Sandy, it is so nice to see your post. I am so excited for you! Thank you for sharing your method of seed treatment and the results with us.

I'm trying the water cup with Tuberosa seed on a heat mat that Tony described, to see how long it might take to see germination using that method. He didn't provide a time frame, only that it worked. I had one A tuberosa that bloomed over such a long time frame last year so I let all the seed pods it produced mature. I want to see if it passed along those long blooming genes to the offspring. All flying things seem to enjoy nectaring off of the A tuberosa blooms and it blooms so well here during the high heat of summer.

Things are really beginning to pop here (it's looking like an early spring). How is your spring progressing?

Mary

Spring seems to have arrived. However, I don't want to be lulled into the false hope that we won't get any freezing temps before our official last frost date of April 15th. We've had snow in Oklahoma in early May before. So, trying to enjoy the weather and keep an eye on the forecasts. I soaked A tuberosa with my method and got immediate germination. I think Tony's method should work as well.

Our last avg frost date is Mar 22 so hopeful no frost beyond that date. The forecast is looking good for the next seven days. Of course, that can change in a heartbeat! :-)

Just noticed my mature wild A variegata is pushing up little tips of growth. It is usually one of the first to show growth in the spring. None of the younger ones are showing anything yet. I always wonder about the wild plant, as I've no idea how long this type of milkweed will live.

Mary

I haven't been on this forum for years, and I can't believe the first thing I read was your happy post about Redring Milkweed, Sandy! I really, really want to start growing that beautiful Monarch baby food:-) I'm so happy for you. I live on the Gulf Coast in Alabama, so I need to find seed closer to home. Your technique makes a lot of sense from a technical perspective and I will try that today on other milkweed seeds I've been saving. What an exciting re-entry to Garden Web... I mean, Houzz:-) Thank you!!!

Mary, I remember when you found that plant and dug it up! I remember when you posted the photo and were looking for the ID. I knew immediately you had found variegata, and I was envious! So amazing that it is still doing well in your garden. Biophilia, this method has really changed my germinating success in a big way. A friend who just received his doctorate shared this with me. The soaking in water has been around, but the drop of detergent is something he came up with from observations in the lab with insects. He applied it to seed, and it worked! He is now at Cornell University doing post-doctoral research on Monarchs, milkweeds, and more. I'm sure we will all hear more from him! I am documenting my observations for him as he may publish this at some future date. Good luck with growing that milkweed!

Sandy, when do you put the seed into potting mix? When the little root begins to grow or do you wait until you see the leaves pushing out?

Mary

As soon as the seeds sprout, I move them into germinating mix. Once they get the true leaves, I move them into potting soil. After the initial germination of 4, I now have a bunch germinated and need to get them into propagation/germination mix this afternoon.

Thank you, Sandy, for this additional information. I am so happy you're getting such excellent germination.

Mary, I potted up 21 more sprouted seeds today, for a total of 25. Not sure how many seeds I received. Now the trick will be keeping them alive and thriving. You seem to have great results with growing them. Any tips?

Thanks for the information. Your experience with this plant is invaluable. If it weren't for the gophers, I would probably have had a colony of these by now. Protecting the A variegata plants will be my greatest challenge.

mind.blown.!!! i will have to try this method!!

Hi Sandy - just checking to see how your A variegata plants did? Hope they did well.

Thanks for asking. Some were given to other people, but I was able to plant at least a dozen in the garden. Most of them are currently in dormancy. It will be interesting to see how many return next spring. At the end of the season, I acquired 3 more plants from Mary Ann at Pine Ridge Nursery in Arkansas. All were planted in wire cages to keep the gophers from consuming them.

That's great! I love to hear when threatened native plants get a chance to make a comeback. Thanks for caring for them. :-)

Does anyone know if this method will work on pallid milkweed, asclepias cryptoceras? The seeds I stratified didn't germinate.

The two milkweeds I'm very successfully growing now are Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) and Asclepias perennis (Aquatic Milkweed). I would love to trade small plants of either of these, or seeds of the A. perennis, for A. variegata or A. lanceolata, but they need to be plants that originated in the Southeastern US. I live 8 miles north of the Gulf, in Alabama.

Sandy, I used your method and it speeded things up with all my milkweed seeds! Thanks!

William Kelly, I didn't ever get A. lanceolata growing. If I was given seeds, they didn't germinate. I apologize if someone gave me seeds and I've forgotten. But any milkweed seeds I've had, I've already tried.

Does anyone have redring seeds?

Does anyone think I could use this method without stratification after the seeds soak?

It might work for you, however you won't get a high rate of germination. I have the best results with soaking and stratifying with A variegata.