May 5, 2017
Native Milkweed- Asclepias fascicularis or speciosa
Native Milkweed- Asclepias fascicularis or speciosa
Monarch butterflies are very fussy, they only lay their eggs on milkweed plants and that what their caterpillars eat. How they can differentiate milkweed from all other plants is beyond be but they can. Not only that, but queen butterflies also lay their eggs on milkweed (but not only milkweed other things too). We grow lots of milkweed plants native to California- the best stuff for them and we have them available you should plant it in your garden because the bigger the get before the big fall monarch mating season the better. And we have hundreds for sale in both 1-gallon and 5-gallon pots.
Here a some pictures of the caterpillars eating some of our milkweed…The first shows a monarch caterpillar munching on an Asclepias speciosa- showy milkweed.
The second picture shows a queen butterfly caterpillar finishing off an Asclepias fascicularis- narrow leaf milkweed stem- yes they’ll eat the stem too.
And below are some of the plants that we have ready to plant out in your garden for the caterpillars….. The first is a showy milkweed- Asclepias speciosa.
Here’s a nursery pot of the narrow leaf milkweed- Asclepias fascicularis…
Plant these out and this is what you’ll get coming to visit your garden…
If you plant it they will come!
