if you plant tropical milkweed, cut it back at end of season, this says
For monarch butterflies, the path to endangered species status could be paved with good intentions.
Throughout the United States, monarch-lovers are replenishing the supply of milkweed — the plants monarchs lay their eggs in — by growing it in their gardens. However, they’re planting the wrong species of milkweed. And in doing so, well-intentioned gardeners are actually putting more stress on declining monarch populations by convincing them to give up the annual migration altogether.
NOTE
There are pros and cons about planting tropical milkweed. The pro is that it provides needed milkweed for Monarchs and is easy to plant. The con is that if you leave it growing in areas where there are year round (residential) Monarchs the plants collect OE spores. The solution is to cut the tropical milkweeds back in winter and let them regrow clean foliage. Do plant native milkweeds, but please don't get rid of all your tropical until you have established enough natives to support Monarchs. We are already at a huge deficit where providing milkweed for Monarchs is concerned. Besides Monarch Watch's milkweed market (www.monarchwatch.org), the Xerces society has a milkweed finder web page:http://www.xerces.org/milkweed... If you want to learn more about 'Raising Butterflies and Moths for Conservation' and creating habitat for them, join our group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/group...
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