In the past four months, I’ve become a loyal steward of narrow leaf milkweed.
I've got other plants in my backyard, but none of them are as meticulously watched and cared for as this one. It seems weird that not long ago I didn’t even know what milkweed was, or that it's the host plant of monarch butterflies. In fact, it’s the only host plant, making it extremely important — hence the helicopter-parent-type attention I’ve paid it.
If you have any interest in monarch butterflies, their plight or how you can help bolster their population, you’ve landed in the right place. While I’m only at the beginning of what I hope will be a long relationship with monarchs and milkweed, I’ve learned a lot so far and I want to share this knowledge with others who share my desire to help save this beautiful, fascinating insect.
Start with research
Maybe you've heard that monarch butterfly populations have dwindled over the last couple decades. Why? Because milkweed, the single host plant of the monarch’s larval form, has been nearly wiped out by agriculture, development and pesticides. This has led to a decline in the monarch butterfly by estimates of 99% since the 1980s.
This is where some preliminary research on your end will come in handy. Because milkweed has been decimated, it can be hard to find, so you’ll want to know where to get milkweed and how to grow it before you bring home your first monarch caterpillar. This is where the journey really begins, and for me, it was a wild one. I'll admit, I should have done more research in advance, so I'm sharing this advice in the hopes you won't make the same mistake.
Find the milkweed
I bought my first milkweed plant at Fig Earth Supply in Highland Park. I’d recommend calling your local nursery in advance as milkweed is often in low supply or sold out.
PRO TIP: The Santa Monica Mountains Fund will occasionally have free milkweed giveaways. I learned about them through my colleague, LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis, who has written about monarchs and how to save them.
But before you go out and buy your milkweed, allow me to share a short anecdote about why a bit of prep and research is important.
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When I bought my first milkweed plant, I was naïve to the real and likely possibility that within days, it would be gone; and it was. Chewed down to the stalk by a black and yellow striped monarch caterpillar. If you’ve reared monarchs/milkweed, then you know how quickly these buggers can mow down a plant. You know it takes hours or days depending on their size. You know they’re ravenous. And you may know that during this larval stage the caterpillar grows 2,000 times its original mass. Like, what? And you know how it does that? By eating all of your milkweed. I was not prepared, but hey — live and learn, survive and advance.
A very hungry caterpillar
Given how voracious monarch caterpillars are, there are some important things to know that I didn’t prior to buying my milkweed. Again, research is key.
PRO TIP: You will be smart to buy butterfly netting prior to buying your milkweed plant. You’ll want to have it ready to go when you bring your baby plant home.
When I bought my first milkweed plant I didn’t notice the teeny caterpillar, surreptitiously clinging to the bottom of one of the milkweed leaves. I planted the milkweed in a pot and when I came home from work the next day, I saw it crunching away. For the first few days I was thrilled. I FaceTimed a friend and took approximately 1,000 photos, all at slightly different angles, of the caterpillar, which was practically growing before my eyes.
What I didn’t know, which you do at this point, is how quickly they eat. To keep the caterpillar alive, I needed to continue supplying it with milkweed. There was one week in which I rushed to a plant nursery every day after work. I would come home and find the poor caterpillar crawling around outside the pot looking for more. My backyard became a scene of high-drama and for a handful of days all I could think about was getting my next milkweed plant.
In retrospect, there’s not much I could have done because the caterpillar was already on my milkweed when I brought it home. But now I know, and so do you, that netting your milkweed helps. Why? It prevents adult monarchs, the butterfly, from laying eggs on your milkweed and putting you in a situation where you’re constantly stressed about having enough grub for your caterpillar babies.
Plant and wait
So you’ve got your milkweed, soil, and your butterfly netting. I strongly encourage you to research the best planting techniques for your milkweed. There are great guides online — like here, and if you prefer video, here. Milkweed is drought tolerant but you should sow the seeds in well-watered soil.
As for the type of milkweed you’ll want to buy, I recommend narrow leaf. It’s native to Southern California and one of the most common varieties. Some people buy tropical milkweed but you’ll want to research before going that route.
This is where it gets really exciting. Are you ready? Once you plant your milkweed, water it, net it and then — drumroll please — wait.
How long? Oh, a year, maybe two. You could make it three. Look at it this way — the more milkweed you have, the better prepared you’ll be to rear monarchs for their entire life cycle. And I am not being hyperbolic when I say that life cycle is one of the more spectacular phenomena you may ever witness. But hopefully if you've read this far, you won't just take my word for it and you'll try it yourself!
A taste of the spectacular
That caterpillar that first came home with me would be my entertainment for the next month. Every day after work, I hunkered down in my back yard and watched it. Sometimes I FaceTimed that same friend who was hooked from the jump, so frequently that she sent me a calendar invite for the date we suspected it would form its chrysalis.
About two weeks after buying the first milkweed plant, the caterpillar, now roughly 2,000 times its original size, had latched itself upside down to the exterior of the pot. Days after that, it became a bright green chrysalis.
My dad was a high school science teacher, and he indulged my and my siblings' biggest and smallest curiosities with lengthy answers, even when short ones would have sufficed. This was a gift to have as a kid. But sometimes I didn’t want to know why or how things happened. I just wanted to sit and watch — not knowing was part of the thrill.
Such was the case with my monarch journey. As curious as I was about how the caterpillar made its chrysalis, or what was happening inside of it, I fought the urge to get answers to everything. In the moment, they didn’t matter. I was witnessing magic. And I very consciously decided, for the time being, to let the mystery of it all be just that — a spectacular mystery.
Releasing my first monarch
A day after my first adult monarch emerged from its chrysalis, I released it. They need time to dry their wings and typically do this by hanging upside down. When I unzipped its netted home it swiftly flew up and away, out of sight in seconds. I sat in my yard for the next fifteen minutes, looking up at the sky, down towards the remnants of my milkweed, and felt a tingling excitement for all that could happen next.
The long game
Today, I have a whole garden bed devoted to narrow leaf milkweed. Next spring, depending on how strong the plants look, I’ll probably take off the netting and see what happens. Since that first caterpillar-turned-beautiful adult monarch, I’ve done lots of research not just about milkweed but also about each stage of their life cycle. I know how their chrysalis is made and what happens inside (more or less) before it emerges. I might even be able to give you a lengthy scientific answer. But first, I’ll let you experience it for yourself. Then, I’d love nothing more than to talk to you about it.
