Milkweed

[Meadowlark]

Looking for some tips on growing this Monarch butterfly attractor.

1) should I wait to start any from seed until fall?

2) what varieties would work best here in zone 9a?

3) do you think they would grow in my HK containers?

4) does the seed require stratification?

Any/all tips appreciated.

 

[YumYum]

TN gives away free milkweed seeds for that purpose. I don't know any more about it than that. Maybe you can gather some info from that site.

 

[Mike]

As soon as I read this my first thought was "DON'T DO IT". However, it now appears what I've been calling milkweed my entire life, isn't. Unless there are different varieties.

What we call milkweed here is a vine that pretty much demolishes any other vegetation in its path and it's next to impossible to get rid of. We have some here at work and it's a constant battle to keep it cut back so it doesn't kill our flowers in the flower beds. This stuff even killed a full size crape myrtle tree!

That said, what @YumYum linked to is not what we have. That stuff is beautiful. What I'm talking about is just a green vine that wraps itself around anything that'll sit still long enough.

 

[Tetters]

If I may just add that confusion on the names of plants is the very reason that it is always best to get to know them by their Latin names. In this case, the plant we're on about is Asclepias - this is something I learnt naturally when I was working at the nursery. All the time I was there I was naturally learning all the Latin names and varieties of the plant, and this became a natural way to think of them.
These days though, I even forget my own name sometimes, and cannot remember easy ones like 'Daffodil' half the time.

 

[Meadowlark]

The seeds I have right now are under refrigeration:

1) Showy Milkweed
2) Butterfly Milkweed
3) Common Milkweed
4) Rose Milkweed (
5) Pink Swamp Milkweed (asciepias incarnats )
6) White Swamp Milkweed (asclepias mearnata)

In the absence of first hand experience, I'll do what I usually do and experiment until I figure it out.

My goal, of course, is to attract some of the magnificent Monarchs as they migrate through to Mexico. Eventually, I will establish an entire area dedicated to helping the Monarchs.

 

[Meadowlark]

TN gives away free milkweed seeds for that purpose. I don't know any more about it than that. Maybe you can gather some info from that site.

That site has some very good reference materials. Thanks.

What I have gleaned so far is most varieties need 1-2 months of stratification and then fall planting. That fits my schedule but I did want to get some milkweed established this year for the fall migration. I'll check around and maybe can find some plants in a nursery.

Thanks for that link @YumYum .

 

[Meadowlark]

I've been told I need to have more patience...but at my age that is not a virtue.

I found some plants, ordered them. and I'm on my way to establishing a milkweed garden. This fall I'll plant a whole bunch of seeds to really populate the garden...and next year should be really good.

 

[Tetters]

Well I wish you good luck with those then and clouds of lovely butterflies to follow. I have not grown these plants before, but now they have been pointed out, will look out for some. At my age I need to strike while the iron is hot!

 

[Meadowlark]

.... At my age I need to strike while the iron is hot!

Exactly, me too.

 

[Tetters]

https://www.poison.org/articles/milkweed-can-cause-serious-poisoning-204 I thought I would do a little research on these plants, of which there are about 200 varieties, and discovered that the leaves are very poisonous, and not the most suitable plant where animals are. Some varieties are invasive, particularly ''syriacus'' or common milkweed. These grow on rhizomes, and can be quite aggressive.
I looked all this up because I have never grown it here.
People love to grow these for the beauty of the flower, and of course to attract pollinators, but like Ragwort that we get growing around here - that stuff can be fatal to farm animals and horses. Ragwort pulling without protective wear can cause blood poisoning in gardeners who are unaware. This is something that happened to a woman I know who kept horses.
Be very careful @Meadowlark

 

[Meadowlark]

Thanks for the words of caution @Tetters . I was aware it has those tendencies and planed to keep it away from animals....especially in first year w/kind of quarantine

 

[Tetters]

Good. It will be a case of watching seed heads, as well as taming rhizomes. One escaping seed head can cause mayhem.
That sap - like Euphorbia sap can bring you out in a really ugly rash - enough to spoil your chances

 

[Tetters]

As soon as I read this my first thought was "DON'T DO IT". However, it now appears what I've been calling milkweed my entire life, isn't. Unless there are different varieties.

What we call milkweed here is a vine that pretty much demolishes any other vegetation in its path and it's next to impossible to get rid of. We have some here at work and it's a constant battle to keep it cut back so it doesn't kill our flowers in the flower beds. This stuff even killed a full size crape myrtle tree!

That said, what @YumYum linked to is not what we have. That stuff is beautiful. What I'm talking about is just a green vine that wraps itself around anything that'll sit still long enough.

Was it this one @Mike? Granny pop-out-of-bed common name.
Calystegia I think

 

[Mike]

View attachment 736 Was it this one @Mike? Granny pop-out-of-bed common name.
Calystegia I think

I honestly am not sure. I e never seen it bloom before. We cut it down pretty quick when it starts growing.

 

[Tetters]

If it is the bindweed I think it may be (like the one above) the roots are the big problem, and they are rhizomes, as well as what we call ''normal'' roots. These can go down many feet into the ground - like more than 10feet
To get rid, the only way I know of is to isolate the root system, and give the plant the opportunity to grow up a stake of some kind, and paint the leaves carefully with a neat weedkilling gel. This of course, is not our favourite way to deal with it - but sometimes it's a case of ''need, must'' When we cut back or pull out, it just makes the blighter grow bigger and stronger here is a clearer picture of the leaves.

 

[Mike]

Hard to tell from that picture but it looks like those leaves are larger than what we have. I'll try to get a picture of some this afternoon and post them back here.

 

[Mike]

View attachment 739 here is a clearer picture of the leaves.

Turns out, this probably is what we have growing. I was able to find some of it we hadn't already pulled up this morning and those leaves do look like what we have. Nasty stuff! Unfortunately, there's no way for us to isolate and weed kill any of it because it grows out of the ground all around our flowers and other vegetation and it's all too dense to risk it.

 

[Meadowlark]

Three varieties of Monarch attractors arrived today. Going from bottom to top respectively, Calico Aster, Orange Butterfly Milkweed, and Swamp Milkweed. All are perennials. I'll try to get them acclimated to the heat here as best I can before planting in the ground.

Later in early fall, I will add several seeded varieties of milkweed to the "Monarch bed" for next year's migration...but hoping to maybe entice one (some) migrants with this offering this year.

 

[Meadowlark]

Update on the new milkweed garden:

Each of the plants shown in the above post have miraculously survived the heat of Texas summer and each one in turn has bloomed. Pretty incredible result and certainly unexpected. We have had the hottest September on record...ever...and yet these plants all seemed to be fine. Very encouraging.

As mentioned previously, I started a bunch of seeds of the Swamp Milkweed and the Orange Milkweed. They are all doing great and will soon need to be thinned out and transplanted to fill in this bed completely.

No Monarchs yet, but I'm still hopeful, but several local butterflys have been spotted on the young Milkweed plants.

If the Monarch don't show this year which is to be expected, this bed should be in great shape to attract them next year.

Below sample of the pink Swamp Milkweed in bloom:



The Orange milkweed in bloom:




The purple Aster in bloom:


The calico Aster (in witness protection from attacking rabbits) in bloom:


Milkweed seedlings: