native. One excellent source is ….

native. One excellent source is Tree of Life nursery in San Juan Capistrano, which specializes in native plants.

Those who grow the common tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) should trim it back in late fall to near the ground to encourage new growth and to force the monarchs to migrate to their winter migration grounds.

Not to worry about those hungry caterpillars, after they completely strip a milkweed plant in the springtime, more leaves will regenerate and a second generation of butterflies will emerge in late summer.

This past summer Midge Bash of Mutual 14 has been helping to educate folks about the monarch butterfly. She has been clipping stems of the milkweed laden with eggs, encouraging caterpillar growth, keeping the chrysalises protected from birds in special cage habitats until the butterflies emerge.

Once the butterfly emerges, it takes a few hours for its wings to open and descend. Then it is ready for release.