Hi all, I have lots of milkweed seeds and am wanting to start some new plants from seed, not in the garden, but in pots ........can anyone tell me how they would do this?
how to plant/sow milkweed seeds?
when is your last frost date? You should probably start them 6-8 weeks before that date. I have grown them from seed and they are very easy. I used a soil mixed with some sand, lightly cover seeds and water from the bottom so not to disturb the little seedling. Keep damp until they sprout then just watch them so they dont dry out.
Do you have a light setup for your seeds?
I grow scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica): http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/604/
From my experience, anything that has the word "weed" in it ... is VERY easy to grow. I just use whatever potting soil I have and dump some in a pot or two and then just scatter some seeds on the top of soil in the pots and lightly cover with a fine, thin layer of soil. Then water. They usually sprout within 7-10 days. They do like warm temps, so you might either grow them in a greenhouse or wait until Spring to plant.
Chris and Becky,
thanks for your replies, I do not have a greenhouse or a warming pad ........yet : o) ......I may be getting me one though ........Becky I think that I may have the same type of milkweed that you have ......... by looking at the pics from plant profile .......... I thought that mine was a different type, but i think, not, now. :o)
here is a pic of my milkweed:;
Yours looks the same as Becky's link (curassavica). I do not have a warming pad or gh. Just a shelf in the corner with a flourescent light. They grow fine, try it, they really are easy.
Good luck,
chris
LOL.. I agree with Becky.... as I got my first seeds from her.
the milkweeds are very easy to grow... i have a much shorter season up here, and mine did soooo well, and got TONS of seeds from them.
I winter sow'ed mine... you probably would not do that... just direct sow or do them under lights ... you could probably just do them with a south facing window too.
I love the Scarlet Milkweed ... the colors are stunning.
thanks everyone ........ I think that I was trying to make things more complicated than they might actually be !!! I often times have a tendency of doing that ! tcs I saw your posting on the other thread as well :o) , thanks for your feedback and help.
james t
I have found that when planting milkweed outside it does better if I take a little pinch of seed, maybe 8 or ten seeds, push them into the soil and cover lightly, that if if i scatter them. They seem to like company. I don't do this outside until all danger of frost is past.
Josephine.