I keep trying to get butterfly weed established, but it just doesn’t happen. I don’t know if it’s the walnut trees about 80 feet away, the hickory trees (beginning about the same distance, but many more of them), or what. :-(
Maybe I’ll try in the front garden bed next year, or on the west side of my shop (no trees anywhere near at all)...
Too bad giant ragweed isn’t a milkweed. We have a small forest of those, some over 15 ft. tall, on a little slice of our property I let go because our chickens like to eat a little giant ragweed... when they can reach the leaves! So, I break off a big plant or a couple smaller plants each morning and distribute them to the birdies. (No neighbors are closely downwind and none of us are allergic to giant ragweed.)
So I have both Swamp Milkweed and Common Milkweed in this particular bed. It’s a little bit different than Butterfly Weed, I think.
The Common milkweeds are transplants from a neighbor. They are tuberous. I worked very hard last year to get them transplanted quickly. When I got them from my friend, I wasn’t sure where I would place them or if I even had room. So I made sure to make room quickly, and I think almost all of the plants survived.
The monarchs have swarmed all over these plants this year. I’m so excited that I saw so many caterpillars today. I have only seen a chrysalis a few times.