Important info re: Asclepias curassavica, aka tropical milkweed
Patty Bee Port St. Lucie Zone 10A
7 years ago
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7 years ago
wanna_run_faster
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Milkweed- Tropical or Species for Z5?
Comments (8)A. curassavica (Tropical milkweed or blood flower) is native to tropical South America. Hairy balls (Gomphocarpus physocarpus aka Asclepias physocarpa) is native to Southern Africa, and it is also a tropical species. Here in zone 5 I wait until early April or so to WS tender annuals and veggies. Then I put the containers up against the foundation of the house in a sunnier, warmer spot where they're much less likely to get hit with frost. The hardier stuff is near the shrubbery about 4-6 feet away from the house. Last year I WS'd Asclepias curassavica on April 4th, and it sprouted on May 24th. Right now seems too early to WS these in a cold zone. But if you have plenty of seeds, it doesn't hurt to give it a try. I have only a few seeds of each, so I'll wait to sow....See MorePlease consider planting Tropical or Oscar milkweed this season
Comments (8)"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....See MoreLos Angeles County milkweed and tropical MW info
Comments (6)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. :)...See MoreImportant Info RE OE Spores & Monarchs
Comments (0)Important Info RE OE & Monarchs! Posted by tdogmom on Tue, May 2, 2006 Okay folks, I got a response from Dr. Sonia Altizer, an expert on Monarchs, from U of Georgia. Several people have asked questions about using a 2% bleach solution to cleanse OE spores when working with Monarchs. I asked her some of those key questions and here is what she said. I paraphrased and summarized her reply to each question. 1. Is it possible to clean Milkweed plants while they are in the ground (planted MW plants)? This is NOT recommended. Spraying wild plants growing out in the field with 2% Chlorox is not very effective against the tough OE spore walls. An alternative is the following: Take Milkweed cuttings (clip the stalks) and soak them in a basin in 10-15% Chlorox for 20 minutes. Then, soak them in regular tap water for the same amount of time and rinse well. The cuttings can then be placed in florist tubes (plant picks) and fed to the caterpillars. Dr. Altizer has found that if the leaves are rinsed well in tap water, they can be fed safely to Monarch larvae. 2. If you find a lot of OE in the Monarchs raised, it is possible that the spores are on your plants. What is another way you can eliminate or reduce the OE on the Milkweed? To reduce spore loads on plants, cut the stalks (or mow these down) to within a few inches of the ground. New material that grows back should have fewer spores on it, especially if kept away from infected adult butterflies. If necessary, use netting to keep the butterflies off the plants. Presumably a heavy rain or a strong hosing with water can also wash off a large portion (but not all) of the parasite spores. Dr. Altizer also recommends growing native milkweed species as opposed to the tropical species, as most of the native species naturally die back during the winter months, and hence would accumulate fewer parasite spores. 3. Can you use a bleach solution to cleanse Monarch eggs of OE? How safe is this and is it effective? This approach is NOT recommended as bleaching the eggs has NOT been found to be a satisfactory method of elminating OE. The concentration of bleach needed to kill the OE spores can also damage the egg chorion. A method to try to rescue some potentially contaminated eggs is to remove them from the Milkweed they're on (the contaminated Milkweed) and transfer them to a clean Milkweed leaf. This will reduce the potential number of spores the caterpillar might ingest. 4. What about the use of the commercially prepared OE spore spray? She was not familiar with the Educational Sciences product. Her exact words, "I'm not familiar with this product so cannot make an educated comment, except to say that there are probably cheaper, easier, safer and more effective methods available than using a commercial spray -- and definitely would not advocate widespread dissemination of a product such as this into the environment. 5. Is there a way to test the Milkweed plant itself for OE spore contamination? She felt this was a good question and thought that perhaps this could be done similarly to the way OE is tested on the Monarch butterflywith a swab, tape, etc. I think that her answers were very clear. I also felt good because personally, I have always been concerned when reading about people using bleach to clean their butterfly eggs. It is reassuring that someone who does a lot of research corroborates my own thinking and methods. :) So, take it for what its worth--CalSherry aka tdogmom....See MorePatty Bee Port St. Lucie Zone 10A
7 years agoannafl
7 years agowanna_run_faster
7 years ago
sharon's florida
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoPatty Bee Port St. Lucie Zone 10A
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agosharon's florida
7 years agoirma_stpete_10a
7 years agosharon's florida
7 years agoWell Patty I guess you didn't read the comments from the article. Apparently not all the 'scientists' agree.
sharon's florida
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agowanna_run_faster
7 years ago
jane__ny
7 years ago
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sharon's florida