There are two types of plants to consider: Nectaring plants and host plants.
Nectaring Plants
Invite the monarchs to lunch. Monarch butterflies sip nectar from many popular flowers. You may have some favorites in your garden already. Start by checking listings of plants for your part of the country. This site has a selection of plant lists for different parts of the country. I live in the Detroit Metropolitan area and have several of the plants from the Great Lakes list.
I have noticed that monarchs and other butterflies really like the coneflowers (Echinacea). Also in my garden are Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium), and Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias) which is also the main monarch host plant.
Monarch Watch has plant information as well as everything else you will ever want to know about monarchs.
Host Plants
The only plants that monarchs lay eggs on are in the milkweed family. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is the preferred plant for anyone who wants to raise monarchs. It is a very attractive plant and has an attractive flower head. I have a link to photos and other information in the first post to this blog.
Common milkweed is another possible host plant for your garden but it is no beauty. Also it tends to spread unlike the swamp milkweed which stays where you plant it.
The final member of the family that I have seen listed as a host plant is the butterfly [milk]weed (Asclepias tuberosa) but I have never seen any sign of eggs or caterpillars on my butterfly weed and I have been reluctant to offer it to my protected caterpillars.
Once you have some established swamp milkweed you can save the seeds in the fall and start your own plants in the spring. The seeds need to be exposed to cold conditions for successful germination. You can just put them in your freezer for a month to accomplish that hardening.
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