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Oklahoma Gardening

Transplanting Milkweed (Tuberose Milkweed)

16 years ago

Last week I received 6 m/w plants and have them (temporarily?)in a plastic box 36" long by 6" deep. When should I transplant and where in my yard...or should they stay in the container? I have an orange butterfly plant and a yellow butterfly bush close by (2 feet)

Dawn2

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Comments (5)

susanlynne48
16 years ago
Asclepias tuberosa doesn't require a lot of water since it stores moisture in the tuber. I'd go ahead and get them planted now before it gets too hot to transplant them and the roots get tangled up - if you have all of them together in the box.

They will need a deeper planting situation since they are taprooted and dislike being transplanted when they get larger. Plan to put them in their permanent location as soon as possible. These milkweeds are native to Oklahoma. Hope you get some Monarch caterpillars on them, since they occasionally use this plant as a host. They really prefer other milkweeds for egg-laying, but this particular species provides GREAT nectar for the butterflies. Soil does not need to be too rich either, and I wouldn't suggest fertilizing them. Most natives do not need fertilizer, and it sometimes can cause their demise.

Susan
okiefromokc
Original Author
16 years ago
Susanlynne48,

I gave the incorrect kind of milkweed. It's curvessa? (something with curv...?) Long taproot also? Lots of sun? How far apart to be spaced? Good drainage w/poor soil? Plant ASAP?

Thanks,

Dawn2
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In my garden, (Southern CA) tropical milkweed sprouts so easily I just transplant the hoard that pops up around the parent plant to where I want them. If working with seeds, I just disturb the soil surface a bit, sprinkle the seeds and water them in. I cannot say it is the best way, but they don't seem difficult to get started here. No chilling is necessary; many sprout before September from the current season's seed drop. In cooler areas, you may need to wait for the ground to warm up; someone else would need to chime in about that. Good luck!
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The native milkweed in the pasture close to the house dies back to the ground each winter and comes back from the roots each spring. The easiest way to start would probably be from seed. Well established plants have monster tap roots going very deep. I've collected a few older plants and have them in pots. They haven't done much. Probably regenerating a healthy root system after being cut so drastically so I could move them. New seedlings are fairly easy to dig, but they also have long taps. just not as long.:-) The when? I did it early spring. Wouldn't be afraid to do it now, if I could get to them. Don't have a boat or waders. :-) randy
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Penny, they bite? I've never had one bite me ever. I suppose if your hand smelled like tomatoes they might try to munch, but they don't have any teeth at least! Your daughter looks about the same age as my granddaughter. She's 5, will be 6 in October. She is my helper and we raise all kinds of caterpillars - Black Swallowtails, Monarchs, Question Marks, Red Admirals, Buckeyes, tomatoe and tobacco hornworms, Nessus sphinx, eumorpha sphinx, Snowberry Clearwing sphinx, and now Walnut sphinx, Gulf Fritillaries, Pipevine Swallowtails, and Variegated Fritillaries. You'll never have too much milkweed, so plant LOTS of it. Kids love to raise butterflies and moths! Welcome to the forum! Susan
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I've got a patch of wild A. syriaca growing - of all places - in the middle of a woodland garden. It grows quite well, although it doesn't flower because there isn't enough sun. I tried to transplant all of it last fall to another spot. Well, only a couple small plants appeared in the new spot, and the old spot still had plenty of plants. So much for transplanting "all" the plants. LOL Perennial milkweeds can be transplanted but will take time to re-establish, plus they will also regenerate itself from old pieces of roots left behind. I've tried starting A. syriaca from seed, with limited success. The wild patches that planted themselves have done much better. Whether or not you still have Monarch larval activity depends on where you live. Very possible there are still caterpillars eating the leaves. You should be able to find them without too much difficulty if you take a look. I raise Monarchs and just found an egg on the common Milkweed 2 days ago! Very late for egg-laying at this location.
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susanlynne48
16 years ago
Asclepias curassavica aka Tropical Milkweed takes to transplanting better than some of the other milkweeds. However, I would locate them to their permanent home as soon as possible. I've already planted mine out, too.

The tropical curassavica does better with a bit richer soil than some of the native species. They do like sun, but will survive in light shade. I put mine close together, but if you only have 6 plants, you can space them about 1' between. Pinching out the top can force lateral and basal growth, too. I feed mine with chicken manure - build the soil rather than just fertile the plants.

I have a lot of seedlings from last year's plants, but we had a mild winter except for the ice storm. The plants are not hardy in our zone, so I collect the seed as the pods turn brown and crack a little. You can see the white fluff starting to peek out. Put the seed in a paper bag with several coins and shake it (this separates the seed from the pods and the down), snip a small hole in the corner of the bag and shake it some more. The seed will come out sans the chaff.

Oh, and be prepared for Monarch caterpillars!

Susan
okiefromokc
Original Author
16 years ago
Since the milkweed is an "annual" and there is so much bermuda where I am, would it be OK to grow in pots around the tuberose and butterfly bush? (I'm afraid the bermuda would crowd out the milkweed) How tall will the milkweed eventually get?

Thanks so much for all your enduring patience!!!!

Dawn2
okiefromokc
Original Author
16 years ago
One more question, Susan (not again I hear you saying!!!) What do I do with ALL the seed those people sent me? I bet I have two dozen little critters. Freeze 'em? It sounds like they're a pain the petutie to try to get to grow...(that's why I went out and bought the plants)

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