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It’s fun and easy to bring unique Monarch butterflies to your back yard. By making room for a few butterfly-attracting plants in your landscape, you can create a “monarch waystation,” or refuge, for this threatened population. Plus, you’ll be graced by the beautiful winged creatures year after year as they carry out their 1,500 mile migration. For information about Monarch Waystations, see “Relief for Weary Monarch Butterflies.”
Listed in alphabetical order by state, the mail-order nurseries below offer at least two species of milkweed (Asclepias), the only plants that will support larval monarchs, as well as a range of herbs and perennials that provide nectar for monarchs and other butterflies. Most milkweeds are safe to plant in a garden, but be aware that common milkweed (A. syriacus) can be invasive by shedding excessive seeds and by producing root buds on its persistent rhizomes. Also keep in mind that some milkweeds native to California are not acceptable to the monarchs that overwinter in Mexico and breed and feed east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition, several western states restrict the shipping of plants from the east, so either look for plants at local native plant nurseries, or order them from a mail-order nursery in your state. Similar restrictions affect plants shipped between the United States and Canada. Two Canadian nurseries are listed at the end.
Also check out the article, How to Help Save the Monarch Butterfly, for more information.
Arkansas
Pine Ridge Gardens, London, AR; (479) 293-4359
California
Las Pilitas Nursery, Santa Margarita, CA; (805) 438-5992
Kentucky
Shooting Star Nursery, Georgetown, KY; (502) 867-7979
Massachussetts
Tripple Brook Farm, Southampton, ME; (413) 527-4626
Maryland
Carroll Gardens, Westminster, MD, (800) 638-6334
Maine
Fieldstone Gardens, Vassalboro, ME; (207) 923-3836
Michigan
Prairie Moon Nursery, Winona, MI; (866) 417-8156
Minnesota
Busee Gardens, Big Lake, MN; (800) 544-3192
Morning Sky Greenery, Morris, MN; (320) 795-6234
Missouri
Missouri Wildflower Nursery, Jefferson City, MO; (573) 496-3492
North Carolina
Gardens of the Blue Ridge, Pineola, NC; (828) 733-2417
Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, Leicester, NC; (828) 683-2014
New Jersey
Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Frenchtown, NJ, (908) 966-7500
Well-Sweep Herb Farm, Port Murray, NJ 07865, (908) 852-5390
New York
Fort Pond Native Plants, Montauk, NY; (631) 668-6452
Ohio
Companion Plants, Athens, OH 45701, (740) 592-4643
Oregon
ForestFarm, Williams, OR; (541) 846-7269
Goodwin Creek Gardens, Williams, OR; (800) 846-7359
Pennsylvania
Rose Franklin’s Perennials, Spring Mills, PA; (814) 422-8968
Tennessee
Nashville Natives, Fairview, TN; (615) 799-8719
Native Gardens, Greenback, TN; (865) 856-0220
Sunlight Gardens, Andersonville, TN, (800) 272-7396
Virginia
Lazy S’s Farm Nursery, Barboursville, VA
Wisconsin
Prairie Moon Nursery, Winona, WI; (866) 417-8156
Prairie Nursery, Westfield, WI; (800) 476-9453
Canada
Wildflower Farm, Coldwater, ON; (866) 476-9453
Hortico Nurseries, Waterdown, ON; (905) 689-6984
