Hi Willkelly, thank you for your response! I have since moved from the desert but am still looking for different milkweeds. I was initially interested in the one that looks like leafless sprears but am open to any trade. I can offer white giant milkweed seeds (limited), white swamp milkweed (limited but all ready cold stratified), tropical milkweed etc. also have some cuttings...firespike, jj plumeria etc. let me know what you might be interested in

I have tropical milkweed, swamp hibiscus (red) and cardinal flower seeds. If you are interested in any of these I am looking for swamp milkweed and any other milkweeds.

"they are now stirring, and preparing for their journey north from Mexico." She asked for help, so that the Monarch population heading north from Mexico, would have enough host plants along the way towards Canada. These days people in the south should cut their Asclepias curassavica, nivea, Gomphocarpus, and Calotropis down to the ground before the Monarchs start migrating south again, so that the Monarchs returning south won't get infected with OE, and they won't be tempted to leave the migration and lay eggs. I've grown Asclepias curassavica and Gomphocarpus physocarpus, so that there would be a lot of leaves for the caterpillars, and I'm simultaneously growing milkweeds native to my area which can take years to mature, and are still too small to feed caterpillars. I don't think Asclepias curassavica and Gomphocarpus physocarpus are listed as invasive in the USA. I think Gomphocarpus is invasive in Australia. I agree that people should focus a lot more on growing nectar plants for the adults, and the lack of flowering plants they can use, may be more crucial than growing the milkweeds at this point. Studies have shown there are enough milkweeds around for them, it's the loss of habitat and nectar plants along their fall migration route that's making their numbers decline. There is a population of Monarchs that stay in the deep south and don't go to Mexico. They have the highest infection of OE. No doubt because many people in the south grow the tropical milkweeds year round and never cut them down, and probably quite a few aren't even aware of OE. Everyone should plant more fall blooming plants for the Monarchs.

Sharon, as far as I know, there is no need to have more than one plant in order to produce seeds. Some milkweeds won't produce seeds until their second year.....perhaps that's where that idea came from? Yes, they need stratification. I've not propagated milkweed myself but from all that I've read, cuttings root very readily when basic accepted methods of asexual propagation are followed. In other words, do a bit of research.