Getting on board with the monarch campaign You can still plant milkweed in the fall – and we still have free seeds for you.
Left: A hungry monarch in fall gets fuelled up for the long flight. Right, Ascleepias tuberosa, the kind of seeds we send you are a small plant. L
ast spring, the Home and Garden- er magazines launched our “ Save the Monarch, Plant Milkweed”
campaign. We have had a tremendous response from folks all across the coun- try and have given away many, many packets of milkweed: Asclepias tuberosa, the one with the orange and yellow flowers – it is not invasive. To get your free seeds, all you have to do is to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Save the Monarch, 3081 Ness Avenue, Winnipeg MB R2Y 3G3. Remember, you can plant the seeds of
any native plant in fall and milkweed is one of these. Meanwhile, here are a few comments
from some of our monarch-saving part- ners.
Monarchs in Saskatchewan A friend from Winnipeg attended a
garden show on the weekend and had picked up a pamphlet at your display booth. She knows about my passion for the
monarch butterfly, and concerns shared for their declining number. I also live on an acreage with some native grasses, trees and ponds. This location would support the growth of milkweed. I look forward to receiving some of
these seeds and planting them, then waiting for the results! I also wonder if you publish any mate-
rial regarding this matter, or any type of newsletter one could purchase? Looking forward to hearing from
you, I remain Phyllis Oranchuk, Yorkton, Sask. We sent Phyllis the seeds and also the
www.localgardener.net
link to our monarch website at http://savethe-
monarchbutterfly.wordpress.com/ -Ed. Doubling up
If at all possible, may I have two pack-
ages of milkweed seeds? I have cleared a fairly large space in my front flower garden to plant them. Thank you so much! C. Stewart At home and at work
Hi there. We listen to your show on
CJOB and heard about the monarch/milk- weed topic. As it turns out, the school our kids go to has done and does projects on the monarch butterfly. The kids enjoy it and get excited when
they see butterflies. If you could send us a package or two of
the milkweed seeds, we will plant at home and work to help do our part to save the butterflies. I tried going to a few local greenhouses
but they did not carry any seeds. Jason & Kristin Frez We encourage all garden centres and
greenhouses to carry both milkweed plants and seeds and will reinforce this message when we call them this fall. -Ed. Swampy area
I read your article about the monarch
butterfly in your gardening magazine and am excited to help save the monarch! It’s nice to see that people actually care about the disappearance of these tiny creatures and I think both your article and your offer to send seeds to plant are great ways to raise awareness. I have enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope; would you mind sending me some milkweed seeds? I have a shady forest area in behind my apartment that is quite mossy and
The tall invasive variety of milkweed.
swampy. Which seeds would grow best in this environment? Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to do my part! Kaitlyn Bain The swamp milkweed, Ascelpias incar-
nata or the wild milkweed, A. syriaca, would both do very well, but the one we send, A. tuberosa, will be happier in a slightly drier location.
Donations Please send us some milkweed seeds
as we want to encourage the monarch butterflies to reproduce. I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope as well as $5. Thank you! Ila Schlegel Thank you, Ila. Some folks donate so we can buy more milkweed seeds. h
Home and Gardener Living • 35
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