I just received this information in an email that had been forwarded several times. I do not know any of the people named nor do I even know if this is true but on the chance that it might be I think it is a reminder that we must always be vigilant.

DATE: April 27, 2017
SUBJECT: Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies
Some “Big Stores” have been selling Milkweed plants that have been treated with systemic Neonicotinoids.
This will kill caterpillars! Please, be aware and be on the lookout for these tags placed in plants.
Please pass this information along! I received from Mary Ellen Miller explaining the situation:
“Dear Sandy, I know you are busy ending your term. We, in New Orleans, just hosted the Deep
South and LGCF Conventions, but this needs immediate attention.
I purchased a Milkweed plant from Home Depot near my home and it wasn't until I got home that I
noticed the little information stick hidden behind the identification information that the plant had been
treated with systemic Neonicotinoids. The container boasted how desirable the plant is for birds and
butterflies. Yesterday I went to a different Home Depot and they had just put out an entire rolling cart
of these plants, maybe about 100, all poisoned. I contacted the store manager and told him that it is the
same as giving poison candy to kids on Halloween. This is THE host plant for the Monarch. My club,
Shady Oaks and our junior club, Little Shadows have worked so hard to establish a Monarch Way station
and to educate people on the decline of the Monarch. I hate to think of the millions of poison
Milkweed being distributed nationwide by Home Depot.
The container says distributed by Home Depot, 2455 Paces Ferry Rd N. W., Atlanta , Georgia.
I contacted the LSU Ag Agent for New Orleans, Dr Joe Willis. He said the Neonicotinoids will dilute
as the plants grow but that only a very small amount will kill the larva of the Monarch. He is contacting
the Master Gardeners of the area. I contacted the newsletters of the Jefferson Parish Council of
Garden Clubs and the Federated Council of New Orleans Garden Clubs to ask that they sent a notice
to our local members. I contacted a local GOA club and the president said she would inform her members.
I contacted our LGCF President and our Environmental School Chairman with the information.
We need a notice to Home Depot from a national source. I contacted the Monarch Watch organization
,www.MonarchWatch.org/ws at the University of Kansas (1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence,
KS 66045) . The Little Shadows Junior Garden Club registered our Monarch Way station with them.
We need his information has to be sent soon as these plants are being sold now to well meaning
people who are wanting to help the Monarch not kill them. I know you are very busy but I hate to
think of the billions of plants being sold nationwide and how that will cancel the efforts of so many to
stop the demise of the Monarch. Could you please help?. . . Sandy Robinson.”
Mary Ellen Miller
Contributed by Gigi Schmidt

Disturbing indeed. Thanks for sharing.

I have heard about this before, last summer. I also heard that you should grow your own parsley from seed. A lot of the parsley plants you buy at the big box stores are treated with pesticides that will kill catapillars.

I grew parsley, bronze fennel, butterflyweed and others from seed for this very reason. Bad enough that it is used at all, but to do so recommending them specifically for the species they will kill is indefensible.

I grow some of my butterfly weed in my flowerbed from roots. A few I got from my landscaper. I hope she knew about the insecticide. A lot of mine though grows on a hillside from seeds from the original plants scattered by the wind.

Sadly, most of the plants sold commercially are treated. Some growers?/vendors? state it on the tags, but not all. It's best to grow your own from seed if you can.

@ctcarol, Carol, thanks for making a very good point.

I'm glad this thread was started. There were a couple studies released very recently that shows that neonicotinoids indeed affect honey bees. I called a big box store last year and asked them if they knew of any intention to phase this out. The garden manager didn't know anything. Disappointing. Maybe I'll send them a letter with a copy of the articles. If anyone cares to read about them, the Economist has a good article that summarizes the issues:

https://www.economist.com/news...

"The researchers also measured the neonicotinoids in the nests of wild bees, where they found traces of a third common neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, too. Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with nests containing high total concentrations of these three pesticides produced fewer queens; red mason bees (Osmia bicornis) exposed to them made fewer eggs."

Horrifying.

Another reason I wouldn't buy a plant from a big box store, and only from a nursery I know and trust. (but best if from seed!)

Not just big box stores...almost all nurseries carry such toxic plants. At least HD has the label...although they try to hide it! I know of one single native nursery in my general area that does not spray with pesticides. Any others, I just assume they all do.

The stores buy their plants from the commercial growers, and don't ask questions. I don't know if you could get a straight answer if you contacted the growers, but I'm sure they use lots of pesticides.

More news from big box retailers:

http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-...

Along with HD and Lowe's, that's a start. I think pressure needs to be applied to local nurseries as well.

GenXNEGeorgia said:More news from big box retailers:

http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-...

I'll agree it's a start, but the wording is still a bit wishy washy. The policy is that it "encourages" cutting back on insecticides and is a big leap from making bee friendly plants mandatory. Costco likely has the financial clout to make this immediately possible rather than offering lip service to the organic movement. I will say that they are offering much more in the way of non-GMO products for human comsumption BUT Organic and Non-GMO aren't the same. Here's a chart from Foodbabe.com to help illustrate the difference: