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Perennials Butterfly Garden

Anyone grow oval-leaf milkweed (Asclepias ovalifolia)

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Thinking about ordering seeds of this. I have a good-sized stand of Asclepias incarnate (<-- I can't figure out how turn the auto-correct off, I know it's supposed to be an "a" on the end...) in my perennial bed, and the common milkweed Asclepias syriaca grows all over the place here. So, other than a shorter stature, what would the difference be and is it worth adding to the perennial bed? What can you tell me about it, good or bad?

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mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author

5 years ago

Hmmm, I just noticed that in the catalog, glad you brought that to my attention. Also, it's listed for dry areas -- this may be perfect for an area in my new bed that's on the shadier, drier side. The incarnaata (bah!) was super-easy to grow from seed off the rack, maybe this one will be, too.

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Comments (8)

Jay 6a Chicago
5 years ago
Asclepias ovalifolia can grow in part sun. I'm growing it for the 1st time this year. Prairie Moon had seeds. The seeds are not usually available. I had to turn off my autocorrect for the same reason lol.
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Jay 6a Chicago
5 years ago
The poke milkweed, A. exaltata can handle a bit of shade too. The purple and showy milkweeds are very showy. The clasping milkweed, A. amplexicaulis is impossible to find seeds for, but perhaps plants this spring. We have 2 native species in Iilinois that are very threatened. Mead's milkweed, Asclepias meadii, and sidecluster or wooly milkweed, Asclepias lanuginosa.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
try putting a period after the word you dont want corrected .....

incarnata.

and then ignore the auto correct .....

also this one: spellchuckerupper. .... lol....

ken
Jay 6a Chicago
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
7The problem with deleting the autcorrect was I had to learn how to spell again lol. Why can't they make one with all the botanical names in its memory?

https://www.growmilkweedplants.com/michigan.html

There seems to be a close relationship between milkweeds and mycorrhizae fungi. I'm using the fungi on all my milkweeds.

https://www.mpgranch.com/dispatches/milkweed-fungal-perspective
rob333 (zone 7b)
5 years ago
threadus interruptus:

It's such a Monday, I needed that: spellchuckerupper

Back to the thread... I'm watching closely since I am a gardener who grow both natives and natives that attract wildlife on purpose, especially butterflies. Milkweed is important to my garden.
mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I ended up ordering from Prairie Moon and got the seed already - man that was fast! I'm going to cold stratify this weekend. Hopefully they'll germinate as well as the A. incarnata. I'm only going to do half to start, though - just in case.
Jay 6a Chicago
5 years ago
Sounds good. I'm expecting good germination from these PM seeds. I started growing the tropical Calotropis under lights. Only 5 out of 25 seeds germinated. They are C. procera which is more fragrant than C. gigantea, so it's the best scenario. Good luck with your ovalifolias mxk3, they are beautiful milkweeds!

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