I just ordered some tropical milkweed from Ozark Nursery (Ron Rottman, info located in the FAQ section) and found a source for some native milkweeds: Milkweed, Butterfly Asclepias tuberosa P Sun/Dry 18"-36 Orange S-F Pkt/Mix Milkweed, Common Asclepias syriaca P Sun/PSun-Dry/Moist 36"-48" Pur/Pink S Pkt/Mix Milkweed, Hall's Asclepias hallii P Sun-Dry/Moist 24"-36" White S Pkt Milkweed, Polk Asclepias exaltata P Sun/PShd-Med 36"-60" White S Pkt Milkweed, Prairie Asclepias sullivantii P Sun-Moist/Med 24"-36" Pink Sum Pkt Milkweed, Purple Asclepias purpurascens P Sun/PShd-Med/Moist 24"-36" Pur S Pkt Milkweed, Red Asclepias rubra P Sun/PShd-Med/Moist 24"-36" Pink/Pur S Pkt Milkweed, Red Ring Asclepias variegata P PShd-Dry/Med 24"-36" Wht/Red S Pkt Milkweed, Sand Asclepias amplexicaulis P Sun-Dry 18"-36" Pink Sp-S Pkt Milkweed, Short Green Asclepias viridiflora P Sun-Med/Dry 8"-16" Grn S Pkt Milkweed, Showy Asclepias speciosa P Sun-Med/Dry 36"-48" Pur S Packet Milkweed, Spider Asclepias viridis P Sun-Dry 8"-24" Grn-Pur S Packet Milkweed, Swamp Asclepias incarnata P Sun-Wet/Moist 36"-48" Red S Pkt/Mix Milkweed, Swamp, 'Cinderella' Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella' P Sun-Wet/Dry 24"-48" Pink S Pkt Milkweed, Swamp, 'Ice Ballet' Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' P Sun-Wet/Dry 24"-48" White S Pkt Milkweed, Swamp, Pulchra Asclepias incarnata ssp pulchra P Sun-Wet/Moist 24"-36" Red Summer Packet Milkweed, Tall Green Asclepias hirtella P Sun-Dry/Med 18"-30" White S Packet Milkweed Vine Matelea decipiens P Sun/PShade-Med/Moist 6'- 10' Maroon Sum Packet Milkweed, Whorled Asclepias verticillata P Sun/PShade-Med/Dry 18"- 30" Wht S/Fall Packet Milkweed, Woolly Asclepias lanuginosa P Sun-Med/Dry 4"- 12" Cream S N/A Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Frontier Wildflowers and Grass Seed

Hi Docmom and Everybody !! sorry for the late reply, but me and my family is currently on vacation here in the mainland:-) we just came from NYC, I get to see the yellowing of the leaves,( in Hawaii, we have trees either too green or brown), in central park, but didn't see any butterfly. its so cold that it wasn't funny anymore ( around 35-45), but I am happy to tell you guys that I was able to see different kinds of butterflies via exhibit on the American History Museum in NYC...I was in tears!!! I was so happy to see Pipervines, black swallowtails, Queens, Blue Morpho, Owl butterfly, tiger swallowtail, atlas atticus, etc..of coarse, it was on captivity, but they explained to me that all those butterfly they exhibited came all the down from south America and florida. I mean wow, that's a lot of butterfly imports! Docmom, I have no clue about if the Monarchs in Hawaii have different genetic what have yous, for the last 4 months of my experience caring for them, I have never encountered OE, except if I feed them store bought host plants..and sometimes they die of natural cause, most of the time, my cats made it to adulthood 99.9%, in my house, we have what we call a " Letting Go Friday", because most of my butterflies emerges on Thursday, ( 5-10 butterflies, but everyday, 1-3 ecloses and me and my 3 year old son let them go on Friday)..its a tough job, a weird hubby for some, but I am going to continue to help them out to flourish in my neighborhood after my vacation. I know some old folks told me that back in the 60s and 70s Monarch butterflies in Hawaii flew all over the islands in clusters, but now you will be lucky if you see one in a day, they are introduced species btw, and we only have 2 native species of butterfly, but the 16-17 including the monarchs were introduced. I think if you guys planted a lot of milkweeds, I am sure these guys will come back. currently, we are in Tampa Florida for family gathering, I am amazed how similar the current weather to Hawaii, and also noticed a few kinds of little butterfly in the open grasslands in which I can ask you guys to identify.

It was so sweet today. We have some little flowers blooming in the grass, so it was resting and eating down there today, but every time I would walk out, she would fly up and fly around and around me. I think I have a friend for life -- or for her life, anyway.

Tom, yes that is the main reason, but there are others. The climate where I'm moving is a lot more moderate than it is here, but not as cold in the winter or hot in the summer. I love the Mexican culture and people. They are so kind and helpful and hard working. Of course, there is the ancient native history, architecture and ruins. AND there is the food -- such amazing dishes! The area I'm moving to (Puebla state) is a major avocado growing area. Avocados everywhere, and cheap! I would be eating avocados every day here if I could afford to. There, I can. It's all in all just a lovely country with wonderful people -- well, not counting the cartels, but I don't plan on getting in their way.