WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Milkweed leaves are the only food source for monarch caterpillars, so the butterfly’s survival depends on finding these host plants. The several milkweed varieties that exist in Indiana are rapidly disappearing. You can help sustain the monarch’s population by planting a patch of milkweed in your yard.
At this event, you will get started on your own butterfly garden by sowing milkweed seeds into milk jugs converted to “mini greenhouses.”
Following the workshop, you will place your “greenhouse” jugs outside your home. Milkweed seeds need 30 days of cold, moist stratification in order to germinate. The seeds will sprout as temperatures warm enough to sustain the new plants. In time you will transplant the seedlings into a corner of your yard or garden.
Five varieties of native milkweed seeds will be available at the workshop: Common Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Marsh (Rose) Milkweed, Whorled Milkweed, and Prairie Milkweed. Jugs and potting soil will also be provided.
Planting milkweed is also a great way to help other pollinators, as your new wildflowers will be visited by a host of other butterflies and bees.
Kids are welcome at this free family event arranged by the Park Ridge East Native Plants Group.
