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Butterfly Garden

Milkweeds n NO Monarchs

16 years ago

Howdy all , I had taken sooo many M/W seeds from my old plants and grew sooo many seeds I got more plants than I know what to do , So I planted them all in my backyard and are growing strong . But heck , I'll be dammed there isnt any Monarchs around barely at all .. I've seen a few eggs and only a handfull of cats .. but just a few months ago there was sooo many cats they ate the heck outta my plants n seems like they left town .. Now I got all these cool looking Milkweeds growing and no chompers to eat them ..When will they return .. ?? Did I do something wrong .. I see no pests around that eats them . wasps , birds , ducks etc"

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Comments (12)

tdogmom
16 years ago
Where do you live?
clownboy
Original Author
16 years ago
Fort Laud .. Fla .. Hot Hot Hot !!! Maybe they went north to cool off .. ha
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Sherry, I don't know whether we have sassafras anywhere nearby. I live in the city and while I know there are various types of native trees growing around town, I'd not be able to recognize Sassafras trees. When I was little, grandma would dig the roots and make winter tea from Sassafras, but I'd not know the plant on my own. I am just sick over this but I don't know what I can do right now to help them. I'll call around to the local nurseries as soon as they open and see if anyone has this plant but it's doubtful. Not many native plants are offered locally. I've just ordered 8 more spicebush plants and plan to take out a bed of Azaleas and plant them there. It is an understory bed and has auto sprinklers so it should be the perfect spot for them. I know it won't help the little guys that are out there now, but at least I'll be growing something helpful to the butterflies in that bed. I may have to use some of the new plants to replace those I have growing right now, as they are now just bare branches except for the tatters of nests. Poor little guys just barely covered with their bit of leaf nest that hasn't been eaten. Their little comical 'faces' poking out of the nest opening. It just breaks my heart. Thank you for the suggestion. If I thought I could recognize a sassafras tree, I'd go looking. Mary
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Joe, I wintersowed some milkweed seed this year. It's up but still small, I have most of those other plants that are mentioned in this post. Don't forget to plant some Maypop for the Gulf Frits. Yes, I get them here in NE OK. They have had a program going at the botanical garden in Tulsa in past years. Not sure if that's still going on. Also I grew fennel last year and I had a lot of those Monarch caterpillars on it. With fennel, IF they leave you anything, you can use it in cooking or just enjoy the fragrance. But usually they strip the plant down to bare stems. They can be found in dill umbels, too.
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Poor babies! I have two monarch cats on my milkweed.
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Yeay. Very few monarchs and zebras for us this year too. This has been our Frit year. Released 36 so far and still have another 10 pupae!
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Thanks for the reply, Glenn. Last year I got ambitious and studied milkweeds that would grow in Florida. I got as many of those that Prairie Moon Nursery sold and was a little surprised that they instruct to cold stratify. Mmmm weird. But I took the time to do that with each pack. I ended up with hundreds of seedlings. The monarchs found the baby plants and waited til I wasn't looking and laid eggs. I had to relocate the tiny cats to mature Milkweed in the garden in order to save those poor seedlings that were almost naked by the time I discovered my dilemma. So I built a covered "porch" over the nursery so the mama monarchs couldn't get in. I spent hours and hours nurturing my new Milkweed plants with visions of their flowers covering every square inch of my tiny yard. Well, you guessed it.......not a one made it through the summer. And that's why I am so interested in what other people have had success with for their monarch cats.
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tdogmom
16 years ago
Patience, my dear, patience. :)
emmayct
16 years ago
I'll bet they migrated north and are on there way to me here in CT. ( I hope so)

Maryann
caterwallin
16 years ago
I just looked at Journey North and it's weird how the sightings are just about everywhere but here. I see sightings have even been reported in Canada. The Monarchs seem to cluster around the Great Lakes. There have been sightings in the northwest part of the state around Lake Erie, in southwest PA, and the east and southest. There is a big hole in the state where no sightings have been reported and guess who's in that void. :( I wish I knew when they were here last year. I'm starting to think I'm not going to get any, but I just have to be patient.
Cathy
janetg57
16 years ago
Cathy, I haven't had any Monarchs in my yard yet this year, either. The last ones I had was about this time last year. I also haven't had any GF's this year. Last year, I had them on my passionvine from January to November, but nary a one so far this year. I guess it's a cyclical thing. They'll be here when they get here.

Janet
caterwallin
16 years ago
Janet, Gosh, I hope that we get some this year. I'll be kind of disappointed if I don't get any and I have all of this milkweed planted. I guess the joke would be on me if they don't show up. Ha.
Cathy
clownboy
Original Author
16 years ago
Well just this past weekend I saw 2 different Monarchs laying some eggs on a few plants and i also did see like 4 cats .. Maybe they are getting round now ..Hope so I got wayyyyyyy too many milkweed plants I grew from seed pods from my old plants .. they need to come and chow'em down ..
janetg57
16 years ago
I got milkweed and I got seed pods about to burst, so more milkweed on the way, I guess. I've been smushing those big black and yellow ladybug-shaped beetles because they eat my tropical milkweed faster than the cats can.

I've got something folding and rolling the leaves of the willow tree. I don't want to unfold the leaves to see what it is, yet. These blasted red wasps are more numerous this year than I can recall them ever being and they will take a caterpillar real quick. If the little ones can hide successfully, who am I to expose them to certain death?
cecropia
16 years ago
Cathy,the monarchs will find your yard eventually,but it may take another month or so.The numbers are low in early summer because there hasn't been time for the previous generation to complete their lifecycle yet.When all those cats become adults they will spread out in all directions looking for hostplants.
caterwallin
16 years ago
Thanks, Cecropia. This year I'm going to type in a file when I see the first ones so I know for next year so I don't have to worry that they might have passed me by. I just think it's weird how they are all the way up in Canada and they aren't here. I have tons of milkweed waiting for them.
Cathy
myrna1221
16 years ago
I'm having the same situation here on NW Miami-Dade
almost border with Broward, lots of healthy milkweed
blooming like crazy, but only few monarchs, finding
3 or 4 cats weekly, I bring them in, just to make sure
that they complete the cycle.
I remember when longwing Zebras were all over, and
since H. Wilma I only see few around my garden, I hope
we are not having the same thing happening to Monarchs.

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