Are there aphids around?

OP: I've always struggled with aphid overload on my milkweeds, to the point my plants don't ever recover. Sprinkling coffee grounds around the MW bases are one method I'd read about for keeping aphids away; a side benefit, presumably, is ants are also kept at bay (something about the strong scent of the grounds messing with the ants' sense of smell). Easy enough a method to try. Could just be coincidence, but I've sprinkled on and off for the past month, and neither ants nor aphids are making an appearance. (Bonus to keep the fire ants away as they do a number on our monarch cats.)

Good luck.

No aphids, not yet anyway! Still too early around here, thankfully:) I looked at the garden closely, and realized ALL my swamp milkweeds from past years are dead. I like the idea of trying coffee grounds. Javiwa, would you suggest sprinkling the grounds around the plants once a week maybe? I will make sure to try this next. I sprinkled diatomaceous earth around them this evening. I only have one new plant that has yet to be noticed by the ants. I hope it can get under control, otherwise I will just stick with asclepias tuberosa. The ants have yet to bother them, thankfully.

I sprinkle when my coffee grounds bowl gets full. :) So, maybe once a week -- as long as there are visible grounds around the plants, that should be fine. Again, I'm presuming this works, but it doesn't hurt to try. And extra organic matter in the garden can only be a good thing.

I tried starting swamp MW from seed two years running (someone kindly sent seeds a while back) -- despite doing the fridge method of cold stratification, they never sprouted til this year. I just plunked them into a few yogurt cups filled w/ potting media -- took far longer than I expected (4-6 weeks!), but I've got a few that are ~ 2" tall. Let's see how they do in our Texas heat -- we may break records next Monday. :/