Luciana Marcus Gardens provides everything you need to create a thriving butterfly haven. We have a passion for butterflies and a mission to empower people to create beautiful, eco-friendly gardens.
Monarch Conservation Efforts
Resources
Habitat Restoration
Planning
Site Preparation
Installation and Establishment
Maintenance And Management
Monarch Migration
Become a Monarch Waystation
The National Park Service
Articles
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Monarch butterfly is not endangered, conservation authority decides. - Science.org
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Monarch Butterflies Bring Together Conservation and Culture Between U.S. and Mexico. -Nature.org
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Millions of monarch butterflies have gone missing, and there is one thing humans can do to help. -BBC.com
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Monarch butterfly migration is starting, and they need our help. -environmentamerica.org/
Butterfly Garden Starter Kit
What's Included:
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1 Burlap Bag (10"x7.5"x4")
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2 Butterfly Plant Labels
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3 Square Seed Starter Pots
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3 Peat Pellets
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1 Pollinator Mix Seed Packet**
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1 Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca - Common Milkweed) Seed Packet
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Instructions
**This Pollinator Garden Mix contains about 17 wildflower, ten (10) annuals for first-year color, plus seven (7) perennials for second and successive years’ bloom. It is a complete Wildflower Garden mixture, featuring several varieties of Milkweed, and includes all of the Perennial and Annual seeds needed for a great looking garden. Common Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Partridge Pea, Lance Leaved Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Cosmos Sensation Mix, Purple Coneflower, California Poppy, Blanket Flower, Dwarf Sunspot Sunflower, Meadow Foam, Dwarf Lupine, Perennial Lupine, Arroyo Lupine , Bee Balm/Wild Bergamont, Lacy Phacella, Mexican Hat ,
Butterfly Garden Seeds
What's Included (each item sold separately):
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1 Pollinator Mix Seed Packet**
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1 Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca - Common Milkweed) Seed Packet
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1 Milkweed/Pollinator Pack
**This Pollinator Garden Mix contains about 17 wildflower, ten (10) annuals for first-year color, plus seven (7) perennials for second and successive years’ bloom. It is a complete Wildflower Garden mixture, featuring several varieties of Milkweed, and includes all of the Perennial and Annual seeds needed for a great looking garden. Common Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Partridge Pea, Lance Leaved Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Cosmos Sensation Mix, Purple Coneflower, California Poppy, Blanket Flower, Dwarf Sunspot Sunflower, Meadow Foam, Dwarf Lupine, Perennial Lupine, Arroyo Lupine , Bee Balm/Wild Bergamont, Lacy Phacella, Mexican Hat ,
Guide to creating a beautiful butterfly garden
Step 1: Plant your Pollinator seeds (Use your Bamboo Plant Labels to help keep milkweed and pollinator mix separate).
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To start your garden inside, add water to peat pellets until they expand to about 1-1/2” tall. Peel back netting + fluff peat. Add 2-3 seeds per pellet. Lightly cover with peat. Place in warm sunny location. Allow plants to germinate, keep moist, don’t overwater. Transplant to outdoor area once danger of frost has passed. Dig holes deep enough to cover top of pellets.
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To start your garden outside, prepare the planting area by removing any unwanted grass or weeds. After the soil has reached about 55 degrees, scatter the seeds, and rake them into about 1/8” of good soil. Keep the garden moist for about 10-14 days. By then you should have some very tiny plants poking their heads through the soil. They should grow to full height within about four weeks.
Step 2: Plant your Milkweed seeds (Use your Bamboo Plant Labels to help keep milkweed and pollinator mix separate).
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To start your garden inside, about six weeks before planting outside, obtain paper towels. Wet one of the paper towels slightly. Place the other paper towel inside a on-gallon, zip-close plastic bag. Scatter the seeds over this dry paper towel, cover the seeds with the second damp paper towel. Zip the plastic bag closed and place it flat in a refrigerator, leave undisturbed for about six weeks. When you are ready to plant outdoors, prepare the planting area by removing unwanted grass or weeks. Scatter the seeds and use rake to gently work them into the soil. Keep moist when they come up.
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To start your garden outside - plant in spring or fall as milkweed requires a natural freezing and thawing to soften the seed coat so the embryo plant can grow. This process stops the seedlings from emerging in the fall and being killed by the winter cold. Prepare the planting area by removing unwanted grass or weeks. Scatter the seeds and use rake to gently work them into the soil. Keep moist when they come up.
Step 3: Watch the magic Continue to keep the garden moist. (Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on milkweed plants only. Pollinating flowers will attract adult butterflies and other important pollinators).
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Stages of Monarch Butterflies: Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Adult Butterfly
Facts About Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
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When this plant is at full height it can reach about 5 feet tall.
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These plants do not bloom for the first couple of years. This is typical but doesn't get in the way of helping monarchs as they will still lay their eggs and the larvae will still eat the leaves.
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Common milkweed will grow in most types of soil, however it should not be planted in soil that remains wet for long periods of time.
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The mature plant has a large underground system of thick, white horizontal storage roots.
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Leaf toxins accumulate in the body of a Monarch Butterfly, making them poisonous to other insects and animals.
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Luciana Marcus Gardens
P.O. Box 450
Zion, IL. 60099-0450