Did You Know?

Did you know that the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) added the migrating monarchs to the endangered species list?  This is a wake-up call for us to think about the impact of our choices like what we plant in our gardens, chemical use, land development, and roadside mowing.  With milkweed being the monarch caterpillars’ only food source, planting milkweed in your backyard combats their diminishing habitat and provides new breeding grounds.

If you’re going to plant one, why not take it a step further and plant two or three or more? Imagine a million new places for the migrating monarchs to safely reproduce, all because you planted milkweed in your backyard. 

Did you know that one milkweed plant is a habitat all by itself and that there’s over 150 different types of milkweed?  Contrary to popular belief, not all milkweed are weeds. Wild milkweed, called Common Milkweed, is widely known as a weed due to its aggressive nature, thus giving all milkweed a bad rap. We highly recommend utilizing their aggressive growth by planting them where they’re free to roam and cover large areas quickly. Where the Common Milkweed is typically a single stemmed plant, other milkweed varieties, such as Swamp Milkweed and Orange Butterfly Weed form nice clusters of green leaves displaying beautiful bouquets of flowers and are not aggressive in nature.  We currently offer these 3 varieties of milkweed in our shop.

Did you know that by purchasing our Treasure Tag Seed Packs, you provide classrooms with Hosting Butterflies’ Treasure Tag Program FREE!  Our program offers students an opportunity to engage in this experience that can impact not only themselves but can impact generations to come.  

Action Plan

• Planting milkweed is the first step to repopulation.
• The second step is adding your milkweed to the Million Milkweed Challenge registry.  With the benefits of the automated counter added to the registration, you can track the progression of the challenge.  This registration also allows us to provide others where they can purchase pesticide free milkweed.
• The third step is sharing your milkweed story with friends and family whether in person, on social media platforms, or inviting us to your school. By sharing your story you not only educate others, you also provide them with an action plan. 

We challenge you to be a part of something big by helping us educate a million people of the value of planting milkweed.  Join us in the fight to save the monarchs.  Plant, share, educate and be counted as one of the million people that made an impact on saving a species from endangerment. 

Share your milkweed challenge story with us!  

You can also follow our Million Milkweed Challenge journey on Facebook and Instagram.