Ryse, if the Monarch was a female, there is a good chance she was laying eggs if she was "fluttering" around the milkweed plants, especially if she seemed more interested in the foliage than the flowers. If you observe closely you can actually see her deposit eggs (oviposit) on the underside of the leaves. You can then check the leaves for eggs - tiny white dots that resemble an oval pearl. I haven't seen any Monarchs yet, but when I do see a female ovipositing I try to collect the eggs as soon as possible, because chances are the numerous predators in the garden will make a meal of them - they might not last a day. If the egg survives and hatches, the caterpillars are tiny at first and not always easy to find. They are also susceptible to predation and may not make it to the larger caterpillar stages. Because of the predators, I take many eggs and a few caterpillars inside to raise. You can cut down your milkweed if there are no eggs or caterpillars on them. About a month ago, I cut back (by half or so) a lot of my the common milkweed and pinched the tropical, so they will send up fresh shoots. These shoots are very desirable to the Monarch females, because the foliage quality is superior and they're easier for small caterpillars to eat. If you decide to let some pods go to seed, you could collect some and scatter the seed yourself in your pasture before they reseed in your garden. Win-win. (I do this a lot in wild areas.)

Yes, That is the plant. The cats on the dill are not Monarch's. Monarchs have black yellow and green stripes, but no dots. They will only eat Milk Weed. Each summer in Michigan,our grand daughters and I raise a couple of monarchs in a screened covered jar. BUT we also have gobs of wild milkweed. Seems as if I am the only one in our park that has this plant, but we noticed tonight that three of the cats have started their next phase, so the new plant should be food enough for the other three.I have hopes that my plants will grow new leaves, and maybe a new family of monarchs..

Congratulations cAROL!!! That is SO exciting!! I'm happy your milkweed is blooming and hope you get lots of butterflies in your garden. I've been adding plants the butterflies & hummingbirds love to my flowerbeds the past several years. I sure got a jump on it this year with all the WS perennials I grew. Milkweed grows here on the hill behind the breezeway where my mother encouraged it as a host plant for the monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have never heard or read anything about the seasalt sand. I have read that butterflies can't drink from a birdbath and the experts suggest you keep a shallow puddle of water surrounded by sand where they can drink. I'll see what I can dig up for information and email it to you. Happy gardening!!! Eileen

Does milkweed do well in my zone? I think I am in zone 8. Baton Rouge, louisiana, I have looked around to see if there is any milkweed growing here, along roadsides, or in yards, because I was wondering if anyone grew it in this area, but I haven't seen any, to my knowledge anyway, lol, which isn't saying much. I would love some seeds if milkweed would work in my area. If so, I will send you a SASE this week. thanks