Rewilding My Lot

There is a small triangular area at the back of the garden that I have designated for native milkweed plants. Earlier this year I planted seven tiny plants: 4 Antelope Horns Milkweed (Asclepias asperula) and 3 Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa). In addition, I had previously scattered some seed for Zizotes Milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides) in the area, although I didn’t know what they would look like if they germinated.

At this month’s meeting of the Native Plant Society of Texas, I took the unexpected opportunity to snag a couple of Zizotes Milkweed seedlings to add to my milkweed area. I thought it might be helpful for me to have some identifiable Zizotes plants with which to compare seedlings that grow. To make room, I cleared out some of the nearby native grasses that had wandered into the area. And now I have some known Zizotes plants, I think I can recognize a few of my earlier seedlings as being the same thing.

None of the milkweeds that I have planted is big enough to support caterpillar appetites, although most of the plants are growing well, so my priority in the short term is actually to defend them from caterpillars to allow them to grow bigger and stronger. I haven’t seen any Monarch butterflies in this garden yet this year, though, so no defense has been needed so far.