The host plant for the Monarch caterpillar is milkweed. This is the only plant the caterpillar will eat. The monarch caterpillar must have milkweed to survive.

The female Monarch lays her eggs on the milkweed plant. Wild milkweed, known as Asclepias Syriaca is an invasive plant, however. It has a tap root of about 20 feet, so we don't recommend that you plant it in your garden.

We do recommend Asclepias Incarnata (known as Swamp Milkweed, a perrenial) and Asclepias Curassavica (Tropical Milkweed, an annual). We sell our lifecycle kits using Currassavica plants with a packet of Incarnata seeds attached to each pot.

Curassavica Plants

Milkweed plants will be available for purchase beginning April-13-2012. Each plant is a 1 gallon potted milkweed, and they are $10 each. Get your butterfly garden started today!! These plants do not include any butterfly eggs. You must purchase one of our lifecycle kits to have butterfly eggs already laid on your plant, see our Lifecycle Kits section.

Photos compliments of Janet Whitesell.