hey ruthz,
What part of NW GA?

Dora

Chatsworth/Dalton area

If you're interested, you can drive down and meet with us Rome folks, LOL

Dora

I think she lives in Texas now ...

Dora, thanks for the invite but esh_ga is right.
Rome is a long drive from Texas.
I haven't lived in GA. since 1976.
Still have family there, so we try to visit once a year during summer when grandsons are out of school.

I'll have to go look at them, this is really one of my favorites I planted from seed in IL, it really WOWS me, and the butterflies too. I gather seed/seedlings, I brought both w/me to NW GA, getting ready to plant them, the biggest one is starting to form buds. What's the expected bloom time here, so far it seems like everything is about 6 weeks ahead of IL.? Tell me exactly where to look, we will be getting mulch form that area soon. If it is the same orange that mine is, I'll send you some seed. I saw Walter Reeves with someone demontrating just how to successfully plant them, simulating the way nature would.

organic_gardenhag, We usually come to GA. around the end of June and they are blooming. I'm not sure when they start.
Maybe someone that lives there can answer.
When I was a kid we called it chigger weed so I didn't dare touch it.
I saw some blooming here already and mine will be blooming in the next week or so.
The only other butterfly weed I have is asclepias curassivica and it's just now coming up.

I live on Lookout Mountain and it's plentiful here. I have some I transplanted in my garden and they go to seed every year, as well as all those growing on the roadside, in the fields and forests, etc. There should be plenty of seed here at the end of summer.

Sorry about confusing where you live ruthz.

If I'm not mistaken, a friend of mine has about 50 of this plant started in some small pots. I'm waiting for it to get larger so that I can put it in my yard.

I'll share when I'm able if it is the correct plant.
Dora

I saw this today on the way home from church
My husbands camara phone and I do not work well
sorry no actual photo.
It is very nice to see growing in the wild

Mine is blooming now but is a paler color than the one that grows there.
We're getting ready for our trip to Carters Lake in about 10 days, but the seeds would not be ready now.
I will get to see the flowers blooming on the roadside.

I hope that when it's close to time for seed to ripen, someone will remind us. I haven't even seen it this year, but when I do, will tag so I can finally get some started from seed. Anyone know how long after bloom for seeds to be matured?

Rosie, in Sugar Hill

It's a long time - takes a while for the pods to even form. I usually don't harvest seed until almost the first frost/freeze. I wait for the pods to crack open on their own and then I take the pod off and pull out the seeds.

Thanks esh. Have another question. Can the seeds be direct sown? I really would like to get a few of these growing in my gardens. Love our native ones.

I just pull them apart and drop them on the ground next to the plant. This year I have lots of babies coming up, but this is the first year I've had them. I mulched that area better last year, I've wondered if that contributed to the success.

One of the seed propagation books I have says that many of the seeds are not fertile and to look for the "fat" ones when separating the seeds.

esh, again, thanks. One further question: when do you separate the seedings? I learned the hard way that asclepias has a long tap root.