Monarchs need your help NOW! During
the past few years about 75% of the wintering Monarchs from
North America froze to death in Mexico as a result of three
days of rain and sub freezing conditions, there is also a
Nationwide shortage of milkweed. These freak weather patterns
and destroyed habitat kills millions of helpless Monarchs.
Habitat must be protected now to ensure their survival, before
we see the day when this miracle of Nature is only a memory.
The Monarchs need your help NOW, please plant seeds and ensure
their survival. A Milkweed in every yard!
Please let everyone know how to get milkweed seed and why it
is so important!
Live Monarch is
a National Foundation that protects and restores butterfly
habitat across North America.
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FREE SEED PACKS AND SMALL
DONATIONS BY MAIL
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Live
Monarch Foundation will send Butterfly
Garden
seeds including
Milkweed and growing instructions,
just mail us a self addressed stamped envelope.
Your Save the Monarch Donation is greatly appreciated to help
offset the cost of the many seeds we give away, personally
plant and plants we provide to schools. We will include a
donation receipt with your seeds to give you a record of this
tax deductible gift. If sending a donation by check,
please make checks payable to: Live Monarch
Foundation
One
dollar goes a long way to help Monarchs, and we can also
send 50 seeds per dollar as a thank you. If you need more
seeds, send a larger donation with your request.
(These same seed packs sell
all over the web for $2 - $4 per 10 seeds). We
send out Asclepias Curassavica (tropical milkweed / red and
yellow flowers) It is a favorite egg laying plant which
grows quickly and will sprout many seed pods, we also have a
Northern Variety called Speciosa which can survive the
winters, just request the type you want...Please
give what you can so we can provide materials to as many
children and butterfly lovers as possible.
You will receive seeds and a full
color Monarch raising instruction sheet for your donation.
There are no butterflies in your return envelope. The
included reference sheet is a fast education to help
Monarchs and butterflies in every life stage.
Attention Educators:
We love the hundreds of letters we get from your 1st grade
classes and other students! Keep the letters coming but please
remember we have an expense in seeds and staff time to stuff
each of those separate envelopes. We suggest you put all the
envelopes or letters into one package and send that to us, you
can then donate that postage to the cause instead of wasting
postage and envelopes. This also helps us get the job done
faster for everyone...Thank you.
GROWING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MILKWEED
The seed we send to you can grow almost
anywhere in North America. When you are ready to plant, place
seeds 1/8 inch below the soil surface using a deep pot, since
most milkweeds have a long roots. Don't plant the seeds too
deep, because they need plenty of light and warmth to
germinate and grow (70 degrees). Keep the seedlings moist for
the first three weeks after they sprout, then transplant to
larger containers with good soil if necessary. You can lightly
fertilize them once a week after the seedling stage, using a
regular flower fertilizer. Cutting off the top of the plant
creates more stalks and more leaves. It takes about two months
before the plant is large enough for caterpillars to eat.
After the leaves have been eaten, simply cut the plant off
about one inch above the soil or lowest branching of the stalk
and the plant will grow back fuller. Warning: one caterpillar
will eat 20+ large leaves so make sure you have enough plants
to support the number of caterpillars you have or they will
starve.
When to plant depends on your location. It
takes a minimum of 60 days from seeds to have a plant large
enough to support caterpillars food needs. You can raise
tropical Milkweed in pots inside your home or greenhouse and
it should survive the winter. If you live in a northern
climate and see snow then request the Speciosia variety of
milkweed seed as it survives the winters cold. You can save
your seeds till next year and start them early inside, then
transplant outside when the weather warms up. Your goal should
be to create a refuge of lush milkweed for the migrating
Monarch. Once you have a good supply of milkweed you can also
purchase eggs, small caterpillars or chrysalis and ensure
there are butterflies in your area immediately. Just one
mating couple and a good supply of milkweed could produce many
healthy fluttering friends for your community. Check with your
local plant nurseries if you have questions about when to
plant seeds or when to buy plants or transplant.
Copyright
2002-4 Live Monarch Foundation |
