If you decide to remove all of the common milkweed from your garden, consider replacing it with other less aggressive native milkweed species. Be patient and wait to remove milkweed plants until after the butterflies have emerged from their crysalids, or in the late spring before the butterflies arrive. They are easily recognized by their yellow, white, and black banded bodies, and black tentacles on their front and back ends. Leaves that have been fed on and signs of frass are clear indications of their presence. More obvious are the Monarch caterpillars which are already quite active in many locations. Usually only one egg is laid per plant, and it can be very difficult to spot. Female monarchs have likely already laid their eggs or are in the process of doing so on the undersides of the leaves. Individual plants can also be repeatedly hand-pulled or treated with an herbicide, but don’t be too hasty this season. Since milkweed is a perennial, it will emerge again in the same spot next summer, but its spread will be more limited. If you already have common milkweed in the garden, you can prevent further spread by removing immature seed pods. It is much better suited to unmaintained edges of fields or thickets. In the landscape, common milkweed is often too aggressive and weedy to be widely appropriate for beds and borders. Monarchs are so closely associated with milkweed that they cannot complete their lifecycles without milkweed as a food source. One of the few exceptions is the monarch butterfly, which has evolved to be able to eat and accumulate the toxin in its body as a defense mechanism. These poisonous compounds keep most predators from eating milkweed. The flowers eventually give way to bumpy seed pods that split open when mature and release windborne seeds with silky hairs.Īll parts of the plant contain white, latexy sap that is filled with toxic cardiac glycosides. The pink, clustered flowers are incredibly fragrant and are attractive to a wide range of pollinators, from bees to butterflies. Common milkweed stems are covered with opposite, oval shaped leaves. Once it is established it can spread from its rhizomatous root system. It is native to North America and reproduces primarily from seed. Common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca) is a perennial plant that can be found in a wide range of habitats including roadsides, fields, and gardens.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |