I planted a bunch last year. All of the ones I bought last fall at lowes died. I also started some from seed in the spring and planted them in the fall. 4 of 6 survived and pushed up a week ago.

They are very late in coming up here in 5b. Just wait it out. Didn't think mine had made it in the beginning either.

Thank all of you for your answers. We are to finally have 6 days of sun after weeks of rain so perhaps the plants will like that and pop up. I planted them especially for the butterflies so I am so hopeful they will be back. Have winter sown more seed to add to these four. If last years do return I will put it in my garden diary that they are slow to emerge and won't stress about it next year. Happy spring to all!!

I'm in Kansas City. Mine have been coming up slowly for the last couple weeks, but at least one started emerging only in the last day or so. They are all still quite small. Growth ramps up pretty quickly though in May.

It is important to know which Asclepia you planted. If it is A. Tuberosa , orange flowers, it emergers late. Here in my zone 5 it doesn't show up till very late May into early June. If it is A. incarnata or "swamp" milkweed having pink, white or yellow flowers it should be up now. Mine showed up in this past week in all my beds.

its all about your micro climate ... z5 is half the US ...so take all responses with a grain of salt ....

i dont see anything with my 10 year old plants ... and like the answer directly above by igmd ...

ken

Update! Three of mine have finally emerged. I am so pleased all of you encouraged me to be patient. They are the orange bloom kind of Asclepia. They were new last year so didn't bloom. Looking forward to seeing blooms this year. Thanks to all who responded. Trowelgal

I had five Asclepias hybrids start showing sprouts about 20 days ago. Then the remaining plant had sprouts emerge a couple weeks later. So don't give up on the ones that haven't shown signs of life yet.

"z5 is half the US" - maybe Ken meant that zone 5 _or colder_ is almost half the continental US. None of the USDA zones by themselves cover anywhere near that much territory.

Indeed, I'm 7A and my asclepias incarnata just emerged visibly in the last week or so.

Err orange is likely to mean asclepias tuberosa, aka orange butterfly weed, but it's not the monarch's favorite.

Yes, they are asclepias tuberosa. What variety do the monarchs like the best and are those seeds or plants available at garden centers? I find most garden centers and big box stores get in the very same common seeds every single year. Don't they think we might like something new or unusual? They also get in common plants. When they get clematis or hydrangeas they will have 30 of the very same variety. So boring. I do some on line ordering. I'll get off my soap box now:)

Trowelgal

My swamp milkweed is finally coming up, noticed it about a week ago.

Go here, read happily for advise.http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market/

Bumping this up,again. I’m in 5a west of Chicago, still no sign of my two orange butterfly weed......goners now? Have been waitin to see if I need to replace with something.

Sherry

Mine were only slightly poking out about 10 days ago, but now with some heat they are about 6" tall. You're not even seeing any little nubs? I barely even realized they were peeking out at first until I got really close to the ground. I mean, my eyes are getting worse with age, but still they were hard to see!

I would give them a little more time. They are slow here even in my zone 7/8. I love the plant (tuberosa) even if it isn’t the Monarch’s favorite. Such sturdy, cheerful orange flowers that are long lasting in my garden. I have them paired with hot colors of Agastache, another late bloomer for me.

i will keep my fingers crossed for yours.

Mine is about to bloom here. It's been one strange couple of weeks. I love rain, but not this much. Not much of a Spring here. :-(

Update, butterfly weed has finally appeared, this is the last week of May. I thought my budleia took a long time ; )

Sherry

as noted in the volumes of answers to the original post.. there are numerous plants under the common name of butterfly bush/weed/flower ... so the new poster needs to secure an ID ... when they finally do come up .. so she will.. in the future.. have a better understanding about timing .. ken

Ken, your point is valid, however the prevailing assumption is she means Asclepias tuberosa