Plants must be picked up IN PERSON, ON SATURDAY, MARCH 21 in Pflugerville, TX.  What Time: 10am-1pm Where: Lake Pflugerville Park (main entrance) 18216 Weiss Ln, Pflugerville, TX 78660 Why Here: 3 years ago, we planted and currently maintain the 6 native garden beds at the entrance of the park with support from Pflugerville Parks and Rec. We invite you to come see just what a difference a few years of growth looks like!

The native milkweeds we are giving away come in “plugs.” These are live plants that have been grown for strong roots, not for showy leaves. Some have been trimmed to increase the root mass or to avoid aphids/mites. This does not harm the plants and can actually benefit them. Unlike big box nursery plants, these seedlings are grown for habitat restoration, not for aesthetic value at the time of planting.

Cancel all of your plans and get those darlings in the ground or in a larger pot immediately. Kidding! But seriously, native plants are slow growers so the sooner you get them established, the sooner they can get to work supporting the Monarch migration. Pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight. Dig a hole as deep as the pot and twice as wide. Be careful with the roots and gently backfill with soil. Space plants 1.5-2 ft apart and water them in! Suggestion to label your plant locations because native milkweeds usually go dormant in the summer and winter. Native milkweeds have co-evolved for thousands of years with the monarch migration, so they come up when monarchs fly through and go back down after they’ve passed. Fascinating, right? Fun rule of thumb with native plants: Year 1, it sleeps. Year 2, it creeps. Year 3, it leaps - so be patient, the show just gets better every year. Planting suggestions: Research shows us that planting milkweeds in clusters on the exterior of your habitat (vs milkweeds in the back, flowers in the front) can potentially bring in more interest from the ladies. We have had great success with this method. Pruning: The idea is that the monarch and queen caterpillars will be doing the pruning for you! But when the season passes and the plant goes dormant, you can just snip off the dead growth and wait for the bright green spring shoots. Container gardening: Go for it! We like to cluster 3-5 medium-large pots of varying sizes with native milkweeds, and annual or perennial wildflowers. Great for small spaces, balconies, businesses, or adding texture and variety to the garden aesthetic.

Native milkweeds have evolved with the monarch butterfly migration for millions of years. There are over 100 species of milkweeds in the US. Their spring and summer emergence corresponds naturally with the timing of the monarchs flying through their specific region. In Texas, we have over 30 varieties. In the central Texas Blackland Prairie and Edwards Plateau ecoregions, our main natives are: • ANTELOPE HORNS MILKWEED (Asclepias asperula) • GREEN MILKWEED (Asclepias viridis) • ZIZOTES MILKWEED (Asclepias oenotheroides) • BUTTERFLYWEED (Asclepias tuberosa) • TEXAS MILKWEED (Asclepias texana) • PEARL MILKWEED VINE (Matelea reticulata) • PURPLE MILKWEED VINE (Matelea biflora)

Ok, first let’s be clear about one thing: there are no “good or bad” plants. This tends to be a delicate topic for some folks but we’re not here to argue. We know monarchs are desperately in need of more milkweed but it’s important to understand the consequences of buying Tropical milkweed. Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is native to Central and South America and Asia (not native to central TX). Yes, it’s beautiful, easy to grow, find, and the monarchs love it BUT here’s what you don’t see on the label at the nursery: Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) is a nasty parasite that infects monarchs and other milkweed munchers. Because tropical milkweed doesn't die back in the fall, it increases the chances that monarchs will become infected. They collect the spores on their abdomen and as they fly from plant to plant laying eggs, they deposit spores on the egg casing. When the caterpillars hatch, they turn around and eat the egg casing- ingesting the spores. High OE levels in adult monarchs can result in: crumpled wings, shorter lifespan, low mating success rate, limited flight ability, and can negatively impact their ability to migrate successfully. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aeda47_858711f7a6d542c2952e193a0fd7dcad~mv2.jpg