How to create a Monarch Way Station

As a gardener you can help the dwindling monarch butterfly population by planting with monarchs in mind. It's not hard to plant for Monarchs and really boils down to two key plantings. But you don't have to create a dedicated way station to help the monarchs. By making sure you plant milkweed and flowering, nectar producing plants, you will help the monarchs.

Butterfly Weed

Step One:

The first and arguably the most important plant you need is Milkweed which is the main host plant for monarch caterpillars. This is the plant that monarch butterflies lay their eggs on so that the caterpillars have a food source when they emerge. For a monarch way station, at least ten milkweed plants is recommended.

There are lots of milkweed varieties native to all areas of the united states. A quick internet search can help you decide which one will be best to plant in your area, but here are some of the main varieties and the areas they are native and some of my favorite milkweed resources:

monarch caterpillar eating milkweed

Milkweed Varieties: (not an extensive list. see this website for more milkweed info)

Butterfly Weed - native to all states except Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Swamp Milkweed - native to all states except Arizona, California, Mississippi, Oregon and Washington

Poke Milkweed - native except in Alaska, Hawaii, parts of Washington and parts of Oregon.

Whorled Milkweed - native except in Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado, Maine and New Hampshire

Common Milkweed - native except in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Western Oregon, Washington. (be aware that common milkweed spreads underground via rhizomes)

More information to help you decide which milkweed varieties to plant can be found here.

100 Plants to Feed the Monarch is also a great resource for what to plant that is native to your area for the Monarchs.

Now that you know you need milkweed, how do you add it to your garden? You can grow milkweed from seed. Many varieties need a period of cold weather to germinate. This cold stratification can be mimicked by putting the seeds in your refrigerator for the designated period of time. I have found swamp milkweed to have decent germination without cold stratifying.

If growing milkweed from seed is not desirable, there are several online options for purchasing neonicitinoid (a systemic pesticide harmful to pollinators) plants.

My two favorite sources for milkweed plants are My Home Park (code HOPEFULTENOFF will give you 10% off your order) and Prairie Moon Nursery. Both websites will help you figure out which milkweed is best for your area.

Step Two:

The second critical plants you need to help support the monarchs are plants that provide fuel for the monarchs' migration. Monarchs can travel up to 3,000 miles and need a continuous source of food.

Anise Hyssop

Making sure to plant a variety of flowers that will bloom from spring to fall ensures that no matter what time of year monarchs make their way through your area that they will have plants on which they can feed. You can plant a mix of annuals and perennials. Some good options are mountain mint, anise hyssop, penstemon, asters, etc and the book 100 Plants to Feed the Monarch provides great examples of nectar flowers suitable for your area to plant.

Spotted Bee Balm

A great seed mix you can order from True Leaf Market contains all the plants you need to support the monarchs. I have planted this seed mix in my yard. It is ideal to plant the seed mix in the fall so that some of the seeds can have a cold stratification period.

I recommend growing these nectar flowers from seed or purchasing them from a retailer that you know does not spray their plants with neonicitinoids. Both My Home Park and Prairie Moon Nursery do not use neonicitinoids. Lowes also has committed to selling neonicitinoid free plants.

Step Three:

How big should a monarch way station be? A monarch way station should ideally be at least 100 square feet, but there is no minimum to be certified and the total area can be split among several sites at your space. I currently have 52 square feet dedicated in one spot and another 300 square feet in another area of my yard.

Monarch Chrysalis

In addition to dedicating an adequate amount of space to planting for monarchs, a monarch way station should provide shelter. Plants should be relatively close together, but not crowded. You can always plant densely and then thin the plants later as needed.

Step Four:

Location -

Most butterflies and butterfly plants need lots of sun. Locating your way station in an area that receives at least six hours of sun a day is ideal.

Most butterfly plants that are native to your area will be drought tolerant and prefer well draining soils, but some species will work well in wetter areas.

Step Five:

Commit to not spraying the areas that you plant for monarchs. Sprays of any kind, even organic sprays can harm pollinators. It's best to do nothing when you see pests on the plants. Milkweed plants will typically get aphids but don't use a strong stream of water to get rid of the aphids as you may unwittingly dislodge baby monarch caterpillars that are munching on the undersides of leaves. If you feel like you have to remove insects from these plants, I recommend hand removal or hand squishing, but typically the do nothing approach is the best. Nature will balance out.

If you would like to dedicate a portion of your yard or garden to helping the monarchs, you can create a way station and even have it certified. I certified my way station with Monarch Watch. Registering your way station shows your support for the monarchs and your way station will be listed on the monarch way station registry.

Recently 60 minutes aired a piece on the monarchs and if you would like to watch it I have linked it here.

You can watch an IG live I did with @kristen.growing on the monarch lifespan and migration.

Interesting facts about monarchs:

East of the Rocky Mountains, monarchs travel up to an astonishing 3,000 miles to central Mexico where they overwinter.  They can fly around 20-30 miles a day.

Monarchs are poisonous.

The orange and black colors of the monarch warn predators that they are inedible, due to their diet of toxic milkweed while caterpillars. Few animals can eat monarchs without getting sick. Other nontoxic butterfly species, such as the viceroy butterfly, take advantage of the monarch’s defenses and have evolved to look like them to fool predators. This phenomenon of nature is called mimicry.

Magnetic compass

The butterflies use an inclination magnetic compass that's light-dependent and functions in Earth's magnetic fields, and light-sensitive magnetosensors in their antennae appear to be involved.

The compass helps the butterflies orient themselves in the right direction when directional skylight cues are unavailable as they make their migration.

The Monarch population has been declining due to climate change, pesticide use and habitat loss, but there are things we can do as gardeners to help them.

**Some of the links provided in this post contain affiliate links and I receive a small percentage from the brand company. This does not raise the cost for you, it is paid fully by the brand. These small earnings help fund my garden endeavors and make it worth spending the time to put together posts like these.