Friends of Monarchs
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What's Happening NOW?
FREE SHOWY MILKWEED SEEDLINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE MID-LATE APRIL. PICK-UP SITES IN DAVIS, SALT LAKE, AND UTAH COUNTY LOCATIONS ARE TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON. NO SHIPPING AVAILABLE. WATCH THIS SPACE.
Starting in March, monarchs are making their way north from Mexico and inland from the California coast to find fresh milkweed seedlings to lay eggs on. Future generations will continue this process of searching out healthy breeding habitats all summer long.
Milkweed tips start poking through the soil as early as the first week of April, depending on your location in Utah. Some don't push through until into May.
Monarchs typically arrive in Utah sometime in May, and stay throughout September and into October. The population is quite small early on. However, every 30 days or so, another wave of monarch eggs hatch, and the tiny caterpillars get busy eating milkweed. Utah has the most robust population of the year in late August and all of September.
SEED REQUESTS
Seed requests will be considered through March 31, 2025. Please email Rachel using the email address at the bottom of this page.
After this date, you can get free milkweed seeds from members of our Facebook group. We have amazing, generous people there who will help! Jump in and post a request.
Late fall is the best and easiest time to sow milkweed seeds outside, whether in the ground or in pots. Cover the seeds with 1/4" soil. The rain/snow freeze/thaw process of winter helps to break down the tough shells enabling the seeds to germinate when temperatures warm in the spring.
Mark your seed locations. Watch for signs of sprouting beginning in April through June, depending on location in Utah. The first few monarchs arrive in the state in May, laying eggs that will hatch in June.
QUICK TIP!
Did you get a seed packet with a QR code?
Click the Home button and look for Seed Prep for tips to ensure your seeds thrive.
Some of our native milkweed species require stratification. Choose one of the three options depending on how many seeds you want to prepare. For example, for just a few seeds, you simply snip the pointy tip off each seed with fingernail clippers! For larger quantities, the 30-day process in the fridge works best.
THE WESTERN MONARCH OVERWINTERING COUNT 2024/2025
As shown in the graph to the right, the most recent count recorded the second lowest number of monarchs in recorded history, with roughly 9,000 monarchs counted at all California overwintering sites.
Natural fluctuations occur from year to year, but the overall trend is not good.
EXCELLENT RESOURCES
Southwest Monarch Study
Our Tagging Source
Monarch Watch
Home of the national "Monarch Waystation" Program
Monarch Joint Venture
Excellent resources and webinars
Xerces Society
Utah Pollinator Habitat Program
Western Monarch Advocates
Our Mission
To engage and educate Utahns in conservation of the monarch butterfly. We do this by providing expertise and training, native milkweed seeds and/or seedlings, and leveraging partnerships with other organizations (public and private) to advance the cause of the monarch butterfly and the other pollinators who will benefit from this work.
Utah FOM Official 501c3 status August 31, 2021
Federal ID 87-2412373
Rachel Taylor, Utah Friends of Monarchs, Founder
Monarch Conservation Specialist, Monarch Watch
Board Treasurer, Western Monarch Advocates