I live in Illinois 30 mins from St. Louis. I can't find any information on what type I need. Thank you.
What milkweed seed should I have for my area?
Looks like you are in zone 5a. You can look on Dave's and see the zones where they are winter hardy, but you have several (not all I am sure) that I found on the native site.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/40130/
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asex
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=astu
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asin
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asqu
Thank you so much.
Hi, Kehleyr,
If you are growing milkweed for a town/suburban garden you probably will want a few milkweeds like the milkweed 'tuberosa' which grows in dry lean soil and is perennial in our region.
Or swamp milkweed 'asclepias incarnata', again perennial for us, and once situated with space around it grows into a nice sized plant and blooms with a fragrant white or pink flower. Although this one gets kind of brown at the end of the season, it reliably returns every spring. It's available in 'native' nurseries or from online suppliers. Or you can grow from seed if you have a year or two to get a good patch going.
The one asclepias that most butterfly gardeners grow in the midwest although it isn't native or perennial for us, is the 'tropical' milkweed (asclepias currasavica) aka bloodflower, or Mexican milkweed. The monarchs seem to really go for it and it has a nice garden 'habit, growing nicely with with zinnias, daisies, daylilies, butterly bushes, etc. It's easy to grow from seed or cuttings although 99 percent of the time it won't make it thru our winters and you'll have to replant every spring.
If you have a traditional yard/garden I would stay away from the syriaca 'common' milkweeds as they can be very invasive travelling by runners all thru your property. And the 'honey vine' milkweeds, too, are very invasive, although native to Missouri and gardeners try to avoid introducing them into the yard.
Good luck and let us know what you decide! t.
tabasco....I read the statement about 'syriaca'. I have what I think is a few of those I didn't know they traveled by root. Can they take transplanting very well? The one I have I would prefer to move is about two foot tall. This one is just like it.
Another good resource for looking up plants and determining their native status (this information is not available in the plantfiles) is the USDA plant site.
From what I've read it is better to stick to native milkweeds and plenty of them ( Doug Tallamy " Bringing Nature Home").
You need at least 10 plants and 2 varieties with different bloom times for optimum coverage.
If you google Milkweeds USDA a whole list with maps of areas each type will grow will come up.
You can click on each variety and even check on the area of your state they grow.
It will also mention whether it is an aggressive grower like common milkweed A. Syriaca, or whorled milkweed A.verticillata, both a little too aggressive for a planned garden.
On the main map in the lower left where it says Native Status when you click on that the map will refresh and any area that is blue is native and grey is introduced.
I planted 3 types of milkweed in my garden and I believe most would be native for you: A. tuberosa (butterflyweed), A. incarnata (swamp milkweed, it grows well in regular garden soil so you don't need moist soil), and A. purpurascens. The last one is has very pretty flowers but was hard to find and I only have one .
I am still struggling to get 10 of each plant to grow in my limited space.
Good luck with your quest.
Sheila, the common milkweed can be a real issue around here (for yards) but I'm not quite sure how they will perform in your drier climate (and perhaps very lean soil). They grow like crazy in the county park which our yard adjoins.
I like that 'Purple milkweed' (A. purpurascens) for the garden too, and it is often recommended as a substitute for the invasive common milkweed. I buy seeds from Everwilde or Prairie Moon and try to grow them although without a lot of success because I am impatient and they really take more than one season for me to get them going well. But I like to grow them because they are one of the few milkweeds that grows nicely in part shade (or maybe all shade with some coaxing) with some watering although the bloom is not so good as if grown in full sun. A few years ago the seeds were very hard to find but I see that now even plants are available from selective online suppliers.
And still, Kelley, if you are into gardening for the butterflies here in northern climes, I would not discount growing the Mexican/tropical milkweed as an annual. It's very easy and quick to grow from seed and you can stagger the bloom time and growth cycle so that you have milkweed available all thru the season. Of course, if you are trying to stay focussed on Natives only, they wouldn't work for you.
And another note that may be of interest if you are planting for the Monarchs here in the midwest: You might want to get your hands on some Liatris 'ligulistylus' seedlings (available online) or seeds (everwilde or prairie moon nurseries). This particular (perennial and native to the plains states) liatris is hard to find in local nurseries~~liatris spicata is the one normally stocked here in the midwest~~but L. stigulistylus has some kind of pherome that the monarchs are wildly attracted to here. (But I've heard that butterfly gardeners in the southwest don't make the same claims about ligulistylus's attractiveness.)
Sorry if I went on too long!
Good luck with your garden! t.
I planted some common milkweed in the garden, thus far I've not seen them "travel" much. The same plant came back but yet have yielded flower. The Mexican/tropical milkweeds can reseed here, most often time they reseeded onto my tropical containers, so as early as present. I've them flowering. I just need to add the Monarch butterflies. :))
Send the owner an email and he will recommend the plants best for your region.
http://www.butterflyencounters.com/
I have purchased seeds here and have been very pleased with high germination rate(s).
He also has a page on Facebook where people can ask questions and receive answers in real time.
A.
Thank you all I have seeds sprouting as I type. ty!!
This is my third season planting milkweeds.
First year A. tuberosa, A. incarnata. and A. curassavica.
Second season incorporated A. physocarpus.
This year I bought seeds in November and cold/moist stratified A. purpurascens and A. exalta. As noted above the A. purpurascens takes some shade as well as the exalta which is great because that's the only space I have left in this garden. I have 35 seedlings of the A. exalta and 18 A. purpurascens.
I have also had to plant the A. curassavica as an annual. The A. physocarpus did not come back either.
Last year I had 3 of the giant Tithonia "Mexican Sunflower" plants which were also magnets for all kinds of butterflies and pollinators. I am hoping to get some cassia alata (senna/candlestick plant) to grow this season. I sowed several seeds this spring. So far 2 came up and 1 was cut down. I am guarding the single seedling. I have placed the top of a cat litter jug over it to act as a greenhouse/shield, but I think it's too hot for that now. Both of these are annuals here.
I agree about the attractiveness of the L. ligulistylis. I only have L. spicata here now. There are plenty of other nectar plants to choose from.
Are you planting solely for monarchs, or are you interested in planting host plants for others?
Thank you!