5 Ways to Attract and Nurture Monarch Butterflies in Your Home Garden
Monarch butterflies are always a welcome and magical sight in the garden. These vivid orange beauties are struggling to maintain their population. Join pollinator gardener Melissa Strauss for some tips on welcoming these insects into your space and nurturing them.
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As a pollinator gardener, there’s no question that I marvel every year at the return of the monarchs. Each season, I think about the drastic reduction in their population over my lifetime, and wonder if this will be the last season I get to watch their lifecycle play out in my flower beds. I certainly hope not, because if they go, I will miss them terribly.
Monarchs are fascinating creatures for many reasons. These migrating butterflies traverse a distance of up to 3,000 miles each year as they migrate from Canada to parts of Mexico and California for the winter. They are a protected species in both Canada and Mexico. In Mexico, they are symbolic of the souls of loved ones visiting from the afterlife.
While they are not the most efficient of pollinators, they certainly are beautiful. They are not yet protected in the United States, but hopefully, in the near future, they will be. Since 1990, the once millions of Monarchs have dwindled by more than 80%.
When you consider the numbers, it seems like there is little we can do as individuals to help keep these insects alive. They’re bombarded on all sides by pesticide use, loss of habitat, and a dwindling food supply. But with these issues in mind, we can create safe, welcoming spaces for the ones we have left to live and carry out their lifecycle while they are in our region.
Irresistible Blend Milkweed Flower
Irresistible Blend Milkweed/Butterfly Flower Seeds
Plant Milkweed
There are two actions we can take to create the most welcoming space for Monarchs in our garden. The first one is to plant milkweed. Milkweed is the sole larval food for Monarchs, and without it, they cannot reproduce. Their larvae, or caterpillars, need this food to survive. The use of systemic herbicides has wiped out a lot of the wild milkweed, which plays a substantial role in the decline in Monarch populations.
Initially, it sounds intimidating to think that the entire species relies on a single plant to sustain its life. The good news is that there are 73 species of milkweed that are native to the United States, and usually, several types that are native to any one region. Of the 73 species, at least 30 serve as food for the Monarch larvae.
While most nurseries these days carry primarily the tropical species, Asclepias curassavica, it’s important to plant a species of milkweed that is native to your region.
A. curassavica is not native to North America. It flowers and remains green for longer than native species, so it can disrupt their migratory cycle. It tends to be more attractive to Monarchs than other species, so it’s best to remove it from your garden if you have any.
You will have better luck locating the native species at nurseries that specialize in native plants. It also grows easily from seeds, but most species require cold stratification. If you plan on sowing seeds, plant them in the fall, and the weather will naturally stratify them. Or, store them in the refrigerator over the winter and start them in the spring.
Once it’s present in your garden, milkweed re-seeds easily, though most are not invasive. Common milkweed (A. syriaca) can be aggressive in some environments. I love to see new plants pop up in my garden, because more milkweed means more monarchs.
If you have milkweed, the butterflies are likely to find it. Females exclusively lay their eggs on this plant, so having it in your garden means seeing these beauties through their entire lifecycle.
Avoid Pesticides
The other primarily important thing you can do to make your garden attractive and nurturing to butterflies of all sorts is to avoid the use of pesticides. If you’re using them in your garden and attracting butterflies, there’s a strong chance you’re contributing to their demise.
It’s difficult to completely avoid pesticides, especially if you’re a vegetable gardener. This is an area where you’ll need to make a choice, and avoiding pesticides means more work when it comes to pest control.
Many plants that we purchase in nurseries contain neonicotinoids. Treatment with these chemicals has become a standard practice, and it’s terrible for pollinators of all kinds. Whenever possible, purchase your plants from a retailer that doesn’t use them. Growing flowering plants from seeds is the safest way to feed the pollinators.
Natural controls are best when it comes to nuisance insects. You can remove larger pests manually in many cases. For smaller insects, attracting predators like ladybugs, green lacewings, and predatory wasps will help control infestations.
If you find yourself in a situation where you need outside assistance, neem oil is relatively safe as long as it dries before they come in contact with it. You can use diluted neem oil to treat pest infestation and fungal issues. Just make sure to use it in the late afternoon when no pollinators are present.
Plant Nectar Sources
You’ve made it possible for them to survive and reproduce in your garden; those are the two most important things. Now, if you want them to stick around for good, you’ll need to provide them with plenty of food sources.
This goes for all pollinators and all wildlife in general. If you want to keep them around, you have to feed them. Butterflies, while technically pollinators, do not require pollen to live. In fact, it’s by accident that they play any role at all in pollination.
Butterflies do need nectar, and plenty of it. This is their primary food source, and most flowers produce it. Ideally, you should plant as many native flowering plants as you can. Hybrids rarely contain the same quantity and quality of nectar, and they can be tougher to care for.
Native nectar-producing plants are easy to care for, having adapted to your region. They require less additional watering, they typically thrive in your soil type, and they tend to have long, prolific blooming cycles.
Make sure that you plant things that bloom during different seasons. Monarchs are typically most active in summer and early fall, though in Southern California, these butterflies overwinter, so they need flowers blooming during all seasons.
Provide a Water Source
Butterflies and other pollinators all need water to survive, just like the rest of us. All that flying is hard work, and without a water source, they are less likely to return to a spot as often.
There are several ways to provide water, with varying degrees of expense and effort. I keep several cement bird baths filled around my yard and fill the bottom with stones for pollinators to perch on while they rehydrate.
You can find specialty butterfly watering stations at many nurseries and online retailers. You can also create one yourself out of any number of materials you have around the garden. They have no issue drinking from puddles, but when there is little rain, there are few puddles available.
Butterflies also like to eat fruit. They will feed on the juice as they would on nectar from flowers. You can set out a dish of water for them, and during times when little is blooming, offer them a few slices of fruit for energy. Just remember to change out the fruit daily to prevent bacterial growth.
Create Shelter
Butterflies are part of the food chain, and they need places to take shelter at night from predators. Any area where they have a spot to hide will do, but it’s also fun to create special spaces just for the Monarchs to rest.
Butterflies rest hanging upside down in locations that give them shelter from predators. They’re cold-blooded, so they don’t technically sleep, but they need a period of rest. They often utilize leaves or twigs as perches, but the more protected they are, the better.
You can create a butterfly house with a few basic materials. A box with holes large enough for them to pass through, but too small for predators to access, and some perches they can hang from are all you need. Ultimately, Monarchs will find places that they feel safe for their resting period, but you can provide them with safe spots anyway. It’s fun to see when they use these spots!
