Native Flower Mix for Monarch Butterfly Seed Mixture (Midwest Specific)

Native Flower Mix for Monarch Butterfly Seed Flower Mixture

Monarch populations have been in decline for a number of years, and the loss of nectar sources and milkweeds has been indicated as a major contributor to these declines.  This mixture is composed of native wildflowers and milkweeds which supply nectar sources to adult monarchs.  Milkweeds are utilized for egg-laying and provide food to monarch caterpillars.  This mixture is intended for use in the monarch’s summer breeding range and flyway zones of the Midwestern United States.

Add some native grasses to and you have a great all around mix! Little Bluestem is great as it is native to all 48 US states. Or just keep it strictly to flowers.

Flowers:

• Autumn Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale),
• Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa),
• Butterflyweed Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa),
• Clasping Coneflower (Rudbeckia amplexicaulis),
• Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum),
• Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata),
• Gayfeather (Liatris spicata),
• Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta),
• Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella),
• Lance-Leaved Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata),
• New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae),
• Ox-Eye Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides),
• Prairie Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata),
• Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea),
• Rigid Goldenrod (Solidago rigida),
• Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve),
• Spotted Joe Pyeweed (Eutrochium maculatum),
• Swamp (Red) Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata),
• Tickseed Sunflower (Bidens aristosa),
• Wild Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Seeding Rates:

• 8 oz for 1,000sq ft (No existing plants)
• 11-22 lbs per acre (depends on density of existing plantings)
• 1 Acre with Grass - 11  lbs per acre
• 1 Acre for just Flowers - 22 lbs per acre
• 1 oz packets when planted with flowers it will do 155 sq ft

Instructions - Sow seeds anytime: fall before winter sets in, spring or summer.  The area should be worked to either be free of all plants or prepared to allow seed contact to soil when planting in existing beds. Some grasses will germinate in the cool weather, while others will remain dormant until the is warms. 

• Sow 1/4" deep
• Germination 10-20 days