Tenerife forum

[bardofely]

I love to see Monarch butterflies and have successfully rescued and raered caterpillars form flower borders in Silencio.

I have tried an experiment here which has worked too well! I planted a few seeds of Milkweed and have 2 growing in pots on the wall of my balcony. The largest is just over a foot high and coming into flower. A female Monarch has laid about 20 eggs on it and there is only enough leaves for 1 caterpillar by my estimate and that will mean it will sacrifice all its leaves. So I need to find more of these plants here asap or will be forced to bring stems back from Silencio where I know it grows!

If anyone with a garden or a balcony wants to see plenty of these beautiful and large butterflies growing Milkweed is an easy way to attract them. Bear in mind that the female butterfly here found my pots on a balcony among hundreds of other balconies of a large block of apartments many of which have bare balconies and no reason for here to be here - in other words she sought the plant out somehow!

If I didn't have the cats I would have a whole load of pots with Milkweed in them and raer lots of butterflies here!

It grows very easily from seed.

This is the Milkweed:


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[DaveR]

It's certainly a very attractive plant and does not warrant having weed as part of it's name.

[bardofely]