Hi! Everybody!!
I planted two asclepias fasciculatum (sp?) last year. They didn't bloom because of the Golden Aphids, I thought. But now I have about five or six of them. They were growing well and were almost ready to bloom. Today, they just fell over. This also happened last year. Have you any advice on how I can prevent this from happening next year? I know that I will have to tie this year's plants to a stake but it seems excessive.
Thanks,
Chuck
Butterfly Weed
Hello Chuck, did you mean Asclepias fascicularis? I looked for fasciculatum and couldn't find it, but I did find this http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/100.htm
Maybe you are giving your plants too much water, or they might be in too much shade.
That is a beautiful milkweed, maybe if you get some seed this year you might put it in a sunny place, if that is the problem. Good luck, they are beautiful.
Josephine.
Hi! Josephine,
You know it might be the water as they are planted in the only area of our garden that has sunlight about eight to ten hours a day. Recently I have been giving them a little water. I never thought of that. BTW, Las Pilitas Nursery was where I purchased the Asclepias. Also, thank you, the correct latin name is asclepias fasciclaris. I always mix up the plants' latin names. I am trying to get into a course in Botany but the community colleges in the area say there is not enough demand.
Thanks very much,
Have a nice weekend,
Chuck
You are welcome. Another thing you can do early in the season is to trim them back, if they are getting too lanky. I know it hurts to do it, but if you cut them down to four or five nodes from the base, they will bush out and not be so week.
You can pot and root the cuttings too, so that is a good way to increase your stock.
I hope your plant will give you lots of little ones, it is beautiful.
Josephine.
Should I prune it now that the buds are beginning to bloom or should I wait until they are through? Sunday I will go buy one gallon pots for the cuttings. I have Dip 'n' Gro hormone mixture. I am excited to try this. It worked pretty good on my Night Blooming Jessamine (3 out 5 cuttings lived). Or by early in the season were you suggesting that I wait until next year?
Thanks,
Chuck
I would wait until the plants have bloomed and you have gathered some seed, if you trim them now you may not get any blooms at all.
Do you know if they bloom more than once a year?