Danaus Dozen

The Danaus Dozen offers a summer-long buffet to serve Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus). You’ll get three plants of each of these species.  In early summer, Pale Purple Coneflower offers nectar to the butterflies returning from their long migration from Mexico, and the Common Milkweed gives them a place to lay their eggs and food for their very hungry caterpillars.  Midsummer, Spotted Joe Pye Weed offers more nectar to Monarchs and many other butterflies.  Finally, Stiff Goldenrod provides essential early fall food for the Monarchs flying all the way back to Mexico. (Goldenrod is not an allergen; its pollen is too heavy to be spread by wind.)

Please note this garden is designed for the benefit of butterflies!  Both the Joe Pye Weed and the Goldenrod grow up to 5 feet tall. The Joe Pye and the Milkweed can spread easily by rhizomes.  Goldenrod can be managed by removing the seedheads before they’re fully ripened.  But if you have the space, why not find an unobtrusive part of your yard and make it a Monarch paradise?

Species may be substituted due to crop failures.