I don't know if you mean me, as I don't consider myself to be a milkweed expert, but thank you anyway. I didn't build my cage with the intentions of raising milkweed plants in it. It's for putting the milkweed plants into that are already grown. I put those and a bunch of Monarchs in the cage so no predators and parasitoids will be able to get to the Monarchs and kill them. It was never meant to have a heater in it, as it has screen on it. I'm in zone 6 and would have to pay the electric bill that would be generated from heating something in a cage outside in temps that sometimes get below zero in the winter. The cage is to provide a safe place for Monarch cats to eat, pupate, and eclose as adult butterflies. I suppose you could build a cage and put plastic on it if you'd want to raise plants in it, but I don't know the particulars about venting, etc. and would advise you to ask someone with knowledge in that area or to buy a small greenhouse for that purpose.

Tony, I have read of others who have over-wintered A. curassavica in the garage or basement. How do you overwinter yours? It is so easy to start from seed, that I hadn't thought much about doing that. I over-wintered some Salvia 'Black & Blue' this past winter in the garage and the plants did great (and are now out in the garden) so the tropical milkweed would probably do likewise. I've got common milkweed that is already 1-2 feet high, and no Monarchs yet, so do I even need the plants earlier? Although maybe it would attract them earlier to the yard if there are more total milkweeds growing.

Those of you who haven't seen Monarchs yet, keep your chins up. It's a very odd year. But, even if you don't see any cats or eggs or butterflies this year, you can still have a huge impact on the future of the Monarchs. I just read a post from a man who wants to grow milkweed, but doesn't have seed and is short on cash. We can all relate to that. Any of you who have milkweed plants, collect as many seeds as you can so you can make it available to folks living in areas where the milkweed has been wiped out. I've posted on the seed savers forum and the seed exchange forum asking the experts there to make an effort to collect as much as they can, as well. Keep up the fight! Martha

I want to bump this up again so those who are interested in preserving this plant can add this year's growing information. I had a baby who bloomed this spring but no seed pods. The same with the wild A variegata I dug up three seasons ago. This year it put up four strong stalks and lots of flower heads but again, not one seed pod. I watched the flower heads closely and even though some flying insects crawled all over the flowers, there was no pollination. This particuliar milkweed appears to bloom the earliest of all the milkweeds I have. Maybe there aren't enough insects around this early to aid in the pollination. We had terrible high temps over a long period this summer and it was all I could do to keep the plants alive. Did anyone else have any luck getting seed pods of this plant? I also purchased three small A variegata plants from Pine Ridge Gardens this year (all MaryAnn would sell me as I suspect she was trying to make them available to more of her clients). I'm going to overwinter them in 1 gal nursery pots. I haven't decided if I'm going to try growing them in big planters on my deck next year (mostly high dappled shade) or plant them inground. Maybe I should try putting one in ground this fall and keeping two in the nursery pots over winter. What is the key to getting these plants to set seed pods? :-) ~Mary A baby A variegata - 1st blooming this spring of 2011 the wild transplanted A variegata - aka Red Ring Milkweed - blooming 5-24-2011