The Xerces Society is pleased to announce the release of Pollinator Plants of the Central United States: Native Milkweeds, a comprehensive guide to using the native milkweeds of the lower Midwest and Central U.S. in habitat projects and gardens. Xerces’ Project Milkweed is working to promote the benefits of including milkweeds in habitat plantings for monarch butterflies, pollinators such as native bees, and other beneficial insects. This new guide makes it simpler for land managers and gardeners to select—and obtain—the most appropriate species of milkweeds for their locale.
Pollinator Plants of the Central United States: Native Milkweeds describes the importance of milkweed to wildlife, provides an overview of milkweed establishment practices, and profiles numerous species that are commercially available and can be incorporated into seed mixes and planting plans. Five milkweed species that have special conservation status are also profiled.
The guide was developed by Brianna Borders and Eric Mader of the Xerces Society, in collaboration with Allen Casey (USDA-NRCS Missouri), John M. Row and Rich Wynia (USDA-NRCS Kansas), Randy King and Alayna Jacobs (USDA-NRCS Arkansas), and with Dr. Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch.
Download the guide from the Project Milkweed web page, http://www.xerces.org/milkweed/.
You can also find it in the relevant regions of the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center, http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/.
This guide was produced thanks to funding from the Monarch Joint Venture and with the continuing support of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.