does anyone know a good source to buy some from? i dont have any and resally only ever seen pics of the plant. thanks
milkweed
If you buy a pack of seed, these should bloom the first year in your zone. Thompson-Morgan and several other places seel a mixed pack. You'll get several mostly orange with a few yellows.
you can also get free seed from www.livemonarch.org for a SASE, you an also buy plants inexpensively as well from the same site
Thanks for that cue_chik. I had no idea you could get free seeds. I might have to save seeds of all of mine to share this year.
Thank you for the link. I've just ordered some milkweed plants for these lovely creatues.
That looks like a good link.
I need some plants, too~~~Have you ordered any plants from them before?
Thanks. t.
"That looks like a good link.
I need some plants, too~~~Have you ordered any plants from them before?"
I'm not certain who you are asking but I've never ordered from them before and I've yet to receive the plants I ordered on April 16. Haven't heard anything from anyone other than a receipt for confirmation of payment which was sent from PayPal.
I believe it did say on their web site that it could be a while before the plants are shipped because they wait for payment to be deposited into their account before they ship the plants. Sooo, I'm patiently waiting.
Mary
They give a phone number for questions. I think I would call and check on the shipment if not received by early next week. Paypal is almost instant payment and they say on the website that shipment of live plants only takes 3-4 days.
Well, thanks for your update.
I ordered 10 A. curassavicas from dogwooderitternet on Ebay after all. http://shop.ebay.com/asclepias%20curassavica?_from=R40&_trksid=p2773.m38.l1313&_nkw=asclepias+curassavica&_sacat=See-All-Categories&_naf=1
Another DGer suggested him as a source for MW and then I recalled that I had purchased some other butterfly host plants from him in previous years. He carries a nice range at good prices and I will let you all know about the quality of the plants.
I think I was quite pleased with my previous orders from him.
Yesterday I started some A. curassavica seeds germinating using the Deno Method (putting seeds inside a wet coffee filter until they sprout.). Then I will transplant into trays with planting mix. I read somewhere that to hasten germination you could use warm water, so I did that, too. We shall see how it goes. Just an experiment.
Mary, I hope you get your MW plants soon. It seems like they've had your order long enough to process and send the plants out.
I've ordered a bunch of stuff from Wayside Gardens. They'vealways been prompt and
reliable. On-line at Wayside Gardens.com
When is it ok to plant outside from seed? I am in Zone 5...
Hi, Patriotboy,
Not sure which asclepias (milkweed) you are talking about, but Asclepias curassavica is a native of Mexico and likes warmth to germinate. You could plant the seeds now in your garden but they would likely have a slow start, maybe 3 weeks to germinate. If you started A. curassavica in a plastic egg carton or some such container with a lid on it indoors, you probably would get quicker germination. Some say as fast as 4 or 5 days. And then if the weather if decent you could plant the seedling outside before too long.
If you are talking about milkweeds native to our region like 'incarnata', you can plant the seeds outside now and I think you will find the germination erratic. I just started some A. incarnata in plastic salad containers on a heat pad this week, hoping to getting better results than just putting the seeds into the garden. We shall see.
If you feel like reading a discussion of different ways to plant milk weed, here's a thread from Garden Web that is interesting: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/butterfly/msg091604086361.html
Good luck. t.
Thanks T. I got them sent to me free from livemonarch.org a few months ago. I started some inside for giggles 2 months ago and will get the rest in the ground this weekend. I sure hope to help the monarchs out! And teach my 3 boys a thing or two about helping nature out.