Yesterday I gave all my plants a foliar feed of Medina Plus which has a lot of good stuff in it but I don't have the label in front of me. This morning I saw that almost all of the leaves on one of my Mexican milkweeds were yellow (i.e., dead). The other one lost some but not as many leaves. Both are in pots. The plants are still blooming and standing up straight. So I guess they're ok for now. I went out and misted them in case it might help. Maybe? But do they not like to be fed? These are Asclepias curassavica.
Milkweed fed and dropped leaves
Do you by any chance have milkweed aphids? They are orange and if you don't look carefully, you will think that they are part of the buds and blooms. They will cause leaves to turn totally yellow and fall off. Could just be coincidental that you fed them yesterday and the leaves fell off. Look at them carefully. If you find aphids just spray them with a little dish liquid in water (about 1/2 teaspoon of soap in most spray bottles.) I discovered aphids this week and have killed most of them with the soapy water. Spray every day until they are gone if you have them.
Or not if cats are on them?
Thanks for the tip. I'll go out with my magnifying glass first thing tomorrow morning. Since the 2 plants aren't right next to each other but maybe 10' apart, that could account for the difference in the no. of leaves lost.
Will the aphids actually be on the leaves or just the blooms and buds or the whole shebang?
No cats. I know what they look like! Wish I did have some.
This message was edited Jun 6, 2014 8:33 PM
Soap kills the cats as well as aphids. MOST of the milweed aphids are only a nuisance to milkweeds- the leaves should regrow if the roots are fine- like losing them to caterpillars. Aphids are tiny, tiny specs and can be smushed as well. I had cats show up in my dill this week so its time to be watching for them and you know they have that instar that looks like other things when tiny?? Milkweeds dont like a lot of fussing with, ... But good luck with them.
I went outside this morning with a magnifying glass and examined both milkweeds. Didn't see any sign of aphids or anything else. Both plants look ok. Maybe when I 'misted' them I washed off the aphids. There also wasn't any sticky stuff that they often leave behind (if they're still around).
This message was edited Jun 7, 2014 7:24 PM
Instars. cats n bugs growing up
This always happens to my milkweeds! I'm not sure what causes it except for maybe inconsistent watering.
Asclepias curassavica does like consistent water and dropping a few leaves in not uncommon.
Thank you. I feel better now. I have been consistent about watering altho I think this was it's 1st foliar feed. And as I said, I took a magnifying glass to look for aphids and didn't see any. Both plants, even the one that lost more leaves, are flowering and looking good. Guess all's right with the world.
Somewhere (don't make me hunt) it was mentioned that milkweed plants have long taproots. Does this vary by the type of milkweed? I'm finally finishing a new spot where I can actually plant my Asclepias curassavica and am wondering how long is "long"? In other words, do I need to at least loosen up the soil below where I'm planting so the taproot can eventually keep going downwards? Does this even make sense? I can try to ask this differently but not sure if it would make more sense.
Also, while on the topic of digging and milkweeds, does it matter if my 2 Asclepias curassavicas are planted next to each other or do they prefer to keep some distance between 'em?
And, just to make this more fun, does any of this hold true for Asclepias tuberosa? Or Asclepias Asperula?
Advice appreciated.
This message was edited Jul 2, 2014 6:27 PM
Asclepias curassavica doesn't have a big taptroot and you can plant it close to each other.
Tuberosa and Asperula do have taproots and are much more touchy, but good luck with all of them.
Thanks!