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Direct-sow Asclepias cussaravica (?) and Verbena bonariensis

17 years ago

Has anyone had luck with direct-sowing these two plants and, if so, is there enough time for them to flower before the season is over?

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Comments (6)

jimcnj
17 years ago
2 years ago I started some Asclepias cussaravica indoors and they were easy to grow. Last I did not grow them and I had more of them and they much larger. Self sowing seems to be the way to go. They reseeded very successfully to the point of being weedy.I'm in zone 6-7 Central Jersey.
laperouse
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks jimcnj. Not a bad weed!

Marianne
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I really love the effect they make in a Tropical garden with musa's, ensete's, canna's, dahlia's heck anything Tropical. I also want to include them with my David Austin 'Carding Mill' rose. I just want to make sure that I sow them correctly. Self seed or not I have to make this a staple in our garden. I'm also crazy for Mina lobata(Spanish flag vine). I can't seem to find that plant in our local nurseries; too bad. I was thinking of direct sowing this weekend with some gravel. I also want to try sowing some in a plastic pot and leaving it outside and see what happens. Let me know if there is anything else I should do concerning the sowing of the seeds. Thanks everyone.
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Ha, I intentionally PULL the ones out of the more wild area here because I don't want them to get away and become invasive. In central PA (I'm also in 6A) V. bonariensis self-seeds very readily. The butterflies love it though so I continue to let it grow here, pulling all the extras out every year. If I don't, I think it would totally take over and crowd out all of my other garden plants except maybe the coneflowers. I don't have any other garden plants here that seed so vigorously, and I have a lot of different kinds of plants since I've been butterfly gardening since 2005. V. bonariensis is the very first plant that I saw my first Giant Swallowtail nectaring on. It's a great plant to have for them in the garden, but I control its spread and limit it to my garden and ONLY in the section that has been allocated for it.
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gardenway
17 years ago
Verbena b. self sows abundantly, so direct sow will be okay.
I winter sowed some this year because I had moved (plants left behind). The seedlings (are reddish) are very, very tiny and stay that way for a long time - but will grow and bloom the first year.
At least this has been my experience in zone 6, KY
carrie630
17 years ago
agree with gardenway - can't go wrong with the verbena b.
carrie
laperouse
Original Author
17 years ago
Does anyone have a picture of the Verbena b. seedlings emerging?
tracey_nj6
17 years ago
Someone posted a picture of VB seedlings in the "Growing from seed" forum; here's the thread.

You could try and sow A. curassavica now, but I'm unsure if you'd get it to bloom or not, since it's an annual. Then again, my A. curassavica a few years ago bloomed in October, much later than the perennial milkweeds which were long done for the season. Luckily frost hadn't gotten it. You could definitely direct sow the perennial asclepias now, probably wouldn't bloom this year but would next year. I have very high germination when winter sowing annual and perennial asclepias.

You could definitely direct sow the VB now; I have plenty of seedlings emerging (no pics though) from reseeding.

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