Creating a monarch butterfly garden

To create a monarch butterfly garden, plant milkweed that is native to your region for the caterpillars, add nectar flowers that bloom from spring through fall for the adults, and stop using pesticides. Monarch Watch suggests at least 10 milkweed plants of two or more species in a sunny spot of about 100 square feet (9.3 square meters). Near the California overwintering groves, in western Washington and northwestern Oregon, and on the BC coast, the advice changes, so check the regional notes below before you buy milkweed.

What a monarch garden needs

A monarch garden has two jobs. It feeds the caterpillars, and it feeds the adults.

• Milkweed for caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars eat only milkweed (Asclepias species) and a few close relatives. Females lay their eggs on it. No milkweed means no new monarchs.
• Nectar for adults. Adult monarchs drink nectar from many flowers. They need it to fly, mate, lay eggs, and fuel the fall migration.
• Sun and shelter. Monarch Watch recommends at least six hours of sun a day. Plant close together, but not crowded, so the plants give shelter from wind and predators.
• No pesticides. Eggs and caterpillars sit right on the leaves. Any insecticide that lands on milkweed can kill them.

Timing matters as much as plant choice. A bed full of flowers in June does little for a monarch passing through in September. Aim for something in bloom the whole time monarchs are in your area.

Why monarchs need garden habitat

Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) have lost a lot of breeding habitat. The Xerces Society points to farming, rural development, and roadside mowing and herbicide use as the main reasons milkweed has declined. Monarch Watch says herbicide-tolerant corn and soybeans alone removed more than 100 million acres of monarch habitat, because milkweed survives tilling but not repeated glyphosate spraying.

Here is where the two North American populations stood when this was written:

• Eastern monarchs covered 2.93 hectares (7.2 acres) of forest in Mexico in the 2025 to 2026 winter, up from 1.79 hectares the winter before. The Monarch Joint Venture notes that about 6 hectares is the level needed for a stable eastern population.
• Western monarchs numbered about 12,260 butterflies at 249 California sites in the 2025 Western Monarch Count. In the 1980s they numbered in the low millions, according to the Xerces Society.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed listing the monarch as threatened in December 2024. Its own assessment estimated an 80% decline in the eastern population and a decline of more than 95% in the western population since the 1980s. The agency missed its December 2025 deadline for a final decision, and two conservation groups sued in February 2026 to set a date. Until a final rule comes out, monarchs have no federal protection in the U.S. In Canada, the monarch was listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act in December 2023.

Eastern vs. western monarchs: which do you have?

Your garden plan depends on which population passes through your yard. Environment and Climate Change Canada describes the split this way:

Population	Where it breeds	Where it spends the winter
Eastern	East of the Rocky Mountains, from the U.S. into Canada from Alberta to Nova Scotia	Mountain fir forests in central Mexico
Western	West of the Rockies, including southern British Columbia	Groves along the California coast

No single monarch makes the whole round trip. Most adults live 2 to 6 weeks. The last generation of summer can live up to 7 months as it flies south and waits out the winter. The monarchs that reach Canada in May or June can be two generations younger than the ones that left the fall before.

Monarchs in British Columbia

BC’s monarchs belong to the western population. The BC Conservation Data Centre says they move north into low-elevation valleys of southern BC each summer and that at least one generation matures here. Most records come from the southern interior, with past sightings in Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Penticton, Oliver, Keremeos, Cranbrook, and here in Armstrong. The Centre names showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) as the only milkweed native to BC. It grows in the dry areas of the southern interior.

So in the North Okanagan, a monarch garden means showy milkweed plus a summer and fall nectar supply. On the coast, the advice is different (see the next section).

Native milkweed by region

The Xerces Society recommends milkweed that is native to your area and grown from regional seed. Monarch Watch groups North America into seven milkweed regions. This table combines their picks with the Canadian data from Monarch Watch and the BC Conservation Data Centre.

Region	Native milkweeds to look for
Northeast	Poke milkweed (A. exaltata), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), purple milkweed (A. purpurascens), common milkweed (A. syriaca), butterfly weed (A. tuberosa), whorled milkweed (A. verticillata)
Midwest	Swamp milkweed, prairie milkweed (A. sullivantii), common milkweed, butterfly weed, whorled milkweed, green comet milkweed (A. viridiflora)
Southeast	A. amplexicaulis, A. humistrata (coastal), aquatic milkweed (A. perennis), butterfly weed, white milkweed (A. variegata), whorled milkweed
South Central (Texas, Oklahoma)	Antelope horns (A. asperula), zizotes milkweed (A. oenotheroides), butterfly weed, whorled milkweed, A. viridiflora, A. viridis
Arizona	A. angustifolia, antelope horns, showy milkweed, desert milkweed (A. subulata), A. subverticillata, butterfly weed
California	Woollypod milkweed (A. eriocarpa), desert milkweed (A. erosa), California milkweed (A. californica), heartleaf milkweed (A. cordifolia), narrowleaf milkweed (A. fascicularis), showy milkweed
Interior West	Showy milkweed across the region, plus narrowleaf milkweed (WA, OR, ID, UT, NV), plains milkweed (A. pumila) on the plains, and antelope horns in NV, UT, CO, and NM
BC southern interior	Showy milkweed
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba	Showy milkweed in the south of all three, with swamp, common, and whorled milkweed also native in Manitoba
Ontario and Quebec	Common milkweed and swamp milkweed are the common ones, with butterfly weed and several rarer species in southern Ontario
Maritimes	Swamp milkweed and common milkweed

For your exact county, check the range maps linked from the Xerces Society milkweed FAQ, then use their Milkweed Finder to locate seed or plants. Xerces notes that fewer than 20 of the more than 70 milkweed species native to the U.S. are for sale from seed companies or nurseries.

Where not to plant milkweed

This is the part most garden articles get wrong. The Xerces Society guidance is specific:

• Near California overwintering sites. Xerces calls these “no milkweed” zones. They cover land within 5 miles (8 km) of a monarch overwintering site north of Santa Barbara, and within 1 mile (1.6 km) of an overwintering site south of Santa Barbara. Note the wording. The distance is measured from the overwintering groves, not from the shoreline.
• High-elevation forests. The same Xerces guide adds forests above about 9,000 feet (2,700 m).
• Where milkweed is not native. Xerces says milkweed is not native to western Washington, northwestern Oregon, Alaska, or Hawaii. In BC, the only native milkweed grows in the dry southern interior, so the same logic applies to the BC coast.

If you garden in one of these places, plant nectar flowers instead. Near the California groves, Xerces suggests early spring, late fall, and winter bloomers. The same goes for anyone who cannot find milkweed grown from local seed. Xerces recommends native wildflowers for nectar rather than milkweed from far away.

The tropical milkweed debate

Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is the orange and red milkweed sold at many garden centers. Monarchs lay eggs on it. So why do monarch groups say not to plant it?

The problem is that it keeps its leaves all winter where winters are mild, such as the Gulf states and parts of California. Most native milkweeds die back in fall. The Xerces Society cites research showing two risks from evergreen tropical milkweed:

• Monarchs may keep breeding into fall and winter instead of migrating (Batalden and Oberhauser, 2015).
• The plants can build up spores of a protozoan parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE), which raises infection rates in monarchs that stay put (Satterfield and others, 2015).

In cold climates like ours, frost kills tropical milkweed each fall, so it acts as an annual and parasite spores have no winter leaves to build up on. Even so, the Xerces Society does not recommend planting it anywhere, “even when sources of native milkweed plants and seeds are scarce.” It can also escape gardens in warm areas.

If you already have tropical milkweed:

• Replace it with native milkweed or nectar plants when you can.
• In the southern U.S., cut it to the ground in early fall.
• In California, Xerces advises cutting it back in October or November and again several times through the winter.

Texas A&M’s display gardens take a similar approach. They grow some tropical milkweed for spring but prune it to the ground as fall approaches.

Nectar plants for monarchs by season

Monarch Watch asks Waystation gardens to have nectar plants that bloom one after another or all season. A U.S. Department of Agriculture habitat guide for the Pacific Northwest sets a target of at least three nectar species for each bloom period: spring, summer, and fall. That is a good rule for any garden.

These lists come from the Xerces Society regional monarch nectar guides, the USDA Pacific Northwest guide, and Texas A&M AgriLife. Pick the column closest to your region.

Season	Great Lakes and Northeast (monarchs present June to October)	Inland Northwest and BC interior (May to September)	Southern Plains and Texas (March to May, July to October)
Spring to early summer	Milkweeds start to flower in summer. Monarchs arrive in June.	Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), wallflower (Erysimum), globemallow (Sphaeralcea), showy milkweed	Betonyleaf thoroughwort (Conoclinium betonicifolium), blacksamson echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea), Texas lantana (Lantana urticoides), Dakota mock vervain (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
Summer	Butterfly weed, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)	Nettleleaf giant hyssop (Agastache urticifolia), Woods’ rose (Rosa woodsii), blanketflower (Gaillardia), penstemon, sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum)	Butterfly weed, whorled milkweed, bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa)
Late summer to fall	Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), rough blazing star (Liatris aspera), showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)	Asters (Symphyotrichum), goldenrod (Solidago), native sunflowers (Helianthus), rabbitbrush (Ericameria and Chrysothamnus)	Gregg’s mistflower, frostweed (Verbesina virginica), Maximilian sunflower, blazing stars, goldenrods, flame acanthus, buttonbush

Fall is the season gardeners most often miss. By September, many beds look tired, but migrating monarchs need fuel. Texas A&M AgriLife notes that monarchs head south through Texas from September into November, so a fall-blooming patch there does more work than one that peaks in May. Asters are one of the easiest fall nectar plants to grow, and my guide to how to grow asters covers them in detail.

Native species are the safer bet for nectar. Xerces built its guides around native plants with recorded monarch visits that bloom when monarchs are present. A recent study also found that many garden cultivars draw fewer pollinators than wild-type plants. I wrote about it in native plants vs. garden cultivars for pollinators.

How to create a monarch butterfly garden, step by step

1. Pick the spot

Choose a place with at least six hours of sun. Most native milkweeds and nectar plants like well-drained soil, though swamp milkweed handles wetter ground. Monarch Watch sets no minimum size, but says Waystations work best at 100 square feet (9.3 square meters) or more. You can split that area into several beds.

Think about spread. Common milkweed spreads the most by underground roots, according to Xerces. Showy, narrowleaf, whorled, and prairie milkweed spread too, but less. Give these a bed where a path or lawn edge can keep them in place.

2. Clear the weeds first

Xerces stresses weed removal before planting. Milkweed is slow to get going and is easy to crowd out. In the dry West, Xerces recommends solarizing the soil or another thorough method for at least a year before seeding a larger patch.

3. Plant milkweed from seed or as plants

From seed. In most regions, Xerces recommends sowing in fall so winter cold and moisture break the seeds’ dormancy. Scatter the seed on bare soil and press it in with your foot or a trowel. Early spring sowing also works while the soil is still cold and moist. Late spring and summer sowing is not recommended. In the dry West, sow once fall rains begin. Western gardeners report that narrowleaf milkweed seed can take two years to come up.

If you missed the fall window, you can cold stratify the seed. Keep it moist in the fridge for a few weeks before sowing. Winter sowing in jugs outdoors is an easy way to do the same thing. My winter sowing milkweed guide walks through it.

From transplants. Xerces says seedlings may be ready to plant out in about eight weeks, though some species take several months. Plant them after the last frost, harden them off first, and water them through their first summer. In California and the dry West, Xerces finds fall transplanting (around October) works best. Plants may not flower in their first year, but females can still find them and lay eggs.

4. Plant enough milkweed

There is no exact number. The University of Minnesota Monarch Lab estimates that one mature milkweed plant feeds about one monarch caterpillar. Monarch Watch’s Waystation target of 10 or more plants is a practical starting point. Two or more species stretch the season, since different milkweeds mature and flower at different times.

5. Add nectar plants for every season

Use the season table above. Aim for at least three nectar species in bloom in each of spring, summer, and fall while monarchs are in your area. Group several plants of each kind together so butterflies can find them. My post on planting a pollinator garden covers layout and spacing, and butterfly garden ideas has design ideas.

6. Buy plants that were not treated with systemic insecticides

Some nursery plants are grown with systemic insecticides called neonicotinoids. These move into the leaves, pollen, and nectar, so a treated milkweed can poison the caterpillars that eat it. You cannot tell by looking. Xerces recommends asking staff before you buy. Small native plant nurseries that grow their own stock are the most likely to know. Native plant society sales and Master Gardener sales are good sources, according to Monarch Watch.

Pesticides and monarchs

Keep the monarch garden free of insecticides. The Xerces Society states that insecticides “of any kind” will harm monarch eggs and caterpillars. Sprays on open flowers also hurt bees and other pollinators.

• Avoid systemic products. Xerces names imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam. They last a long time in plant tissue and can kill caterpillars that feed later.
• Skip herbicides near milkweed. Herbicides damage or kill milkweed and the wildflowers adults feed on. Environment and Climate Change Canada lists herbicide use as a threat to monarchs in Canada.
• Watch for drift. Spray from a lawn, orchard, or neighbor’s yard can reach your milkweed. Talk to neighbors if they spray.

What about the orange aphids on milkweed?

Those are oleander aphids (Aphis nerii), a common milkweed pest. Xerces suggests squishing them by hand or knocking them off with a strong spray of water. Lady beetles, hoverfly larvae, lacewing larvae, and tiny parasitic wasps eat them too. If eggs or caterpillars are on the plant, there is no aphid control that is safe for them, so check the leaves first. Xerces does not recommend buying lady beetles to release.

How to certify a Monarch Waystation

Monarch Watch, at the University of Kansas, runs the Monarch Waystation program. Registered gardens get a certificate with a Waystation ID number and a spot in the online registry. Monarch Watch reports more than 50,000 registered habitats in the program’s first 20 years.

The application asks four questions:

1. Does your habitat provide shelter for monarchs?
2. Does it have 10 or more milkweed plants?
3. Does it have nectar plants in bloom through the growing season?
4. Do you have a plan to keep it going (mulching, thinning, watering, no insecticides, removing invasive plants)?

The application fee is US$20 and is not refundable. A 9 by 12 inch aluminum Waystation sign is optional at US$27.95 (2026 prices). You can apply online through the Monarch Watch shop or mail in the Monarch Waystation application form.

The Waystation registry lists gardens worldwide, so Canadian gardens can join. Environment and Climate Change Canada also points to the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project and to Mission Monarch, a Canadian community science program that tracks monarchs and milkweed.

Monarch gardens in cold climates (zones 3 to 6)

Cold-climate gardens have a shorter monarch window. Monarchs reach Canada in May or June and start heading south in late summer or fall. In the Great Lakes region, Xerces lists monarchs as present from June through October. In the inland Pacific Northwest, the USDA guide gives May through September.

• Be patient in spring. Native milkweeds die back each fall and come up late in spring. Mark where they are so you do not dig them up by mistake.
• Sow seed in fall. Cold winters do the stratifying for you.
• Focus on late summer and fall nectar. Asters, goldenrods, blazing stars, and rabbitbrush carry the season after milkweed finishes.
• Know your neighbors’ view. The BC Conservation Data Centre notes that the agriculture industry considers milkweed a weed. In farm country like ours, keep showy milkweed in a defined bed, away from pastures. Xerces warns that milkweed is toxic to livestock, with sheep and goats at the highest risk.

Fall and winter care

Xerces advises against frequent mowing of milkweed while monarchs are around. Mowing in late fall, after migrating monarchs have left, is a safe approach in all regions. Avoid cutting milkweed while it is flowering or setting pods, since that is when the plants have the least energy to spare.

If you want to save seed, Xerces recommends separating the seeds from the fluffy floss before storage. Pods stored whole for more than a few days can mold.

Common monarch garden mistakes

Mistake	Why it matters	Fix
Planting tropical milkweed	Can disrupt migration and spread OE parasites in mild climates	Plant native milkweed. Cut back any tropical milkweed in fall.
Planting milkweed near California overwintering sites	Inside Xerces “no milkweed” zones	Plant winter and early spring nectar flowers instead
Buying milkweed from far away	Xerces recommends seed and plants from your region	Use the Xerces Milkweed Finder or a local native plant nursery
Buying nursery plants treated with neonicotinoids	Treated leaves can kill caterpillars	Ask the nursery before you buy
Only summer flowers	Migrating monarchs need fall nectar	Add at least three fall bloomers
Spraying aphids	Kills monarch eggs and caterpillars too	Squish or hose off aphids
Sowing milkweed seed in summer	Seed needs cold and moisture to sprout	Sow in fall or cold stratify first
Tidying up chewed milkweed	Chewed leaves mean caterpillars are using it	Leave it alone

Monarch butterfly garden FAQ

How many milkweed plants do I need for monarchs?

Monarch Watch recommends at least 10 milkweed plants of two or more species for a Waystation. The University of Minnesota Monarch Lab estimates one mature plant feeds about one caterpillar.

Is tropical milkweed bad for monarchs?

In mild climates it can be. It stays green all winter, which can keep monarchs breeding instead of migrating and can build up OE parasites. The Xerces Society does not recommend planting it anywhere.

What is the best milkweed for monarchs?

The best milkweed is one native to your area and grown from regional seed. Common and swamp milkweed suit much of the East. Showy milkweed is native across much of the West and is the only native milkweed in BC.

Can I plant milkweed on the BC coast or in western Washington?

Milkweed is not native there. Xerces lists western Washington and northwestern Oregon as outside milkweed’s native range, and BC’s only native milkweed grows in the dry southern interior. Plant native nectar flowers instead.

When is the best time to plant milkweed?

Sow seed in fall in most regions. Plant nursery-grown plants after your last frost in cold areas, or in fall in California and the dry West.

Can I raise monarch caterpillars at home in Canada?

On federal land, such as national parks, you need a Species at Risk Act permit to rear, tag, or release monarchs. Off federal land, the federal rules do not apply, but Environment and Climate Change Canada asks you to check provincial rules first.

Is milkweed poisonous to pets and kids?

Milkweed contains compounds called cardenolides that can poison livestock. Xerces says the risk to dogs and small children is undocumented but likely low, since the plants taste bitter. The milky sap irritates skin and eyes, so wear gloves.

How much does Monarch Waystation certification cost?

The Monarch Watch application fee is US$20. The optional metal sign is US$27.95.

Are monarch butterflies endangered?

In Canada, yes. They have been listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act since December 2023. In the U.S., the USFWS proposed a threatened listing in December 2024, but there has not been a final decision.

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Start small if you need to. One sunny bed with native milkweed and three fall flowers is a real monarch garden. Add a few nectar plants each year until something is blooming from the day monarchs arrive until the day they leave. For more detail on your region, the Xerces western milkweed planting guide, the BC Conservation Data Centre monarch report, and the Government of Canada monarch profile are good places to go next.