Photo: Heliopsis seedlings at Two Ferns Native Nursery
by Rona Neri
Connecting gardeners with monarch-supporting plants
Safe for Monarchs is a Wisconsin program launched in 2026 that helps gardeners like you connect to nurseries that grow plants in ways that are are safe as nectar sources for adult monarchs and host plants for monarch caterpillars.
Look for the Safe for Monarchs logo when you shop with the participating partners listed below in 2026! Labels will look like the image shown here, stuck to the pots of plants that are extra-good for monarchs. You might see signs or flyers near these plants too, depending on the nursery.
Want to help monarchs? By purchasing plants that are labeled Safe for Monarchs, you can feel assured that these particular species, grown in these careful ways, will support monarch butterflies to the fullest. Look for the logo, ask growers to carry Safe for Monarch plants, and purchase these species for your yard!
In order to be labeled with our “Safe for Monarchs” logo, plants must:
This determination was based on science and decades of experience by habitat restoration professionals who created the Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative’s “12 Best Plants for Monarchs” handout. You won’t find any “nativars”, cultivars, doubles, or sterile plants on this list — only plants that really and truly support monarchs!
The nurseries and growers who partner on the Safe for Monarchs program have been vetted by the Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative, and ensure that their growing conditions do not involve chemicals that will be harmful to monarchs once the plants are in your yard.
*Some nectar plants may have been treated by short-acting, naturally-derived pesticides that are not expected to affect monarchs.
Monarchs arrive in Wisconsin each April and May, lay eggs on milkweed and nectar on flowers throughout the summer, and migrate away in September and October. Buying a diversity of Safe for Monarchs plants ensures monarchs have what they need the entire time they’re here.
Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS
Dragonfly Gardens
(Amery, WI)
Heritage Flower Farm
(Mukwonago, WI)
Johnson’s Nursery
(Menomonee Falls, WI)
Prairie Fairy Native Plants
(Madison, WI)
Prairie Future Seed Farm
(Menomonee Falls, WI)
Riley Native Plant Nursery
(Verona, WI)
Tend Native Plants
(Blue Mounds, WI)
Two Ferns Native Nursery
(Madison, WI)
West Star Organics
(Cottage Grove, WI)
