I have several different ones, and would love more. Anyone else grow them and want to talk about saving seed during this season?
I have A. curassavica 'Aurea", zones 7-10 (I grow as an annual); A. incarnata, a dusty pink, zones 3-9; A. tuberosa, zones 3-10.
Here's a 2002 season photo of the pink
And this is the tuberosa....
if you like visiting butterflies, you'll love this plant.
I have a white one I grew from seed last year. It has come back, and I am hoping it will flower for the first time. If so, will save seeds if interested. John
I'm wondering if this is the same one my Mother likes to dig up off the sides of the road. She calls it butterfly weed. Is the orange one the same as the wild kind?
I will soon have seed from the "Scarlett" annual, for my Zone that is. I plant them everywhere. Just received two different types in the mail last week that are suppose to be deep red and a bright orange and suppose to be perennials.
Poppysue sent me a url to a wonderful site and I ordered almost every color Asclepias seed they had: Asclepias curassavica- Red and Silky Gold; Asclepias incarnata- Soulmate; Asclepias tuberosa- Gay Butterflies, Hello Yellow, and orange. It said that the order could not be sent out until June 11th. I will gladly share. http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/butterfly_weed_peren.html http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/butterfly_weed_annual.html
Most of my plants are for our beautiful flying flowers :)
I'm glad there's some interest... Pardancanda, I'd love some of the white. Molly, I'd say the tuberosa is the same as the wild, and envy your Mom being able to dig it from the wild. Butterflygal, sounds as tho you'll have them all.. Do you plan to start the seed this season? In your area it may even have time to bloom,,and I envy you that as well. Thanks for the links,,they're good ones.
Yes, I will get a few of all of the colors in the dirt as soon as they arrive. I hope they will grow fast and flower so I'll have lots of seeds to share. Ooh, can't wait! I would love some of both the pink and white.
We have poppysue to thank for sharing that site.
Now that I think about it, the seed pods on my mom's plants are usually pretty big and full. The only problem is that they never grow. She has tried to plant the whole seed pod, and even tried planting just one or two seeds with the silky hair and some without the hairs...still haven't been able to get a baby to grow?
MollyBee, the little hair things are the seed, and they need to be pre-chilled for 3-5 weeks, then pressed on the soil to germinate, but not actually covered by soil/peat. They need light to germinate. Ones collected at home can be planted outdoors in the fall,,to go through the chill period naturally. They're very late in coming up in the spring as well.
Mollybee, go here http://plantsdatabase.com/go/539/ scroll down, click on the picture of a hand holding a pod.
I take the pods off the plant when they start to pop. I then use the seeds from those pods, plant in pots in August/September. I take them inside for the winter and then after all danger of frost I plant in the bed. Each species may do different. Asclepias is one of my favorite flowers :)
Thanks ya'll. I'll pass on the word to my Mom and see how well they do for her this year.
I received my order of the 6 different types of Asclepias seeds yesterday. I am germinating the "Deno" way to see if I can get some plants big enough to flower :) Wish me luck, never tried to germinate this way before. Hopefully before summers' end I'll have lots of flowers, cats, butterflies, and seeds!
I know I saw that "Deno" word around here somewhere...can you tell me or give me a link to it? Seems someone around here posted something about it. I'd like to read more about it.
I found this under Propagation thread http://www.frogswell.com/page10.html maybe it will speed things up :) I didn't get many seeds of some colors, but could send you a few of each color, JLMK
Thanks for the link, I am going there now to see what I can learn.
And here's what happens when you plant butterfly weed..........
Here's a close up of the bloom..they are truly beautiful this year...
Here's a pic of the ones I grew from seed this year. I was so surprised to see that it bloomed the first year!
I like that one Mollybee! Reds are always good...My tuberosa is just beginning to open..and I'd have to say its my favorite......
Very nice MossRose! Orange is always a welcomed color in my gardens too.
My white one is starting to form buds, can't wait to post photos when it blooms!
I can't believe it but the seeds are already germinating :) I'm gonna put them in pots so I can baby them. I don't know if I should start them off in peat or should I put them directly in a quality potting soil. What do ya'll suggest?
Makes me wonder that too..Wonder if they would have time to get established before winter if you plant them outside now? Mine seem to have grown pretty fast, but then again mine aren't the exact same kind as your eaither. Sorry I am not much help :)
Seems that I've read that they don't like to be moved...butterfly gal,,I would pot them and allow them to grow-on for awhile. At least until they're large enough to survive the outdoors,,then I'd plant them out in the fall. You're in zone 8 and probably wouldn't even need to pamper them or mulch heavily the way I do here in zone 5. And peat pots...I have mixed feelings about these. Remember to tear away the top of the peat pot so its not sticking above the ground or the moisture will evaporate. It seems to act as a wick.
I agree, they do not like transplanting. I do use the peat pots, but as mentioned, be careful to tear away any excess!
