Monarch butterflies need all the help they can get. Eastern Monarch populations have plummeted 90 percent in just the last two decades, and their Western comrades aren’t fairing all too much better.
This is partially to blame on the loss of milkweed in America, a perennial flower that serves as the only plant monarch butterflies lay eggs on. Since monarchs travel over 2,500 miles each winter from Mexico to Canada, milkweed is necessary along the entire migratory path. The fact is we need to grow more milkweed across North America, which is where you come in!
Whether you have a big garden, a small yard, or no yard at all, you can grow milkweed to help Monarch butterflies. In small spaces, you can place pots of milkweed on your patio or porch where you can delight in watching the caterpillars and butterflies. In larger spaces, grow a bunch of milkweed plants. Just 10 milkweed plants, representing at least two varieties, can become a Monarch hub that will give the butterflies all the food they need. And to really up the ante, get your local community involved and lobby your representatives to support the Monarch Joint Venture, a partnership of federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and citizens working to conserve monarch butterfly migration.
