Crownflower is a type of milkweed that is the preferred host plant for monarch butterflies in Hawaii. Monarch Butterfly Friends Hawaii is collecting data on the soil type and propagation conditions to grow crownflower so that we can easily establish habitats to support the monarch population. We welcome citizen scientists growing crownflower (Procera gigantea or Procera calotropis).
In Hawaii, it's easy to attract monarch butterflies to your garden. A single crownflower plant acts as a beacon to monarchs, leaving many people surprised and unprepared for how to sustain the hungry caterpillars. Since crownflower is the preferred host plant of monarch caterpillars, we can better support the population if we knew how to effectively grow the plant.
Conventional wisdom is that the cuttings need "well-draining soil" and we know that crownflower often thrives near sandy beaches. But how do we translate that into a recipe that anyone can put together, whether they are a green thumb or black thumb?
The purpose of the Crownflower Propagation Experiment is to determine what steps will result in the highest rate of planting success. By documenting your soil and watering methods over time, you can measure how many cuttings survive and thrive and exactly what you did to accomplish that! Sharing your results with the community will help enable the creation of sustainable habitats for monarch butterflies.