milk weed

14 years ago

Hi I do have two small butterfly weed plants in the yard, but I want to increase my milk weed varieties and encourage more Monarchs if possible. We saw the first one in our yard last year!!!

Where do you get your milk weed from??? And do you have any special tips on getting to germinate? The typical butterfly weed is a low germinator for me.

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Comments (9)

garden_of_oz
14 years ago
Hi,
I just let mine go to seed from the pods they produce. Then the next year there will be more. Just let them drop
in the flower bed where the others were last year.

The pods open and have a dark brown seed.

Garden_of_oz
topie
14 years ago
I haven't grown milkweed from seed yet, since I'm a newbie winter sower, but I know you can get the seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery (see link below).

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is the milkweed species that's native to northern California. You may have the best luck with it in your climate and soil. You can get it at Prairie Moon.

See link below for plant description:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=assp

Like many natives, the seeds need cold, moist stratification to germinate, which you can get by winter sowing the seeds. Prairie Moon has given it a code "C" with a number 30, which means it needs 30 days of cold, moist stratification for the seeds to germinate. I've winter-sowed many native plant seeds this year in milk jugs and am waiting for my sprouts!

There are a bunch of other milkweeds that grow wild in California, such as California milkweed (Asclepias californica). You can probably find the seeds at one of the places on this webpage:
http://www.cnplx.info/nplx/species?taxon=Asclepias+californica

Hopefully another poster will advise about more germination tips. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Moon: Asclepias speciosa (Showy Milkweed)
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aliska12000
14 years ago
I got some milkweed, butterfly weed and a lot more from Prairie Moon. I see the milkweed likes full sun. I was planning on putting that behind the garage if it sprouts because I've had regular volunteer MW in the past back there. May not be enough sun for it to bloom well there.

This is all new territory for me and some of the seeds I'm trying from Prairie Moon and lots of other vendors and a few trades.

Butterfly weed may not be MW but similar.
caryltoo Z7/SE PA
14 years ago
I have swamp milkweed that I got from sample seeds. I've wintersown some and am waiting for sprouts, but I held back a some and can send you 8-10 if you e-mail me your address. I've gotten so many seeds from people on GW I'd be happy to pay it back so to speak.

Caryl
yepimkendra
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks! I have always just let the seeds drop, but so far no new babies.
I am afraid that after I place an order I will not be able to winter sow. If they need 30 days of cold to germinate...we don't have 30 days left. All of the plants already think its spring and the trees are in full bloom :)
I will order some and give a it a try in the fridge.
karendee
14 years ago
I sowed some pink milkweed from a round robin. I am so excited and hope it sprouts. I hope it is not picky and grows well for me.

Karen
Ann
14 years ago
I've got some asclepias exaltata from a trade that I'd be happy to trade for something. Take a look at my list and see if there's anything there that would work. Ann
topie
14 years ago
The fridge method should probably work fine...you can always winter sow them next year! Showy milkweed likes a well-drained soil in a sunny spot...you may also want to protect any milkweed seedlings from slugs, which seem to love milkweed. Showy milkweed can get aggressive and spread a lot if it likes the spot it's planted in, so beware.
ramazz
14 years ago
You could plant some tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) which doesn't require stratification and grows quickly, and then get seeds to wintersow next year. I have some tropical milkweed seeds and also some asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) if you would be interested. You could certainly try the refrigerator method, using a baggie and some potting mix.

Becky