Native Plant Gardening

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Why native plants?

According to the The National Audubon Society:

Restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds and other animals.

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This community is for everyone who is interested in planting native species in their garden. Come here for discussions, questions, and sharing of ideas/photos.

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LucidFeverDream@mander.xyz

Any tricks to keep ants off milkweed? (i.postimg.cc)

submitted 3 months ago by ChaosCoati@midwest.social to c/nativeplantgardening@mander.xyz

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We’ve noticed we don’t find monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants that have ants on them. We’ve also noticed if ants start coming on a plant with a caterpillar on it, the caterpillar disappears. It doesn’t seem to show up on a neighboring milkweed plant either.

I’m wondering if anyone has a way they keep ants off these plants so the caterpillars can continue their life cycle in peace.

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[–] Hello_there@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Argentinian ants are used to irrigation. Stopping irrigation can reduce amount of nests.

You could also try to kill the aphids on some other host plants. Or try to move your trash containers

[–] ChaosCoati@midwest.social 2 points 3 months ago

Thanks! They’re growing in my vegetable garden but as long as my strawberries don’t look too stressed I’ll try watering that area less.

I’ll check around for aphids too. Our trash cans are on the other side of the house