Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Growing Mexican (tropical) milkweed from seed?, 1 by aardvark7

aardvark7 wrote:
Tabitha, I'm in 7b in Fort Worth. I have oodles of A. curasavicca coming up. I cold stratified for 4-6 weeks prior to increased temps for germination. I winter sowed these with great success; I just moved the milk jugs that I winter sowed in November into the house on a window ledge and have started at least 30 plants in individual cups. Still more seedlings sprouting everyday that I just prick out and transplant to its own cup. I also did a few batches that I cold/moist stratified in the refrigerator for 6 weeks prior to planting. For the cold/moist stratification, I take a damp paper towel or coffee filter (not soggy, just damp) and lay the seeds on it. Then I fold the paper towel over to get good contact with the seed on both sides, slide this into a ziplock, seal and place in the refrigerator for 6 weeks. Then plant as usual, just barely covering with soil, and they will germinate within 1-2 weeks.

If you need some free milkweed seed, try this link:
http://www.livemonarch.org/

They also have special programs for educators.

Here is a picture of what a new A. curasavicca looks like (hope it turns out ok).