The monarch butterfly needs your help. Each fall, millions of these brilliant orange butterflies migrate to Mexico… but unfortunately the monarch butterfly population is in decline. The good news is that you can help these monarchs fly safely in several local ways.
Why help the butterflies?
Beyond their beauty, monarch butterflies provide a valuable service to the environment. As they migrate across the continent, monarch butterflies pollinate valuable plants and crops.
Potential extinction
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that eastern monarch butterfly populations have decreased by over 80% in the span of the past two decades. This is largely due to environmental changes, which threaten their limited food sources.
Milkweed + monarchs
This is where you come in. Did you know that monarch babies need milk? Milkweed, that is. Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed leaves. As such, one of the best (and easiest) ways you can help increase monarch populations is by planting milkweed right here in Greenville.
Plant the right weed
But hold up: Not all milkweed will help the butterflies. For example, tropical milkweed — which has naturalized in the Southeast — may cause diseases in monarchs, and non-native plants may harm other elements of the ecosystem.
Here are six plants the National Wildlife Federation recommends for Greenville’s region.
Butterflyweed
- Sometimes called orange milkweed, this perennial has large, flat-topped clusters of yellow-orange or bright-orange flowers. It needs sunlight and is drought-tolerant. It should be planted in dry or moist soil + blooms from May to September.
Swamp Milkweed
- Also known as pink milkweed, this perennial needs lots of water + is shade-tolerant. It should be planted in moist to wet soil and it blooms June to October.
- Also known as pink milkweed, this perennial needs lots of water + is shade-tolerant. It should be planted in moist to wet soil and it blooms June to October.
Common Milkweed
- This tall perennial has large balls of pink or purplish flowers that have an attractive odor. It is intolerant to shade + needs lots of sunshine. It should be planted in moist soil, with the flowers blooming from June to August.
White milkweed
- This perennial has small white flowers with purplish centers crowded into round, terminal clusters that resemble snowballs. This plant likes dry soil + needs less water. It’s also moderately shade-tolerant and blooms May to September.
Whorled milkweed
- This single-stemmed perennial has narrow, linear leaves whorled along the stem. Small, greenish-white flowers occur in flat-topped clusters on the upper part of the stem. This plant likes dry soil + needs less water. It’s moderately shade-tolerant and blooms May to September.
Green Milkweed
- Also known as green antelopehorn milkweed, this perennial has white flowers – mostly one per plant. It needs sunlight, is cold and heat tolerant, likes moist soil + doesn’t need much water. These milkweeds bloom from May to August.
Where to get milkweed
Save a butterfly and support your local nursery by checking out the following locations:
- Lichtenfelt Nurseries, 947 Anderson Ridge Rd., Greer
- South Pleasantburg Nursery, 1135 S. Pleasantburg Dr.
- Country Boys, 1949 Woodruff Rd.
Or score free seeds through the South Carolina Wildlife Foundation’s “Monarchs & Milkweed” program. You can request one free packet of seeds per household. Due to the high number of requests this spring, you may be put on a waiting list for 2023.
Poll
