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Calvin Finch: Milkweed keeps monarchs flying
: May 3, 2013
Photo By Express-News file photoTropical milkweed is a nectar plant for monarch butterflies and a vital food source for monarch caterpillars.
This week in the garden
Lawn grass should be growing and capable of taking up nitrogen and other nutrients from the fertilizer. A 19-5-9 slow-release fertilizer is a good formula.
Air and soil temperatures are warm enough to plant Bermuda grass seed.
Plant zinnias, Cora vinca, cosmos, moss rose and purslane in the full sun. Use begonias, caladiums and coleus in shade gardens.
Control stink bugs on tomatoes, peaches, blackberries and other fruits with carbaryl. They are tough to control and damage fruit.
Stage 2 water restrictions
MonarchWatch.org Milkweed Market
Monarch butterflies visit spring and fall flowers such as zinnia, lantana, cosmos and duranta for nectar. But they need plants in the milkweed family to keep populations going.
Reports this spring of greatly reduced numbers of overwintering monarchs in Mexico are disturbing. The decline has been blamed largely on weather.
The same reports give us hope that populations can rebound if rains increase this year. The rains will contribute to more blooms for nectar plants and encourage gardeners along the way to plant more flowers as nectar sources.
In addition to planting more nectar flowers, gardeners help monarchs providing milkweeds, plants in the Asclepias family. This genus of plant is the only source of food for monarch caterpillars and the only place where the butterflies lay eggs.
Check nurseries for milkweed plants, including showy orange flowering butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) or tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), and visit the Milkweed Market at MonarchWatch.org.
Calvin R. Finch is a horticulturist and director of the Texas A&M Water Conservation and Technology Center. email@example.com.