Either way, once the seeds have gone through their chill time, you can sow and grow them indoors until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves.Ĭommon Milkweed is the foundation of a great butterfly garden, and it benefits your entire neighborhood as well as your own landscape. Put the bag in the fridge where it won't be disturbed for a month. But that takes up space, so another method is to place the seeds onto a moistened paper towel, fold the towel over them, and place it in a plastic bag. If you have room in your fridge, pop the seeds into the Bio Dome and put the whole Dome (or just the bottom tray, covered with plastic) into the fridge. When your seeds arrive, they need about a month of chill time.
Hardy from one end of the country to the other, it doesn't mind heat, humidity, drought, cold, salt spray, or poorly fertile soil. Tropical milkweed is a non-native that will flower its first season if you start seeds indoors or plant cuttings/plants. This native species is easy to grow in just about any soil type or climate. Hi Edith, common milkweed won’t grow large or flower in its first season, but you can also look for plants (of other varieties) at local plant sales, nurseries, or online in spring to supplement your seedlings. This plant may not bloom the first year if started in spring, but it will still provide caterpillar food, and it will overwinter effortlessly and bounce back again in spring for an even better performance (with plenty of fragrant blooms this time.) It's a time investment that repays you a thousand times over. It's ideal for a wildflower garden or an area of sunny soil that you want to keep natural and open for the butterflies. It's an amazing sight, and one that every gardener should experience.Ĭommon Milkweed is a perennial, and it self-sows freely. And if you look very closely under the stems, you may see semi-transparent chrysalises containing beautiful folded-up butterflies, just waiting to break open and fly. That means that the caterpillars have fed and are ready for the chrysalis stage. And the fragrancesweet, evocative, meadow-likeis unforgettable.īecause milkweed is a food source for monarch caterpillars, you may find some nibbled foliage.
It grows upright 3 to 4 feet high and about 2 to 2½ feet wide, with good branching. It's lovely, with bouquets of deep pink to purple blooms that make excellent cuts for the vase. This Native American perennial is a vital food source for monarch butterflies during the caterpillar stage, and countless other species flock to it as well for valuable nectar.īut Common Milkweed is far more than just a "useful" plant.
Common milkweed seedling Patch#
Every garden with a patch of sunlight deserves the beauty and benefits of milkweed.
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