How long does milkweed take to germinate and begin growing?

I have many Asclepias seeds on order and am hoping they will be growing in time for my winged friends arrival. Should I buy some plugs/plants?

I have grown Asclepias physocarpa before, but honestly do not remember how long the seeds took to grow. Heck, I wasn't even growing them for the butterflies, I liked the weird seed pods.

Is there one type that grows faster than another? I loked back about 10 pages, and did not find this being discussed. I know it's a "beginner" question and hope you all can help.

Thanks, Jennifer

I copied this from Thompson & Morgan (for A. "Gay Butterflies"):

SOWING DEPTH: 1/16 inch (1.5mm)
SOWING: Sow in trays, pots, etc of good seed compost in a propagator or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 65-70F (18-20C). Germination can be slow. After sowing, seal container in a polythene bag and leave at 60-65F (15-18C) for 2 weeks, then place in a refrigerator (not freezer) for 3-6 weeks. After this return to the recommended germination temperature. If germination does not occur in 6-10 weeks return to the fridge for a further 3-6 weeks. Examine regularly whilst in the fridge and remove immediately the seeds show signs of germinating.

& I copied this from Tom Clothier:
Asclepias amplexicaulis, hirtella, purpurascens, sullivanti, verticillata, and viridiflora , Sow at -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 12 wks, move to 20ºC (68ºF) for germination

Asclepias exaltata , incarnata, and tuberosa, Sow at -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 4 wks in moistened sand, move to 20ºC (68ºF) for germination

Asclepias fascicularis, physocarpa, and syriaca , Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), germination slow

Asclepias speciosa , Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), germinates in less than two wks

I've got seed saved from two different odd ones - and I'm not even sure what type they are! I guess I'll try the Fridge method first.

Howdy neighbor. There is a place in Folsom, Mizell Farms, that specializes in hummingbird/butterfly gardens. I have used them as a source for milkweed when I had Monarch cats out of control. I have no idea about how long the seeds take to germinate/mature. I have always bought plants. What I have heard is that once established, milkweed will resead itself. Who Dat!

Geez, I didn't know they needed stratification. Thanks for the info!

Gazergirl, Folsom isn't too fara away. Do you know when they open in the spring? I will definitely check that out!

Thanks, again, Jennifer

I recently read that plant species usually need to mimic their sprouting conditions in the wild. So plants native to cold winter areas usually need a period of cold stratification to sprout. Species native to the hot dry Southwest need usually need scarification and a good soak. I don't know what species native to the Southeast need - but I suspect they usually need to be fresh, and don't store well.

I don't get enough Monarchs here to run out of milkweed, so my project isn't as time critical as yours.

Thanks for your response. I think I may buy some plants from MonarchWatch to have some ready for them.

:-)

Hi Jennifer,
I think Mizell Farms is open yearwide. I know they are present at weekly markets in the New Orleans area. Hope this helps.
Deborah

Oh, very cool! I may have to take a trip this weekend.

growing Asclepais is very simialar to growing and starting tomatoes from seed.I find that asclepias and tomatoes at the same time they germinate at about the same time,and growth rates are about the same also.The asclepias really need to be root bound before they will really take off. I just started some 1/21/10 and have transplanted twice so far,once once about 2/10/10 and again yesterday 3/1/10.I started them in the small plastic trays 11/4 inch by 11/4 inch.several seeds per,maybe about 4 or five. Once germinate and the second set of leaves appear I transplant and seperate the seedling to their own cell in the same size tray.I water with H2O2 only from the bottom and let them get pretty dry between watering.I will keep them in those until I see the roots coming out the bottom hole. They will then go into 3 inch pots.At that stage I need to keep more moist and start to fertiize with blue stuff.Again when the roots start to grow out the bottom they get transplanted into 1 gallon nursery black pots or into the ground.Remember they have a very long tapp root and need to be planted where they will stay.Like tomatoes they can be planted very deep and will develope roots from the sides of the stems.Hope this helps. Don Laclair
P.s. grow many and save the seeds for our friends the monarch's

Thanks for the reply. I planted some Tropical Milkweed today, as it said it did not need to be cold stratified. I also planted some blue Passiflora seeds, some Zinnias and some other nectar hosts.

Just curious, what is "blue stuff"? Miracle Grow?

Yes Miracle grow.

Some milkweed's flower 1st year. The orange milkweed flowers
second year. I have one 3 years now, and it blooms beautiful. The
problem I have is these orange ahpids that cover the entire plants.
I don't think everyone has problems with these aphids. They excrete
some kind of black sticky stuff that the flies like. Very messy.
This summer I have decided to get rid of all my milkweed, sadly.
I will still have lots of nectar plants for the butterflies.

Milkweed attracts aphids here, too, but maybe not as bad. I have had some luck planting plants to attract beneficial insects. That is the main reason I plant milkweed, I don't get a lot of Monarchs heading north (I do get them heading south in the fall). I need a few aphids to support my ladybugs and lacewings. It seems like some varieties and some locations in the yard are more prone to aphids than others. For the pIants with aphids, I blast most of the aphids off with a hose, then relocate ladybug larva to clean up the rest. I know of two wild populations that rarely bloom because bugs (usually beetles) eat the buds off. I've been trying unsuccessfully to get seed from one patch for years.

My milkweeds took a big hit from the deep freeze! I've got to get more!

I have a bad case of aphids too! My milkweed was COVERED in them last year! There is a picture somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

If I bought ladybugs would they stay in my garden?

Aphids? I think the deep freeze knocked them all out here.

Aphids? I think the deep freeze knocked them all out here.

Oh, I don't have them now... but I am sure they will be back in the summer ;)

The aphids don't get bad until middle of summer. I usually see some
ladybugs in my garden, but they don't touch these aphids. I took my
Common Milkweed 3 years to bloom from small plants. The fragrance
is amazing. I had so many flowers. Hate to see it go, but it has too.
Here are the aphids, it gets worse than this.

And here is the common milkweed flower that smells so good.

I began gardening last year after a long lapse due to family care responsibilities. I had aphids on my tropical mw (this will be my first year growing perennial MW). My cure was to brace the plant stem(s) with my hand behind the affected stems and blast them with a strong shot of water. I'm out watering anyway and it's a very quick way to deal with them. Some aphids will eventually return but I just continue to blast them off. Very safe, quick and easy control for me. It seems the aphid population goes down in count very quickly using this method of control. I've read that one adult aphid can lay hundreds of eggs so getting started early by blasting them seems to be the key to controlling them for me.

I hope you might reconsider and at least give the water blast a try before you get rid of such lovely (and helpful to the Monarchs) plants.

Best of luck and happy springtime gardening.

Mary

Problem with that is, there are many monarch babies on the milkweed.
They would be blasted off with the aphids.

Well, hadn't thought of that. I took the babies off the mw and raised them in containers, as we have insects that feed on them if I leave them on the plants so didn't think about the babies being caught in the water spray. Here, I notice the aphids tend to congregate on the tips where the blooms and tiny new leaves are and that is where I direct the water. I didn't see a lot of aphids as the season moved along. Maybe the key is to knocking them out early, before they grow into a thriving community. :-)

Anyway, only you can decide what is best for you and your garden. Just thought I'd throw out the idea about the water spray, as it's worked so well for me.

Mary

What about the lady bugs? Will they stay in my yard if I buy them and put them there?

I don't buy Ladybugs, I'm lucky enough to native ones that I encourage. I don't know about purchased Ladybugs - I have heard that some types tend to leave. Maybe try lacewings instead? They have a aphid eating alligator baby similar to a Ladybug larva. If Lacewings/Ladybug larva don't have enough aphids to eat, they will eat other things - probably butterfly eggs, possibly the 1st instar. I'm not sure - Maybe you you post a query on the insect forum? Aphids like fast-growing new growth - maybe you could find a way to slow down and toughen up your plants? My A. tuberosa that I grow dry doesn't seem to get aphids.

Thanks very much for your advice! I don't want anything that may eat my baby cats :)

I have purchased the lady bugs for the same problem and had little success.Many did not stay around even though I thought they had plenty to feed on.

One more thought about how to get more Tropical Milkweeds (currassavica) : many people have excellent success starting asclepias currassavica (mexican/tropical) plants from cuttings. They buy one big plant and then cut off multiple 'twigs' and stick them in dampened growing medium.

Some lucky people can get them to start by just sticking the twigs right into the garden soil, too!

Monarch Watch has a page on growing Milkweeds and describes how to do cuttings that may be of interest: http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/prop.htm

Or there's a detailed article from the VirginiaButterfly Society that I saved on my DG blog right here; http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/tabasco/4451/

The stubs of cuttings of tropical milkweed left over after the little cats have eaten everything will even sprout and begin to grow when stuck into a damp potting mix if there are at least a couple of leaf nodes on the stub. I have many pots of tropical milkweed I wintered over that came from those little stubs. I could hardly belive my eyes when I discovered they would grow like that. When I feed the little cats I keep in containers, I cut off a shoot of this milkweed that has several leaves on it, then stick the cut end into a moist piece of Florist Foam that is wrapped with cling wrap to keep it clean. The cutting gets moisture from the florist foam which keeps the little leaves plump and fresh. Of course, the cats eat something like that within a matter of hours so it doesn't really have a chance to dry out! All that is left is a stub sticking up out of the florist foam. I transfer it to a pot of moist potting mix and set it in the shade until it begins to grow. It is a quick way to multiply this milkweed.

Mary

Hi everyone,

I just discovered a cool website/nursery called Butterfly Encounters (http://www.butterflyencounters.com).

They are actually listed in the Garden Watchdog with only three reviews (all positive), but from a few years ago. I just found out about them so can't vouch for them personally.

Anyway, they sell a large assortment of milkweed seeds, but the best part is their information on planting milkweed. There is a whole page with step-by-step instructions & videos. It seems very complete. You might want to check it out.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2010 2:44 PM

Thanks, nuts, for the link. He makes some good points about how to start the seeds.

There was a nature show on the Discovery channel last night that said the Milkweed itself kills some of the caterpillars. Apparently, if the 1st instar bites into a leaf vein, enough latex sap can squirt out to trap & suffocate the caterpillar. I suppose Nature is maintaining some sort of balance.

All very interesting, thanks guys!

Jennifer, the tropical milkweed usually survive winter here, and sprout back. Except this past winter. Those I kept in GH overwinter. They're now sending out flowers. I've not seen any Monarch. But I've a few that are blooming now.

When we first moved to our current location several years ago, I bought some lady bugs. I don't know if the decendents of the ones I bought are still here, but there are still a lot of them! The best way for me to confirm this is when the temps begin to fall for winter and the lady bugs decide they should all be inside our house. So, whether the bought lady bugs stay at home or the ones that were already here stayed here, I don't know--I just know a lot are here!

PG, that's interesting to know. Sounds like a case of "too much of a good thing". Salsadude, ladybugs are really good gardeners' helpers when it comes to aphids. It's fun too watch their larvea crawling on plant's leaves. Jen. How are your Milkweek coming along?

This is some of the tropical MW that was brought inside last winter. They're blooming up a storm now. But not Monarchs seen here yet. How about where everyone's?

Lily_love,

Here in central Arkansas, I am just finishing up the release of the first group of Monarch babies. In the past three days, I've watched a (or different?) Monarch's laying eggs and nectaring on the milkweed and flowers here. It's so exciting to see them. I don't know if these are some of the one's I've recently released or travelers on their way north but so happy to see them. I think I'll just have time to take down the enclosure and sanitize it before time for the next eggs to hatch. Thank goodness I have lots of milkweed this year. This year it's pipevines I'm short of! Ha, always something to worry over. I've never even seen those butterflies before so it is a new experience to learn about them and watch the babies grow. They're so cute, lining up at the edge of a leaf to eat. Look like little piglets, all lined up.

Hope you get lots of Monarchs soon on those pretty milkweed plants.

Mary

Hi Mary, thanks for your reply. I'm looking for sign of cats. on various hostplants. I've noticed more butterflies flitting about, but they're too fast I couldn't tell for sure what they're. Mostly BST or RSP. I haven't had Pipevine here either. Hoping to see some more this year.

My milkweed is great, I just hope I have enough of it!!!