We have honey-vine milkweed growing in our flowerbed. Last year I was cutting it back, but none of the butterfly milkweed I planted took. Should I leave it to grow and cut it back to keep it controlled this year? Or should I continue pulling it and smothering it like I did last year and hope it dies eventually?
Monarchs occasionally use this as a caterpillar host and the flowers attract lots of little pollinators. I enjoy the ones I have in my yard, but admittedly, none of mine are in formal flower beds.
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Personally, I love Honeyvine Milkweed. Monarchs prefer other milkweeds when available (and Butterfly Milkweed isn’t their first choice either), but when they do use them, studies have shown no statistical difference in caterpillar survivorship and growth compared to Common Milkweed. Antidotally, Milkweed Tussock Moths seem to like it a lot as a host plant.
I think there is some value in cultivating native plants that aren’t one of the “top 10 most popular”, both biologically and as a personal preference. However, both are fantastic native plants and your yard should be something that benefits both you and native insects. So use the native plant that brings you the most joy, whether that’s ascetics, maintenance effort, or just general vibes.
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I didn’t know they had a preference! I assume they lean toward swamp or common milkweed? I only lean toward butterfly as I was under the impression it had less Cardiac Glycosides than other species. I’m a little paranoid with them and my cats. Not outdoor cats but I’m still worried about pollen and stuff.
As for plants that aren’t “top 10,” I’ve been trying super hard to cultivate the one Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) seedling that germinated, but have been looking into getting some mountain mint and Common Ninebark. I also tend to dig up “weeds” in our neighborhood and transplant them in my garden to see if they stick. I’ve gotten some Devil’s beggarticks, Spanish needles, Red Columbine, and most recently white vervain.
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Our experience with butterfly milkweed is it takes about 3 years after planting for it to bloom and maybe longer to flourish. Maybe you already know that?
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Indeed. Swamp and Common Milkweed receive on average the highest number of monarch eggs out of the eastern milkweed species. However, factors such as season, habitat, milkweed prevalence, and the plants’ maturity can influence their preferences, so researchers caution against focusing restoration efforts solely on a single preferred species.
This summary links to a lot of papers researching this topic: Preferred Types of Milkweed
Before captive rearing of monarchs was frowned upon, I raised hundreds of monarchs using exclusively Cynanchum laeve (blue vine/honey vine). It is very prevalent in central IL and it was everywhere in my yard. It would sprout in my lawn and I could just watch the females visiting each plant and before mowing, I would pick each plant and find many many eggs. It lasts longer into the late summer and early fall and was not as susceptible to aphids. While I no longer captive rear (except a few for students), I still let it grow everywhere in my yard. I do have to work hard to get it where I want and keep it from climbing all my other native plants, but I love the way it looks and especially that it may offer a place for monarch eggs.
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