
I haven't seen any monarchs here but we do have gulf fritillaries, zebra and tiger swallowtails, and other butterflies I don't have names for that really enjoy my zinnias.
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Hi Kimka, That agrees with what I have seen around here. There are zero milkweeds in the cultivated fields, and there are some milkweeds along our roadsides. Last year there were milkweeds growing along our roadside as close as 100 yards from where I am sitting now. Not a lot, but some. I didn't notice any caterpillars or chrysalises on them, either. They did put out a lot of their fluffy airborne seeds, though, so there is hope for them. In our immediate area, most of the roadside does not get mowed, because there are deep drainage ditches that prevent the mowers that are used here from mowing the ditch area. I have seen the highway department use mowers that are on long extension arms that could mow such inaccessible areas, but they don't use that kind of equipment in this area. So the roadside milkweeds are safe in this area for the time being. If the Monarchs would just use them. As for those many counties across the country that are mowing the roadsides for weed control, they probably aren't even aware that they are hurting the butterflies. But if butterfly activist groups made them aware, they probably wouldn't "cease and desist" in their mowing. Their argument might be that the safety of the motorists was more important than the butterflies. There are extensive areas that are not suitable for agricultural use. The wide pathways under cross country high voltage power lines are kept clear of trees for obvious reasons, and the meadow flowers that grow there attract butterflies of many kinds. Perhaps those areas could be deliberately seeded with milkweeds. And perhaps the railroads could be persuaded to join in a Monarch conservation effort. Kimka, I agree with you totally that the recent decline in Monarchs is not from farmers keeping Milkweeds out of their fields. But I am not sure the recent Monarch decline is due to a recent change in roadside mowing either. At least, I haven't seen a recent change in that. We had a bad drought last year and, in fact, we technically are still in that. Droughts are typically multi-year. Maybe this is another "climate change" thing. ZM
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Hi Bev, the chrysalis will eclose in about 10-14 days. IF it's healthy and hasn't been parasitized, or perhaps found by a predator and eaten, or some other hazards that could befall the chrysalis. However, it's already beaten enormous odds to make it to this stage (as you've noticed - lots little cats, not many make it to pupate). Perhaps next year you can help them along and bring some in to raise? :-D Monarchs are a tropical species. They can't overwinter in a temperate climate. They can't even fly below approx. 50 degrees F (10 C). In North America, there are 2 primary over-wintering locations - along the coast of California, and some fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico, where they are occasionally exposed to harsh weather, but many still manage to survive. Black Swallowtails, on the other hand, ARE a temperate species, and many of the chrysalises that I have in my tank right now will probably over-winter with me (in the garage) and eclose next Spring. Amazing that they can survive snow, ice, and freezing temps outside! (PS. We are pretty smart on this forum, but the real knowledge about b-flies is on the Butterfly forum! :)
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Here is a video of a Monarch butterfly in my garden. Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch Butterfly
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Susan - I didn't notice that this thread came back to the top earlier this month, so I missed your question - and somebody calling me "famous". Thank you! : ) lol I don't really have any secrets to share though. I never fertilize anything, mostly out of laziness, and I think zinnias are one of those things that do better in poor soil anyway. I do think it looks showier and maybe even attracts butterflies better to plant a huge patch of a single color rather than mixing them. Of the ones I grew last summer, I think Scarlet Flame handled the extreme heat the best. Zowie was my favorite for awhile early in the season but it got some brown leaves late in the summer and struggled. I also grew Violet Queen, Exquisite Pink, and Purple Prince (I think). It's not likely that it will be as hot as last summer again. I may quit gardening if every summer is going to be like that. I went nuts last summer trying to my plants watered so they wouldn't die. I doubt if anything really got enough including my zinnias. I'm giving Zowie another try and planting seeds a little earlier this year. I just sowed some today. Last year and the year before, I sowed seeds around mid June. I used containers this year though because I lost so many last year from various varmints. I will direct sow some too. This year I'm only planting Zowie and Scarlet Flame. I have some seeds that I ordered and also some that I collected last summer. I don't know if those will be worth the space but wanted to see what I get especially from Zowie, maybe some bicolors if the seeds are even any good. They were small. Some zinnias take longer but Zowie and Scarlet Flame started blooming barely over a month from the time I sowed them so it's not too late to plant zinnias for the butterflies folks. : )
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mxk3 z5b_MI
12 years ago
Beautiful! :0)
Donna
12 years ago
To me, one of the very best reasons for growing zinnias of any size and color is that they attract clouds of butterflies. It usually takes until mid to late summer for them to come, but then they hang around until frost. I love them!
noinwi
12 years ago
I've had them on my Zinnies this year, too! I was also surprised to see Hummers visiting them quite often.
bouquet_kansas
12 years ago
Very nice photos dave! Yes, donna.......its one of the reasons i grow zinnias every year......and it seems that we have more monarchs here than usual.....just beautiful!

carol
izharhaq
12 years ago
They are so beautiful..
susanlynne48
12 years ago
Carol, are you still seeing Monarchs in Kansas? What part of Kansas, e.g., Central, Southern?

Susan
dave_k_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Susan,
I planted Common Milkweed several years ago. I like the fragrance of the flowers, but they seem to bloom just when it's getting hot and the flowers wilt. They don't recover well.
susanlynne48
12 years ago
Do the flowers seem to be "drooping" as opposed to "wilting"? The flower umbels on this plant have a natural tendency to droop.

I don't grow this particular milkweed because it does have a tendency to spread, via underground rhizomes, rather "joyously". In my small garden, that won't work. One of best milkweeds to grow, that is the most popular of the milkweeds with the Monarchs is Asclepias curassavica, or Tropical Milkweed. It will be an annual for you, as it is for me. But, it is a very showy plant that blooms all summer up to fall. I save seeds for the following year. This is one of those plants that continue to bloom without needing to be deadheaded. The flowers are a red and yellow combo, but there is a "Silky Gold" cultivar with solid gold blooms. All butterflies, and hummingbirds, are attracted to these blooms.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Asclepias curassavica

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