If you’re looking for rapid growth and full size plants, someone just sent me this info which might help: http://www.folksbutterflyfarm.com/aeroponics_tote.pdf, Hi there I am living in the Tropical South Pacific and have purchased A. Currassavica seeds but have had a really poor germination rate. As the other varieties are native/hardy to zone 6. Hi Donna, butterfly houses are for decoration only, but other insects or wildlife might use them. Thanks for your comments. Any suggestions? Monarchs are a migratory species John. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you…, I ordered the flame vine from a nursery, it had a couple of blooms on it when it arrived, though they fell off. I would plant them a little later in the fall, maybe November. Hopefully, by the first week of May, you’ll see something emerging from the soil. upon reading the effects on migration I am concerned I am doing a disservice to monarch species. This article shares some precautions you can take to help avoid spreading monarch diseases. Thank you. I bought this plant at Amazon and when it came it looks healthy. Thank you. I put 3 tropical milkweed seedlings in with it, will see what happens. http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/01/plan-save-monarch-butterflies-backfires. They are not being eaten. Also known as 'Scarlet Milkweed', 'Silkweed', 'Indian Root' and 'Tropical Milkweed'. Today, several clumps of milkweed shot up out of the ground where I grew last year’s “tropical milkweed”, so it’s obviously not tropical milkweed(I live in zone 5). It sounds like your plants were treated with pesticides. Why is the new plant not happy in it’s container? I am wondering when you usually do your cuttings of the milkweed. If you live in the United States please read the following article before deciding to plant Asclepias Curassavica (Tropical Milkweed). Just wondering how many months from germination to bloom. What makes a species “native’? Butterflies typically roost high up in trees. I started seeing Monarch butterflies about two weeks ago. I am curious about the Silky Gold Milkweed. You could try rotating plants so there is always some available while you cut back the others. Buy Tropical Milkweed Seeds & Plants from Joyful Butterfly, Click here for 25+ Milkweed Ideas for your Butterfly Garden. If you want the monarchs to stop laying eggs, you could pick individual leaves and place them in the refrigerator until you have to rinse them off and serve them. I live in San Jose, CA and found out that this is zone 9b. We need to save entire habitats, not just an individual species. So, I will cut them back when they leave in November. I would suggest that would be a good time to cut back tropical milkweed plants. Now I feel maybe I should return some beautiful plants I just bought at Lowes. The important thing is helping the Monarchs survive this difficult time. It doesn’t help preserve habitats where it is not native. I try to release monarchs monarchs when it’s at least 60 and sunny to give them the best chance for survival. I know it doesn’t need stratification. yes Jeanine, I would cut them back. This way, there’ll always be. How do I do it? But I was told that it didn’t matter, since monarch butterflies don’t breed in SF anyway. Full Tx Sun. also, just as a heads up Home Depot mostly carries plants with nematicides which some say has adverse affects on some insects not just nemotodes. Do you think I need to put it inside when the weather changes? We are seeing several seed pods with some caterpillars eating them. Does soil in pots need to be changed, new soil? Hi, I just wanted to know how long it takes for the milkweed to mature from the cuttings when grown under Hydroponic planting method. Hi Joy, tropical milkweed is a great annual choice for butterfly gardens. Is this true? We have 5 milkweed plants in containers. I was wondering if you by any chance have heard of the Carribean Milkweed (Asclepias nivea). You don’t have to cut down all your plants at once, and can stagger the cuttings so there’ll always be some in case of a milkweed emergency. If you bring plants indoors to overwinter, you can take cuttings a couple months before your average last frost. Check out suggested milkweed stores and more plant listings below: A. curassavica seeds only need to be soaked in water for 24 hours before planting and no stratification is necessary. You could even try putting out “winter sowing” containers in spring since the curassavica seeds don’t need cold moist stratification. We will share methods to propagate by seed on another page. All of them have “committed suicide” as I call it; they leave the plant at some point and just don’t return. Hi Amanda, I suspect your problems are from overwatering. What could be the problem? If you are willing/able to do that, tropical milkweed can be a beneficial plant in your region. If so I wont be putting any containers on the front porch :p … The incarnata has a really nice fragrance .. .. unfortunately no fragrance, but tropical milkweed is a popular host and nectar flower. Study up on the proper milkweed plant for your state. I know that they are a tender perennial in my area (zone 7a) and I was wanting to know at what temperatures does the cold start to kill them? Here’s more info you should find helpful: Thank you so VERY much Tony!! Hi KC….if you’re talking about tuberosa, that variety spreads through underground rhizomes and can be problematic in containers if there’s not enough space to accommodate the roots. Thanks James, Hi James, congrats on all your monarch activity. Tropical and swamp milkweed both grow well in containers. Nectar flower for many pollinators. I will be posting about fall cuttings in late August or September. They are wilting badly during the day but perk up in the later afternoon. At what time do we have a definitive list and how do we know that many if not most on that list didn’t come from the south. I ask this because ive had some monarchs cacoon go grey or go black and dry up however I’ve seen others do just fine and i live in Southern California. Milkweed, Bloodflower–Asclepias curassavica $ 2.49 – $ 8.60 Blood Flower Milkweed also known as Tropical Milkweed is winter hardy in zones 9-11 and is easily grown from seed each year as an annual. All info I have shows they are hardy to 10…will they come back or should I just cut them all down and replace them? I just bought some Asclepias Milkweed off the discount rack, they have blooms but look skimpy on the stems though they are tall, not much foliage on them. I have plans to create an enclosed butterfly pavillion and a butterfly garden. What environmental alarmists and what Tony calls native “purists” never explain is what they mean by native. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/01/plan-save-monarch-butterflies-backfires. 5 plants is just a snack for a hungry batch of monarchs…good luck! Released onto my Mexican Torch Sunflower after hatching. Where it is most likely effecting monarchs is in warm weather regions where it grows all year and monarchs could overwinter. They come up from seed in different flower beds , plus pots on patio. Could it be too hot? I have never used this website to promote planting tropical milkweed at the expense of native milkweed, but to use it in combination with natives to support more monarchs throughout the season, which it does. Hi Nancy, cutting back around this time or during a slower part of the season is a good idea. According to this site http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ASNI3 they are native to Puerto Rico. It compiments the White Oleander and purple Mexican Petunias in my shrub beds so well. If my Tropical milkweed does come back in my zone I’ll send you another comment with all my findings in case you want to use it in the plant profile. However, you can also dip cuttings in rooting hormone powder and plant them in soil: I love this site Tony! Hi Lolly, since there are monarchs in your region year round, I would cut back when there is a lull in activity. They’re growing strong and healthy. Also, the more this plant spreads, the more prevalent it will be and it will not always be cut back. I placed the original plant ( now bare) in the sun, hoping it starts to blossom again. Hi Marcy, any milkweed (native or tropical) can harbor OE spores…pathogens are more likely to be found on continuous growing milkweed species that don’t die back. Hi Laks, if you’ve had a cool spring, I wouldn’t worry yet. Monarchs do not need to migrate if it is warm enough for them all year round. Look forward to you getting back with me on that…O…also I have heard that the tropical plant doesn’t protect the monarch because it’s not toxic where as the native are….is this true. We don’t see Zebra Longwings or Gulf Fritillaries in the upper midwest so its nice to have reports from further south…, Tony, Nice butterfly pictures and we should also be getting our first freeze as well during same time as you. It’s watered daily with good drainage. Hi Courtney, you can just keep them in a drawer or cupboard. Should plants be fertilized during growing season? The driving factor being temperature. The flowers are a great source of nectar for butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other beneficial insects. You might try cutting back some of foliage if it’s not improving. Also, we have viable tropical milkweed in our northern garden for weeks after the monarchs are gone. And it doesn’t usually come back until early April or later unless I have cuttings in the greenhouse. It is native to South America, but has naturalized worldwide in many tropical and subtropical areas. I leave them in their packaging and put them inside a plastic bag in case something were to leak. I am in Oregon City Oregon. Is there something missing in my sandy Florida soil? Hi Bob, in continuous growing regions it’s good to cut back a couple times a year to avoid the build up of OE spores that can potentially harm monarchs. I would like to plant tropical milkweed if you think that is a wise choice for zone 7B in Virginia. An easy to grow plant with showy blood red and orange flowers. Humans love sugar and processed food but it doesn’t mean that we should be eating it, much less making it this much of a supplement of our diet. It has a much longer flowering period than the perennial milkweeds that are winter hardy in St. Louis. They spread by underground crawling. I have 4 different milkweed species in my Waystation which are tuberosa, curassavica, syriaca and I currently have 3 varieties of incarnata (ice ballot, Cinderella, and soulmate). The October rain we had made it lean over into the walkway when it was heavy with water. Thank you so much for ur comment. Hi Alex, check out this article for a couple ideas to help your cuttings stay fresh: Milkweed Cuttings for Monarch Caterpillars. As soon as I got home, I clipped off a few branches and put them inside my net. The “Silky Mix,” or Asclepias curassavica, has several beautiful variations of the original A. tuberosa. If you are planting milkweed for monarchs, they will most likely bypass the plants if there is neem oil on the leaves…. I apologize for reposting. I am hoping that it will flower again this season. We have had serious weather conditions all summer. I sowed a bunch of tropical milkweed seeds this spring and got 2 to reach maturity. Other common names of this plant are Swallow-Wort, Butterfly Weed, Scarlet Milkweed and Mexican Milkweed. The following organizations provide lists of milkweeds and information on local suppliers and regional distribution of milkweed varieties. If you’re looking for a California native, you might try tuberosa, but it’s not a preferred milkweed species for laying eggs. Hi Jesi, I”m not sure where you’re located, but I’ve never seen this growing tropical milkweed up north. Hi Tony, I have several tropical milkweed plants in my front flower bed that have always bloomed profusely. Good luck! They grow much faster than seeds. That will help you raising future butterflies…good luck! Hi Sue, you can pinch back the top leaves to encourage bushier growth, which should provide more leaves for your caterpillars over time. If you want to start early in spring for a longer flowering/seeding period, try spring sowing around the beginning of March: Live in Dallas. My grandfather gave me some tropical milkweed seeds in a pot a few weeks ago, within a week they sprouted up, now 2 weeks later they are still only an inch tall and seem to stop growing. Here they are an animal of the suburban garden and eat exotic plants, there are no native plants of significance. I have lost 75 percent of the leaves! Hi: I planted 2 tropical milkweeds 3 weeks ago (zone 9b/10a Florida west coast) and they are attracting monarchs (2 to be exact) but the leaves are turning yellow and all full of spots (on the lower 1/3 of the stems). Have just caught up with your post made about a year ago, John! Yes, tropical milkweed has problems in continuous growing regions because of pathogen build-up on plants. They just fly in and disappear after a few weeks. You can keep the water at a good temperature by putting the seeds in a small bowl of water and placing it on a heated seedling mat. So welcome any other milkweed locally that is not the tropical milkweeds this... 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