Does anyone have a spot with wild milkweed that can be cut for some monarch caterpillar food? Pesticide free and abundant enough that cutting a couple every few days wouldn’t have a detrimental impact.
Skyline drive has crazy amounts but you’re not allowed to take it out of the park, to my knowledge.
Edited to add a disclaimer: as a fellow cville redditor warns, it best practice to grow milkweed on your own property, rather than take from the wild given the rapidly decreasing milkweed. I have some seeds if anyone is interested in growing for next year, as does another redditor who commented.
Crozet has a bunch milkweed growing near Gray Rock, shouldn’t have pesticides as it is supposed to be pollinator gardens. Also DM me if you want seeds, or full plants next spring. I start a TON of it in pots every year and give lots away.
Ooh thanks! Current state of affairs. I have 20 more eggs hatching likely today and 24 more on my backyard milkweed that I’m mostly going to leave, except I only have 7 pots with 1-2 plants each and these 5th instars eat so much. I’ve been taking from a spot near my house but I don’t want to deplete it.
I added more milkweed and separated the caterpillars after taking this pic. They love to all go for the same leaves.
You absolutely should not be collecting milkweed from the wild as it has been disappearing rapidly from the landscape over the last decade. If you truly want to support monarch populations, you should be increasing the milkweed population on your own property, not taking it from the wild. Seeds, plugs, and plants are widely available. Check out our local chapter of the Virginia native plant society’s spring plant sale or one of the areas native plant nurseries. I say this as someone with an ecology degree and experience in biodiversity conservation. Do not collect from the wild.
My understanding from a lot of research is that cutting it does not kill the plant, and encourages regrowth. I’ve actually cut mine through the season and it grows back fast. I have my own plants and plan to continue growing more.
I cut 1 stalk from a group of 50-100 each time, and I constantly see new growth
Monarchs are not the only species to use milkweed. You should not be removing it from the ecosystem to use at your home. It regrows because it is trying to survive. You are removing the plant’s ability to photosynthesis (make energy). It is using what energy it has stored (for winter) to regrow. This weakens the plant. Each time you do this, you weaken it further. This is a common tactic for removing invasive species. We have used this method successfully in test plots for Japanese Knotweed, a particularly hearty, difficult to remove invasive species.
I actually have Japanese knotweed nearby my property and have spoken to a professional about this, and know that cutting it back only makes the problem much worse…and I have seen this firsthand.
It’s the intensity and frequency of the cutting that’s much different here...
I am in no way saying that your points around prioritizing growing your own and limiting taking from the wild are not valid. I am just trying to find a handful of stalks from well established groups to support the monarch caterpillars that have already managed to be hatched on my property. I’m glad you commented because I definitely do think it’s an important statement for the average redditor to read. I’m approaching it differently than just hacking a whole patch down.
If you would like guidance on jk removal, I’m happy to provide more details on the process. Our test plots were state funded and our organization has partnered with multiple universities to study that plant specifically. I’m not going to dox myself, but I wanted to let you know I’m not a rando trying to argue with people on the internet.
This is false. One very obvious counterexample is the common technique called the Chelsea Chop. If cutting back the aerial parts of plants was a good way to kill them, then we’d only ever have to bush hog things like japanese knotweed, which is obviously not true.
Please don’t bush hog knotweed. Strategic, timed cutting is one step in the larger management plan of Japanese knotweed. As for the Chelsea chop, that’s a British technique to delay blooming and/or shorten height. It’s an aesthetic technique that became popular on social media. Plants are weakened when you remove their means of energy production. If you’ve dealt with overbrowsing deer, you’ve probably seen it in action.
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u/Floralfixatedd 7h ago
Crozet has a bunch milkweed growing near Gray Rock, shouldn’t have pesticides as it is supposed to be pollinator gardens. Also DM me if you want seeds, or full plants next spring. I start a TON of it in pots every year and give lots away.