Hi John, So glad the Oscar seeds are performing well for you. The seedlings I've transplanted into the garden are really taking hold now. I used homemade compost mixed with the garden soil when I planted them and they are really growing strong this season; nice strong stems already. Another forum member recently explained to me the difference between Gomphocarpus physocarpus aka Hairy Balls and Gomphocarpus fruticosus aka Cotton Bush, both S African plants. I'd simply lumped both into the same general growing habits but she told me the 'Cotton Bush' is a bit smaller, with more willow like leaves and consensus is the roots should over winter in my growing zone and come back in the spring. My last year's Oscar hasn't come back from the roots so I'm going to also try the 'Cotton Bush' this year and see how it does here. I guess, for your growing zone, they might both be considered annuals. I'll let you know how the 'Cotton Bush' does; it might be something you would want to try. Mary

Hey, I work for a small business in northern Michigan that sells native plants and I'm interested in buying seeds if you can collect some. If you can collect any amount of seed I will pay top dollar for them. Contact me at maxbutlerofficial@gmail.com

Thanks so much for this information, needtoseegreen. "The three species you mentioned", is that the newsletter you're quoting? I have been concerned about planting non native milkweed so I'm very glad for this post. I grow the milkweed that is native to where I live in So. Cal., if was growing in the yard for decades and I didn't know what it was until 2 years ago. Luckily the roots survived my weedings. It makes sense not to fool around with mother nature and grow non native milkweed. I'm not surprised with the findings you listed from the newsletter. I have read about the toxicity of the "milk" varying and that So. Cal Monarchs aren't used to the toxicity level of tropical or other non native MW's, but I have no opinion because I don't know for sure. I would trust what Monarch Watch says on it. The Monarchs that visited my yard last year when I tried a small plant of tropical in addition to the native (A. fascicularis) didn't lay eggs on the tropical. The tropical didn't do well in my heavy clay soil either. Could you please forward the newsletter to me? I'd be very interested. Do you think they would mind if you mentioned them here? I don't recommend using anything but water on the milkweed, because even a tiny amount of bleach in water will kill the caterpillars on contact. I found this out in my cat raising indoors for the first time starting a few weeks ago. The newly hatched Monarch cats are way too small for anyone to notice, they are extremely small and are hidden under leaves, or can be embedded in the tender growth at the top of the stem. Insecticidal soap would kill them and leave a toxic residue (to them). I recommend crushing the aphids, and wearing latex gloves, they stain the skin. Hosing them off would be hard on the new cats and would likely wash them off too. May I ask what MW species you grow? since you're in the same growing zone and area as myself. Any way to find out if the other species you listed (other than A. fascicularis) are native to the L.A. area? Any So. Calif. milkweed and Monarch breeders who read this, could you share what species of native MW you grow? I am battling black mildew on my A. fascicularis leaves, and pulling off the affected leaves daily. It's a huge task. I need to keep a clean food supply for all the tiny cats I have brought in. Today I picked about 5 stem tops and found 4 more tiny cats, and the nights are getting too cold for them. Just the problem that the newsletter addressed; tiny cats hatching in weather that is too cold due to abnormal breeding spans encouraged by the non native MW species. (I get the impression that tropical MW to a Monarch is like catnip to a cat) Sadly all the nurseries, even Home Depot carry these non-native MW's, and I think they have helped create the OE problem. The cats I raised last December-January all emerged as OE infected butterflies. The reason for this (according to what I've read) is because since the plants have been visited all season by butterflies, all that "foot traffic" has raised the probability of contamination of the plants and egg by the microscopic OE spores. The unnaturally long breeding season puts Monarchs in a perilous position not just weather wise, but disease wise. Sorry this got too lengthy. This fall I'm dipping the milkweed used for feeding (clear of eggs or tiny cats), in water with a few drops of bleach for 10 seconds, and rinse it well. The 2 Monarchs I released today had questionable looking thoraxes (possibly OE infected), I was torn about releasing them. They were not raised entirely indoors. I need to get an inexpensive lighted microscope to check for OE, any suggestions where to get one, anyone? Thanks. It didn't work for me to raise the eggs on the narrow leaves, the larvae all got black death or NPV (or?) at various stages. Now it's the cut MW in water, tons of work and I can't disinfect the MW that have eggs on them. I'm worn out! It's a full time job. Feels like changing baby's diapers all day long. :)

Hello Milkweed folks, I will be posting the availability of the Asclepias variegata seed from ctnchpr later today on the new MILKWEED FORUM. I wanted to give folks on this thread a little advance notice before I post on the other forum. I have 24 packets of 25+ seeds each to distribute. These seed will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis. The viability looks like it will be low-hence the large number of seed in each packet. Please respond to my private email and NOT on this thread. Those that do use this thread will slip to the bottom of the list. My email address is : wildflowerman_2000@yahoo.com . Please put "Redring Milkweed" in the subject line. Those emails arriving with no subject line will be automatically deleted for security reasons. Happy Sowing!! Regards, Mark (wildflowerman_2000)