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I’m always pleased to see this topic get more attention. Almost everywhere, it’s common for non-native trees, shrubs, and flowers to be planted instead of species native to the area. This is true for residential yards, city land, etc.
Non-native plants are often useless hosts for native insects. So installing non-native plants has the “benefit” of reducing insects, but it also has serious effects on ecosystems and biodiversity.
We need to be more worried about the extinction of insect species. They’re more important than people realize.
If anyone wants to make a (small, but important) difference, do some research to identify important host plants for native insect species in your area. There are usually good, native alternatives for flowers, shrubs, and trees which are equally as attractive. Then, choose these host plants for your yard or garden.
> Non-native plants are often useless hosts for native insects.
The opposite can also be true such that some non-native plants can demonstrate overly desirable results compared to native plants. This is seen with many forms of squash/gourd/pumpkin in North America that results in wider and more aggressive distributions of herbivorous insects that favor those plant types over native plants.
native alternatives for flowers, shrubs, and trees which are equally as attractive
Thanks for using plural here. Nothing really wrong with the article, but the focus on single plants is a bit misguided when it comes to biodiversity (and this isn't the only article like that), because it can lead to greenwashing-like 'look I planted X in my lawn and it's good for this amazing number of species so now I'm doing a good thing for nature'.
In reality the worst case is that it is actually a netto negative outcome (bit far fetched, but not impossible, via principles like: insects attracted to your plant instead of another one closeby, your plant in its environment offers zero protection from predation because it's completely out in the open vast wasteland a lot of lawns are; or: insect finds hostplant X, lays eggs, in winter you decide to cut the plant 'becomes in cmes back anyway' and the eggs are lost) and best case it is positive; but it could be a lot more positive if instead of just the plant, you have a healthy ecosystem because biodiversity (and that's not just plants and the flying/crawling things one can see, also the nocturnal creatures, the soil life, etc) thrives on that, not individual species. Just like a collection of trees isn't necessarily a forest ecosystem, a bunch of flowering grassland plants isn't necessarily a proper meadow-like ecosystem.
How to get that is unfortunately too much to explain in detail here, but a simplified system for a lawn for instance starts with not mowing the whole thing every x weeks. Instead do cut the paths you need and treat the rest as patchwork where each patch has a different age like 1 month not mown, 2 months, etc. There's even no need to manually plant things, the native ones will come automatically.
There is a nuance that sometimes what was native 100 years ago simply won't survive anymore because the lack of the previously existing ecosystem. For instance a plant that needs shade and high humidity that is no longer viable because the trees have all been cut down.
This is random but when I read about the importance of insect specious it reminded me of how this summer we had noticeably less mosquitos where I live. It felt like there were none at all and I spent the whole summer being able to leave my doors open at night. At the same time there was a huge influx of grasshoppers that summer and I think the two are probably connected.
In the US, your local Cooperative Extension is a valuable resource for advice on this topic - and many others!
Note that in Germany and Switzerland, Asclepias syriaca (Milkweed) is considered invasive, with a negative impact on biodiversity. Only plant in North America!
How long from a species being invasive to it being considered native?
Here in Norway it's mostly spruce, pine and birch all over. Surely they were invasive at some point.
Forgot to add, here is the source for the information [1]
[1]: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gew%C3%B6hnliche_Seidenpflanze
In the whole EU, not just Germany. Planting, trading or importing milkweed is banned.
Highly recommend clover mixed in grass or instead of grass if it's native to your area. During parts of the day you can watch a giant ecosystem of different types of bees & other insects flying in it.
Ours is softer than grass. It takes less water & there are some great shorter verities.
Only cons I'm aware of is it doesn't hold up to constant hourly foot traffic. Obviously it also attracts bees so if you're allergic that would be bad.
I love my microclover lawn. It's postage stamp sized due to being in the city, but if I had more space I'd definitely love to see a large yard with it.
It's more resistant to dog pee, and it fixes nitrogen so you don't need to fertilize as much (if at all).
I use a "dog park" mix from PT Lawn Seed[0] - they also have a lot of other really neat things like native butterfly seeds mixed and ready to go. I've had great luck just randomly spreading them in small areas and having a weirdo explosion of a mini ecosystem a month or two later. You can even take some of the meadow/butterfly mixes and just overseed a large patio container and have a great time just watering and fertilizing it with no other maintenance.
I've found that you don't want too much clover because it will end up covering less ground when wet/stepped on due to the way it roots and then spreads horizontally - vs. grass that grows straight up. A full clover lawn would turn into a muddy mess if used during non-ideal conditions.
I cut mine high (4-5" or so, and not often) and the number of insects per square foot after a few years is amazing. You can spend a lot of time just staring at a particular spot and discovering more action then you ever thought possible.
My use is pretty high traffic, but if I had areas rarely walked on I'd probably go with another eco mix[1] with more flowering plants to grass ratio.
[0] https://ptlawnseed.com/products/pt-767-dog-park-eco-turf-mix
[1] https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns
Can confirm! As someone from the Mediterranean, I can also recommend "Lavandula stoechas". Also known as Spanish Lavender. The honey from these is so good!
(Edit: Non native plants should be avoided!)
Also gives bunnies and other critters a lot to snack on.
Milkweed is great in North America but not so great elsewhere and is often banned.
You should really find out what is native to your area and plant that and stay away from non-native plants.
i can't read the article but i kind of assumed that's talked about in the article?
Common milkweek is banned in the UK and I think the EU, due to the risk it can overwhelm native habitats.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/invasive-non-native-alien-plant-...
https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/8dbd637b-6d8b-4608-b2b1-b51dd...
It was pretty dry this summer in the valley of Oregon, and and most plants were dried out or done flowering. I came across a small patch of dogsbane plants (likely Apocynum androsaemifolium, a relative of milkweed and native) on the top of a hill while scouting a harvested tall fescue field. The leaves were droopy[0] but was full of surprisingly fragrant flowers, being visited by a very busy assortment of solitary bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. It was honestly rather refreshing to see. I've since been considering adding it to my yard. Do note, it's called "spreading dogbane" for a reason as it will spread via rhizomes. It also contains toxic cardiac glycosides, like other milkweeds.
[0]: Looked like this http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/plants/5petal/dogban...
edit Also, here's a good native milkweed resource: https://xerces.org/milkweed/milkweed-seed-finder
Please don't. In Europe milkweed is an invasive species that's toxic to cows, sheep and horses. It's way better for our ecosystem to sow / plant native species.
The New York Times is a U.S. newspaper, and milkweeds are native there.
It's pretty clear in the article that they're talking about North America.
But. If you are in North America, and the plant is native, go for it. Furthermore the pods that develop are far from poisonous for people and in fact taste really good. It's like okra that isn't slimy.
> toxic to cows, sheep and horses
Wasn't that the original rationale for the eradication of milkweed? I remember mid-90s in Toronto when lawns had the "No walking" signs with the smell of freshly sprayed pesticides.
Milkweed used to grow from cracks in the sidewalk, but not anymore.
If you are planting milkweed for Monarch butterflies, check to be sure to plant the correct species of milkweed. Some species of milkweed don't have enough calories for the butterflies to complete their trip, and they will wind up dying.
Make sure you plant native milkweed. The exotic kind is not good for the butterflies.
By “kind” are you referring to a species or a subspecies?
To my knowledge Asclepias syriaca is native only to North America. But there are other plants——most infamously Phragmites australis——where it’s native but there’s an invasive subspecies that is sadly displacing the great cattail swamps. (Sad because a cattail swamp is a huge caloric reservoir. I know I wouldn’t starve so long as we’ve got all those cattails…)
Certainly there are non-native Asclepias species. But there’s also other interesting native species like A. incarnata that makes great cut flowers if the aphids don’t get too out of hand.
Any recommended resources for determining which milkweed might be native in a given area?
Milkweed, goldenrod, and joe pye plants in Michigan will bring hosts of good bees and butterflies to your yard. Even better if you grow all three.
Anyone else here like to eat milkweed? (Asclepias syriaca)
My favorite way to prepare is gently steaming the flower buds when they are about 2/3-grown. But the young greens and young pods are good, too.
this youtuber [1] has an excellent channel on restoring once-developed land back to native flora. He mostly focuses on the US southeastern region, but it's interesting how explains why native plants are so much better.
I have planted milkweed all over my property and have seen a huge uptick in good insects.
I let milkweed grow unimpeded and we already have monarch caterpillars this year after just two seasons. It was awesome!
I first learned about how beneficial milkweed was from a YouTube micro-celebrity Joey Santore whose channel is called "Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't":
https://www.youtube.com/@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt/search?que...
Good stuff!
I'm a big fan of weeds. Just let whatever grows, grow. Then selectively weed to remove nonnative invasives. Practice late mowing (by hand, with a scythe), once in early August and once in late fall before the snow arrives.
Pastures are more beautiful than lawns!
I have a stand of knot weed I’ve been fighting all summer. I have to keep cutting it back to try to starve it off. It grows shorter each time. Is it possible that planting milk weed around it will help to starve it?
The only consideration with milkweed is that it is extremely toxic to basically anything other than arthropods. If you have small children or pets that like to chew on leaves indiscriminately, it's a no-go.
I ought to warn anyone considering this: milk weed spreads like a weed. If you plant one, don’t be surprised if you get a half dozen of them in your garden by next year
I planted asclepias incarnata here in my south bay garden and orange aphids killed it within a month. Maybe not a great choice anyways, since it requires a lot of water.
Now is the time to plant local species of Milkweed from seed in North America. They need the cold snap to prep them for sprouting next summer. Don't be surprised if they don't sprout until mid summer. Here is one place you can find local seed varieties. https://www.growmilkweedplants.com/
>tropical milkweed may effectively sustain monarch larvae, the perennial growth of the plant takes ill effect on the monarchs' migratory patterns and may have other physiological effects.
from [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_curassavica)
My front yard with milkweed hosted some monarch butterflies this summer :)
Not to mention all the other native plants and insects!
does the milkweed in question, and other milkweeds the Monarch butterflies need, require particular soils, hydration, etc? I was a little disappointed they didn't mention it. It grew where I grew up , but that was all coastal and marshy.
I pull it out of my lawn all year because the milkweed patch spread. I better see butterflies soon.
TL;DR
More than 40 insects and other invertebrates, including slugs, snails and spider mites, dine on milkweed foliage, as do rabbits and ground squirrels. The flowers’ nectar supports butterflies, moths, bees and wasps
They won't come. At least not anymore.
We have a very bug friendly property, which includes milkweed. We used to get all kinds of butterflies, but not in the past 2 years.
Yes, I'm really looking forward to have my lawn full of bugs /s