URBANA, Ill. – With all the “buzz” about bees and butterflies, the Perennial Plant Association is celebrating a plant known for its ability to support birds and insects, including a beloved North ...

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Monarch Promise is a fun new selection of tropical milkweed that is very attractive to monarchs and is pretty in the garden. Its foliage colors are enhanced when grown in full sun. Gary R. Bachman MSU ...

Asclepias syriaca, known as common milkweed, is the plant usually associated with the name “milkweed.” But its presence in the wild has been steadily declining because of agricultural practices, ...

The Perennial Plant Association has named butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), as its 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year. With much focus on pollinator habitat these days, butterfly milkweed is a ...

Pentas, lantana, verbena, zinnia, salvias (many different species and cultivars), Mexican butterfly weed (Asclepias curassavica) and buddleia are excellent flowering plants to attract butterflies to ...

Have you ever noticed that some insects turn up in droves as soon as the growing season is under way while others are more elusive? For example, any gardener can have aphids and Japanese beetles, but ...

Responding to our April 17 story on butterfly gardens, a reader wanted to know about plants attractive to butterflies, but not to deer. Here's the followup: Hi, Gail - I live in deer country, too, so ...

Gardeners are always in search of the greatest plant ever; one that has beautiful color, is pest free and easy to grow. Gardeners many times overlook plant material that is right under our noses. We ...

Nurseries and garden centers are filled with plants waiting for a permanent home. When you are selecting all the “must-haves” for this year, why not think not only about color and size, but also about ...

Monarchs, as caterpillars, prefer the leaves of milkweed. Milkweed produces glycoside toxins to deter animals from eating them, monarch have evolved immunity to these toxins. When they feed, monarch ...

Florida is home to more than 180 species of butterflies, which is the highest of any state east of the Mississippi River. And 40 of these species are unique to Florida. Butterflies are important to ...