Skip to main content

Attract tons of migrating monarch butterflies by adding common milkweed to your garden

How to grow and care for common milkweed

A monarch butterfly on a milkweed flower
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In early spring, monarch butterflies start to migrate north from Mexico, and there’s a chance you could see them in your own yard. While there are many flowers you can plant for a beautiful butterfly garden, there’s one flower in particular that draws monarch butterflies: milkweed. To learn all about planting and caring for common milkweed, as well as why monarchs love this flower, keep reading!

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

1 hour

What You Need

  • Moist paper towel or soil

  • Sandwich bag

  • Milkweed seeds

  • Water

  • Soil

Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed flower
Danita Delimont / Shutterstock

Why are monarchs attracted to milkweed?

Milkweed is an essential plant for monarch butterflies. They lay their eggs on milkweed leaves, and the monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed. Without these flowers, monarch caterpillars don’t have any food and can't mature into monarch butterflies.

Unfortunately, milkweed is a threatened species of plant, and it is even considered endangered in some states. Since there are fewer milkweed plants, adding milkweed to your garden can have a large impact. Monarchs appreciate any variety of milkweed, but they seem to prefer common milkweed and swamp milkweed.

Several monarch butterflies flying around milkweed flowers
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Planting common milkweed

Follow these steps to plant common milkweed:

Step 1: Wrap the milkweed seeds in a moist paper towel or damp soil in a sandwich bag.

Step 2: Place the wrapped seeds in the refrigerator for one to three months.

This process is called cold stratification. It simulates winter, and it is necessary for germination. Note that this is only necessary when planting common milkweed in the spring. You can skip this step by planting milkweed in the fall.

Step 3: Choose an area with full or partial sun.

Step 4: Use average garden soil.

Common milkweed will grow in a range of soils, including those with some clay. If your soil contains a large amount of clay or has poor drainage, then swamp milkweed is the better option.

Step 5: Dampen the ground before planting.

This helps the seeds stick to the ground and gives them a jumpstart on germinating.

Step 6: Scatter the seeds across the area.

Like most wildflowers, you don’t need to plant the seeds individually, but you can if you prefer an even, orderly appearance.

Step 7: Scatter a thin layer of soil, roughly 1/4 an inch, over the seeds.

A monarch caterpillar eating a milkweed leaf
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Caring for milkweed

After planting, here's how to care for your milkweed:

Step 1: Water it only when the soil is dry.

Step 2: Avoid using insecticides or pesticides.

You don’t want to hurt the monarchs or their eggs! Remember that it's important for the monarch caterpillars to eat the milkweed.

Step 3: Watch for monarchs in early to mid-spring.

Step 4: Don’t panic if your milkweed doesn’t flower at first!

Milkweed often spends the first year growing and strengthening its roots, then blooming and producing seeds during the second year.

Milkweed is an important plant, and it is, unfortunately, becoming harder and harder for monarch butterflies to find. By adding even a few common milkweed plants to your yard or garden, you could help tons of monarch butterflies safely lay their eggs. Watching monarch caterpillars turn into butterflies is amazing, and you could see it happen in your own backyard!

Topics
Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
The colors of fall flowers can be striking: 12 flowers that’ll have your garden bursting with autumn colors
Keep your fall garden gorgeous and colorful with these flowers
Scarecrow among fall flowers

Spring and summer receive most of the attention when it comes to beautiful flowers, but there are many wonderful flowers that bloom in fall, too! From reds and golds that match your trees' leaves to softer blues and purples, there are so many options to choose from. No matter the climate you live in or the colors you prefer, there are plants that will look great in your autumn garden. These 12 fall flowers can satisfy any gardener, whether you’re looking to fill a full flower bed or just one or two containers to spruce up your porch. Here are our favorite flowers to bring the colors of fall to your home or garden.
Celosia

Celosia, also sometimes called cock’s comb or wool flowers, are sure to stand out in any garden. These unique flowers come in shades of pink, orange, red, yellow, and purple. They can be shaped like fox tails (triangular and bushy) or like coral, wide and wavy. They grow easily in containers or gardens. Celosia are low-maintenance flowers. They enjoy full sun, although they will tolerate some shade, and do best in well-draining soil. Celosia won’t tolerate standing water or wet feet, so let the soil dry between waterings.
Marigold

Read more
These cool-season annuals would be a great addition to your garden
Brighten up your garden with these cool-season flowers
Lobelia erinus blooming in a container

There’s no better way to liven up a landscape than with a colorful display of flowers. They brighten the mood, draw attention toward (or away from) critical parts of the yard, and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. During fall and winter, though, most plants go dormant, leaving patches of brown or gray where there should be lovely colors. Cool-season annuals are a great way to fix this, adding color back to your garden even during winter! Want to add cool-season annuals to your garden? Here's what you need to know!
What are annual flowers?

Garden flowers fall into one of three categories: annuals, biennials, or perennials. Perennials come back year after year. Biennials grow to maturity in their first year and then produce flowers and seed in the second season before they die. Annual flowers complete their entire life cycle in a single growing season. Though they're short lived plants, annuals offer the brightest, most diverse, and longest-lasting color.

Read more
6 incredible types of basil for your herb garden
Add a little variety to your garden with one or all of these basil types
Basil plant bathed in sunlight

Herbs are fun to grow and useful to have around, both for flavoring meals and for keeping certain pests away. Basil is one of the most popular herbs, and for good reason. This tasty herb is versatile and easy to grow, both indoors and out. Did you know there’s more than just one type of basil? If you’re planning your next herb garden, here are six types of basil you should consider including to add a little variety to your garden.
Sweet basil

Sweet basil, also called genovese basil, is the most common type of basil, but there’s a reason it’s the classic. Reliable and delicious, sweet basil gives you the basil flavor and look that you’re familiar with. If you’ve grown basil before, it was likely sweet basil. Place your sweet basil in full sun, with some light afternoon shade if it’s outdoors. Water it regularly to keep the plant fresh and healthy, and you can begin harvesting leaves in just a few weeks, as soon as the plant has four sets of leaves. Be sure to leave a few leaves on the plant so it can continue to grow.
Thai lemon basil

Read more