Don's Jersey Birding: Milkweed in the backyard can make a difference
Asclepias Syriaca – Common Milkweed Annual Milkweed
Monarch butterfly on Swamp Milkweed at Overpeck Preserve in Leonia.
All photos courtesy of Don Torino
Birders are conservationists; our concerns go beyond birds. We hear the distress alarms of our bat populations, dropping numbers of our pollinators, and now, the decline of Monarch butterflies that has ecologists very concerned.
Multiple factors have contributed to the Monarch’s declining numbers. These include deforestation of the Monarch’s wintering grounds in Mexico, habitat destruction from overdevelopment, and the use of genetically engineered crops such as the ones that are Round-Up resistant which allow farmers to spray herbicides without harming food crops. These herbicides destroy plants that farmers see as weeds, such as the very plant the Monarch butterfly needs for its existence, Milkweed. See the following NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/science/12butterfly.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all 
Large stand of Common Milkweed at the Bergen County Audubon butterfly garden.
No Milkweed, no Monarchs. It’s as simple as that. But there is something very easy that we can do right now to help. Plant Milkweed!
Many people believe that a home garden can be a vital wildlife habitat that can make a real difference, especially here in New Jersey. Anyone who has grown up here knows how much critical habitat we have lost over the years. Creating backyard wildlife habitats can restore some of the balance. Planting Milkweed is a good way to start your backyard renewal off and give a helping hand to this beautiful creature.
There are at least 9 species of Milkweed native to New Jersey. Some are easier to find at a local garden center or a New Jersey native plant nursery than others.
Swamp Milkweed.
Don’t get nervous. You don’t have to live in a swamp to have this plant in your backyard. In fact, it is the best variety for home landscaping. It has beautiful pink or white flowers which are great for many other species of butterflies that will use it as a nectar source. The Monarchs just love placing their eggs on this plant in my yard every year. Full sun and average garden soil will keep this plant happy, but it doesn’t like to dry out for long.
Asclepias Tuberosa- Butterfly Weed
This variety has beautiful orange flowers which are a great nectar source for butterflies and hummingbirds. It is the Monarch’s host plant. Poor soil works better for this Milkweed. 
Common Milkweed.
This is the Milkweed that is seen growing along roadsides all over New Jersey. It has beautiful purple to pink flower clusters that smell great. The downside is that it is not great for the small home garden because it tends to spread. Monarch’s love this plant so much that I will put up with its bad behavior. It is not readily available at most garden centers, but you can find it if you look at some of New Jersey’s native plant nurseries or gather the seeds in late summer and spread them in your garden. About 60 different species of butterflies use it as a nectar source.
Annual or tropical Milkweed is available at many local garden centers. This is great for folks that may just have a patio or fire escape to put some potted plants on.
Planting Milkweed is critical, no matter if you have a big backyard in Cape May County or a fire escape in Hudson County. It can mean survival for one of Mother Nature’s most amazing creatures, the magnificent Monarch butterfly.
Don Torino is the Education Chairperson for Bergen County Audubon Society. 
Categories: Don's Jersey Birding
Tags: monarch monarch Butterflies milkweed backyard habitat butterflies
Wonderful article!!
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Love it. In a town where people turn you in for your weeds being to high, it is hard to hide the common milkweed among the plants and bushes. I will look for other varieties in the nurseries. Thank You. Wonderful article.
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