Hello,

We potted up our butterfly bush this summer because it didn't like our walnut tree. It did very well in a pot for the summer. I don't think it would survive in a pot over the winter, though.

Milkweeds have very deep taproots, so I think you would need a deep pot. Hope this helps!

We brought in a butterfly bush and some tropical milkweed for the winter and both are thriving(while it's 20 below zero outside!!!). The butterfly bush is young (grown from seed last spring). I can't imagine it would be an option next year though.

We are potting a bunch of tropical milkweed this summer so we can keep it in an enclosure away from wasps. We also potted some common milkweed last summer but it didn't seem very happy or grow like the potted tropical.

Liatris ligulistylis gets TALL...6 ft our second year and I've seen it even taller. It does NOT flower the first year, but boy is it worth the wait if you like monarchs. I easily transplanted a few at the end of summer and they all survived. My guess would be yes on that.

I'm sure you can probably pot all of those. Some will just need bigger pots because of the roots. Good luck, Tony

I have tried several times to pot BF bushes to no avail even in our zone of 7b...I think I over water my yard for them to survive in a pot. They need very good drainage! I have successfully started cuttings in pots in the spring but can't seem to have them survive in a larger pot. Just my experience!
You can pot up tropical milkweed & I am trying to
over-winter several pots in my garage this winter for the first time. I am trying to get a jump start for the monarchs when they come through this spring! I usually don't have plants growing until the summer. I have seen Monarda in pots & it does well because it tends to take over a bed if not contained . I bought a couple of asters this fall & they are doing fine in the pots they were purchased in. I think in our zones they are OK to winter in pots.
Not sure about liatris...it is a bulb & probably depends on the variety. The native around our area likes dry, rocky soil but there are types that like marshy, boggy areas,too.
Hope this helps! I'm starting my 3rd season of being a serious BF gardener & every one on this forum have been extremely helpful!

Hi! I can't help but wonder why the need for pots? If the "8" that follows your user name indicates your zone, I can pretty much rule out the need for bringing them inside over winter, but you might be planning to use them on a deck or driveway or you might be like my wife who seems to enjoy seeing me relocate them to her current liking!

Whatever, I have to use some kind of armor to protect my plants from the voles, which are absolutely terrible here. Incidentally, potting is the only defense that has worked. EVERY one of my plants is potted and then is planted, pot and all, to a depth of 6"-8". The partial burying keeps them from tipping over in heavy winds and helps retain some of the moisture. There are two things that are of prime importance in growing with pots in my garden...the first is to make sure that you water often enough. The second is that you drill additional holes around the circumference at a point where these holes will be beneath the level at which they are buried. This helps to insure proper drainage and also allows the anchor roots (or the taproots) easy access to the outside. If your climate is such that you would normally require protection of your plants in winter, just leave these be and protect them as you would your other hardy plants that are not potted. I use 15 gallon pots for all my Buddleias...everything else goes in 5 gallon.

I grow all the plants in your list, except the Showy milkweed. While I have only been growing the butterfly directed plants a couple of years, I have utilized the same methods successfully for many years on roses.

This is what the main garden looks like in the spring...the large pots contain Buddleias.
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In late summer from approximately the same spot.
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A little closer shot of a few of the plants.
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A Buddleia "Nanho Purple" that is potted and has been in the same location for five years.
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Hope it helps, and welcome to the site!

Bob

I've planted meadow blazing star in pots and they did great. I also did it to protect them from the bulb loving voles. I kept my plants on my deck.

Note - I've used "poison peanuts" - not really peanuts and have had good results on the vole population.

wow guys great responses and pictures i am very thankful. So how big pots are we talking about for the butterfly bush and milkweeds

I guess I should be glad I don't know what a vole is???

Wow Bob, planting in the ground inside of a pot....what a novel idea. We don't have the pest problem in zone 4, but it sounds a whole lot easier than traumatizing the plant twice a year.

I would also like to know about the size of your pot for the butterfly bush. your garden looks great!

I order my blow molded nursery containers (pots) from B&T Grower Supply. The link below will take you to their various sizes of pots and includes the dimensions of each.

I use 15 gallon pots for the Buddleias and 5 gallon for all others. I would consider these to be MINIMUM sizes...larger is fine, but I would NOT go any smaller. I use a 1" drill bit for the additional holes.

A final piece of advice...if you plan to try planting pot-and-all style, be sure to dig the hole and position the EMPTY pot in the hole BEFORE you put in the dirt! They are really heavy once they are filled!

Best of luck to you!

Bob

Here is a link that might be useful: B&T Grower Supply

thank you very much bob! this really clarifies a lot for me

Wow, Bob that is amazing - everything in pots! Looks like it works well, but what a lot of work. Sounds you need a cat who's a good mouser, a couple milk snakes, a fox, and a hawk or two. :) Butterflyman - "poison peanuts" are likely to poison a lot more than just the voles - i.e., toads, predators that eat the poisoned voles, etc.

Of all the milkweeds you list, my guess is that Asclepias incarnata would do best in a pot, if you can keep it well watered. It is a wetland plant, and has clumping fleshy roots (not taproots). A. purpurascens (purple) might do okay - it has rhizomatous roots, but they are short rhizomes. A. speciosa (showy) and A. syriaca have aggressive spreading rhizomes and grow in drier sites - their roots would probably not appreciate being in a pot, espcially if the potting mixture is not gritty and well-drained.

Tropical milkweed (A. curassavica) reportedly does well in pots and the Monarch mamas love to lay eggs on it!