Native Plant Group takes unique approach to nurturing plant that attracts the butterfly in decline
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Native Plant Group is actively working to help strengthen the monarch butterfly population. According to statistics gathered by Toronto’s Globe and Mail, there are 350 million monarch butterflies that winter in the average year in Mexico. This year, that number has dropped to 60 million, a difference of more than 80 percent. Those numbers are the lowest in 20 years, and have experts wondering if monarchs can rise from the decline.
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberose) is the only host for the monarch larvae. Upon hatching, the larvae eat the leaves of milkweed plants or starve to death. Because the Native Plant Group at Birmingham Botanical Gardens has had difficulty with producing these plants during the climates leading up to April’s Spring Plant Sale, it has taken a new approach – nurturing 400 of these plants during summer, the hottest months of the year, when the plants are most likely to thrive. When the plants had matured, the Native Plant Group offered a presale and sold out of all inventory within two days, turning many other interested parties away.
You can shop the rest of the selection nurtured by the Native Plant Group and all of the other volunteer groups at The Gardens at this year’s Fall Plant Sale on October 19 and 20. Admission to the sale, located in Blount Plaza at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, is free to the public and proceeds benefit The Gardens’ educational mission. To learn more about the sale and its inventory as the information becomes available, visit www.bbgardens.org/fallplantsale.
With this year’s proven success, the group plans to revisit this method annually, with hopes of doing its part in repopulation. If you would like to learn more about how volunteering with the Native Plant Group and how you can help, contact Volunteer Coordinator Taylor Steele at 205.414.3962 or tsteele@bbgardens.org.
About Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham Botanical Gardens is Alabama’s largest living museum with more than 12,000 different species of plants in its living collections. The Gardens’ 67.5 acres contains more than 25 unique gardens, 30+ works of original outdoor sculpture and miles of serene paths. The Gardens features the largest public horticulture library in the U.S., conservatories, a wildflower garden, two rose gardens, the Southern Living garden, and Japanese Gardens with a traditionally crafted tea house. Education programs run year round and more than 10,000 school children enjoy free science-curriculum based field trips annually. The Gardens is open daily, offering free admission to more than 350,000 yearly visitors.
