Monarch Milkweed Trio

Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed and nothing else, so a monarch garden starts here. This trio brings together three milkweeds that grow wild in Missouri, each suited to different ground: one for hot, dry sun, one for clay and damp spots, and one for big open spaces.

Butterfly Milkweed is the bright orange one for dry, sunny beds. Swamp Milkweed carries rose-pink, vanilla-scented flowers and handles heavy clay. Common Milkweed is the fragrant roadside milkweed that spreads to fill a meadow. Plant one, two or all three, and you’ll have monarch food from late spring into fall.

The three packets come with a mini milkweed guide, tucked in a postcard sleeve ready to mail or give.

Details

• Price: $18
• In the sleeve:
• No. 4 Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa): full sun, dry to average soil, 1½–2 ft
• No. 5 Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata): sun to light shade, average to wet soil, 3–5 ft
• No. 6 Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca): full sun, dry to average soil, 3–5 ft, spreads by roots
• Mini milkweed guide
• Postcard sleeve
• When to sow: November–February outdoors. All three need about 30 days of cold, moist conditions.
• Blooms: Between them, May through September
• Wildlife: All three are monarch host plants and nectar plants for many butterflies and bees.
• Caution: Milkweeds are toxic if eaten (ASPCA lists them as toxic to dogs, cats and horses), and the sap can irritate skin and eyes. Keep pets and livestock from grazing them. Common Milkweed spreads by underground roots, so give it room.
• Gift note: Add one at checkout, up to 200 characters.
• Shipping: $3.95, or free when your order reaches $25 or includes the Winter-Sow Kit, the Complete Series or a Seed Club membership. On its own, the trio goes by First-Class Mail in a flat kraft envelope, without tracking.
• Grow Guarantee: If a packet doesn’t come up after you follow the guide, tell us within 12 months and we’ll send a replacement packet.

How to grow

1. Match each milkweed to its ground. Butterfly Milkweed goes in your driest, sunniest spot. Swamp Milkweed goes where water sits after rain. Common Milkweed goes where it can spread.
2. Sow in late fall or winter. Between November and February, sow on bare, weed-free soil or in winter-sowing jugs, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep. See our winter sowing guide.
3. Or use the fridge. Chill the seed in damp sand for 30 days, then sow after the last frost. Here’s the fridge method.
4. Sow Butterfly Milkweed where it will stay. It grows a long taproot and is slow to come up each spring. Mark the spot.
5. Let the caterpillars eat. Chewed leaves are the goal. Aphids are common on milkweed; leave them for ladybugs or rinse them off with water.

Questions