*An article I'm working on getting published in my neighborhood newspaper. Prairie on! :)
All
summer long I have been watching butterflies float from bloom to
bloom treating my garden as a nectar smorgasbord. From the yellow
eastern tiger swallowtail to the iconic orange and black Monarch.
Sometimes they'll linger for minutes, other times for hours. All I
have to do is to bring their favorite foods to the buffet line!
Following
the purchase of our home during the polar vortex of 2014, my husband
and I made the transition from a front lawn filled with grass to a
garden oasis filled with edible food, native plants, and habitat for
birds, butterflies, and other small wildlife (luckily the deer
haven't followed suit - yet)!
At
the top of the list was creating a Monarch Waystation. With a
migration that stretches from central Mexico to southern Canada,
monarchs need stopping points along their 2,000 mile journey to fuel
up and to continue the survival of future generations. While adult
butterflies can get their nectar fuel from a number of flowers, they
can only lay their eggs on milkweed and the larva (caterpillar) can
only eat milkweed. Similar to humans, as adults we can consume a
variety foods, but as infants, we survive on a limited number of
foods.
Perhaps
in the past year, you have heard of the Cincinnati Nature Center's
Milkweed
to Monarchs Initiative
in which free packets of milkweed seed were available for consumers
at local businesses (i.e., Graeter's, LaRosa’s, REI). In
May, when the White House unveiled its National Strategy to Promote
the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, the Monarch was given
specific mention with a plan to increase its overwintering numbers to
225 million by 2020.
Why
the sudden notoriety? With experts estimating a 90% decline in the
eastern population of Monarchs over the past 20 years, the
overwintering population in Mexico hit its lowest recorded level in
winter 2013-2014. Among the reasons for its decline is the
significant decrease in milkweed availability. The organization
Monarch Watch estimates that 2.2 million acres of potential milkweed,
thus Monarch habitat, is lost in the United States every year. The
loss is due in part to the conversion of land for development and
agricultural practices and the increased efficiency of herbicides for
non-crop plants.
The
good news is that we can create flourishing habitats for monarchs,
even in urban spaces! The organization Monarch Watch which developed
the certifiable Monarch Waystation program recommends the following
guidelines for creating a monarch habitat:
- Sun
Exposure.
Butterflies and butterfly plants need lots of sun; therefore, Monarch
Waystations need to be located in an area that receives at least six
hours of sun a day.
- Milkweed
Plants. It
is best to have at least 10 plants, made up of two or more species;
however, a large number of plants (more than 10) of one species is
sufficient.
-Nectar
Plants.
By providing nectar sources that bloom at different times, your
Monarch Waystation can provide resources for monarchs throughout the
breeding season and the migration in the fall. Some good native
nectar plants include: black-eyed susan, coneflower, liatris, aster,
joe pye weed, and goldenrod.
-Minimize
the use of pesticides. You
don't want to have a dinner party and then accidentally poison your
guests!
If
you are able to meet the above requirements, you can submit an
application for an Official Monarch Waystation, name your waystation,
be listed on the national registry, and install an official
waystation sign. My niece helped us name ours: Rosie's Monarch
Resort! For more information, go to MonarchWatch.org.
Autumn
is a great time to get a head start on creating a monarch habitat.
With mosquitoes and unpleasant temperatures at bay, you can take your
time sowing seeds and/or putting in your milkweed plants. Of the 13
milkweeds native to Ohio, swamp milkweed and butterfly weed are the
most commonly found in the nursery trade and are best in smaller
garden spaces. Common milkweed will gladly take over, so choose
accordingly. Regardless of which milkweed(s) you choose, they are all
perennials and will eagerly return year after year without any
pampering.
Keep
in mind, whether you plant one milkweed or many, no effort is too
small to have a positive impact!
Sources
for milkweed:
Seed
Packets:
- Contact the Cincinnati Nature Center for free seed packets
- For larger quantities, order seed through Ohio Prairie Nursery or other native plant vendors. It's best to get locally-sourced seed.
Plants:
Local
Native Plant Nurseries:
- Keystone Flora Native Plant Nursery (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Go Natives Now (Lebanon, Ohio)
- Mary’s Plant Farm (Hamilton, Ohio)
Local
Native Plant Sales:
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (at EcOhio Farm & Wetland) hosts multiple native plant sales spring through fall.
- Great Outdoor Weekend, September 26-27th: includes a number of native plant sale events including Cincinnati Nature Center and Cincinnati Zoo.
- Civic Garden Center Plant Sale: held the 1st weekend in May has a “Necessary Natives” booth.
Online:
- Monarch Watch (Milkweed Market) sells flats of plants in the spring, which can be ordered online at: http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market/
Organizations:
- Wild Ones: www.wildones.org and Greater Cincinnati Wild Ones Chapter Facebook group
- Midwest Native Plant Society and Facebook group
- Monarch Maniacs of Ohio Facebook group
- The Xerces Society
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