Please consider planting Tropical or Oscar milkweed this season
Mary Leek
10 years ago
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docmom_gw
10 years agodocmom_gw
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Rooted Tropical Milkweed Cuttings
Comments (2)I would be interested in cuttings and would be willing to root them myself if you have some available..Thanks huneybunch_2000@yahoo.com...See MoreTropical Milkweed..overwintering
Comments (23)I don't know if you mean me, as I don't consider myself to be a milkweed expert, but thank you anyway. I didn't build my cage with the intentions of raising milkweed plants in it. It's for putting the milkweed plants into that are already grown. I put those and a bunch of Monarchs in the cage so no predators and parasitoids will be able to get to the Monarchs and kill them. It was never meant to have a heater in it, as it has screen on it. I'm in zone 6 and would have to pay the electric bill that would be generated from heating something in a cage outside in temps that sometimes get below zero in the winter. The cage is to provide a safe place for Monarch cats to eat, pupate, and eclose as adult butterflies. I suppose you could build a cage and put plastic on it if you'd want to raise plants in it, but I don't know the particulars about venting, etc. and would advise you to ask someone with knowledge in that area or to buy a small greenhouse for that purpose....See MoreButterfly Weed vs. Tropical Milkweed
Comments (39)In our community gardens, a wide variety of milkweeds are offered to the Monarchs. Every year they are covered with cats during different times of the year. It's very common to find a chrysalis hanging from a garden border 2x6 or from horizontal vine supports or any number of different plant stems. It is extremely rare to find any of them on the host plants though, as the little cats seem to want to wander off to do their magic. I'm sure there are predations, but I've photographed any of the beautiful little encasinga and even had the privilege of watching the last instar unzip into the bright green chrysalis. Up until that point I wasn't sure exactly how it happened and it was amazing and surprisingly quick! It takes me a bit of searching to find them at this point because they are so well camouflaged....See MoreTropical Milkweed
Comments (5)Thanks, Sherry! Yes, I have quite a bit of milkweed to feed lots of Monarchs. My season is winding down now though. All of the cats I have right now will pupate within the next few days if they haven't been parasitized, and I haven't been finding any eggs outside lately. I'm glad because it's getting pretty late for the Monarchs to be laying eggs and for their offspring to make it to Mexico considering from egg laying to adult stage takes 3 weeks or so. It's been getting pretty chilly here at night and I can see that some of the leaves on the milkweed plants are getting yellow. I hope that most of the butterflies that I'll be releasing will eclose before October. Cathy...See Morephrelco
10 years agowifey2mikey
9 years agodocmom_gw
9 years agoMegan Hume
2 years agodocmom_gw
2 years ago
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