Grows in western U.S. to Canada and is equivalent to common milkweed in the east. If you want to plant tropical milkweed just soak the seeds in water for 24 hours to soften the seed coat and then direct plant outdoors in the garden or a pot…good luck!

  • Hello!
    I have a friend who said he could give me some common milkweed seeds from the plants in his backyard. It produces small clusters of white and pink flowers. It's also an important Host Plant and Nectar Source for Spring Monarch Butterflies." We are currently growing its closest milkweed relative, Gomphocarpus fruticosus (swan milkweed), and that variety does seem to have more aggressive tap roots…go figure!

    I had for two years sulivant, syriaca, tuberosa, purpurascens, speciosa and they never bloom, and they die. Here’s more info on winter sowing:

    Winter Sowing Milkweed Seeds

    • 25 Garden Variety Milkweeds

    Last year we had a swamp milkweed in a pot on our deck. Container gardening ideas for your monarch butterfly garden consist of both nectar flowers and milkweed plants. We had 13 chrysalis hanging around the edge of the pot . This easy to grow plant is often part of wildlife gardens and restoration projects where it can be planted from seed to mix with native grasses and wildflowers. When you raise monarchs on a potted plant, you don’t have to constantly switch out their milkweed supply. Once established it is drought-tolerant and does well in most types of dry to moist soils, even clay. Or would it be safe to say that as long as I keep them separated. I planted them in pots in May and they are only a few inches high. When you leave caterpillars outside they are much likelier to have issues with disease and/or predators. Narrowleaf milkweed is a perennial flower native to parts of the western U.S. Plant seeds during the cool season of Zones 9 and 10. Seeing a few Monarchs and a couple of Queens but they don’t land on the MW….yet. We decided to take the plant into our 4 season porch and we raised a total of 22 Monarchs on that one huge plant. And other species are in cold stratification yet: variegata, hirtella, tuberosa, amplexicaulis, fascicularis, viridis and exaltata. Good luck!

  • Helo everybody, I have a lot of questions about milkweed in Brazil. The goal in 2016 is to foster an awareness of milkweed as a favored plant in residential landscaping. For indoor use, plant the seeds just beneath the soil surface using a rather deep pot, as they have a long taproot. Join the movement to create a Million Urban Farmers! Mine is all pretty new this year although the Tropical MW came from last year….

    • Hi Joe, it can take them a little time to find you, but having several varieties available should help speed up that process.

      So the likelihood of winter kill of milkweed planted in pots is something to consider if you live in cold winter climate zones.

      • I have swamp milkweed and common milkweed in pots, they have been in these pots for 3 years. Mar 1, 2016 - If you're searching for container gardening ideas for your butterfly garden, look no further than milkweed! Also known as Mexican whorled milkweed, it is a perfect xeric- and pollinator-garden plant with beautiful blooms that provide food and habitat for beneficial insects and many pollinators including the queen butterfly also pictured on the front of this packet. This plant is a nectar source and host plant for the beautiful monarch butterflies. Make sure to take the disinfecting precautions listed above if you reuse potted plants in the same season…this goes for any milkweed variety you are reusing. very sad.

      • Hey Tony, I’ve got Subulata, Tuberosa, Currasavica and Pine Leaf in the garden right now. across (10-12 cm), of lavender and white, starry flowers from early summer to fall. Grows well in pots – even in our South Carolina summers!

        I live in Virginia Beach! If you are planting seeds in starter pots, plant seeds into thoroughly moist high-quality seed starting soil. Oxypetalum caeuruleum is also a milkweed variety native to your region. Four to 6 were in the cage at a time & I rotated them out to regrow. But most of the cats have survived and are munching away happily. (For that matter will ANY milkweed plants starting from seeds in the coming spring be big enough to host next summer?) Plant in the spring after the danger of frost is gone. Mine in both places are doing great. Keep in mind there are over 25 varieties of milkweed you could plant, so research to see if a particular milkweed variety has special soil requirements. Nonetheless, there still may be an issue. Springtime I am planting a “pollinating mix” in a spot to be planned.

        I very much like the idea of container growing milkweed, especially with a nectar plant and I am not exactly sure when would be a good time to start. I could send pictures if anyone wants to see them. Narrowleaf Milkweed Plants These plants are grown specifically to be safe for butterflies/caterpillars. Great for native gardens. Growing Instructions: Start Narrowleaf Milkweed seeds outdoors in the spring after the danger of nighttime freezing has past. I am very familiar with winter sowing and already have jugs with dirt in them awaiting seeds!

        Unless you have access to a controlled growing environment (greenhouse), it is going to be difficult for you to grow “mature” common on an ongoing basis. I do have tropical milkweed seeds so will do containers with them. Our dogs have only ever sniffed it. Flowers bloom from June to September, but may not bloom until the second year. Cuttings from the mother plant rooted and are growing well. It’s great!

        • Hi Patricia, I’ve handled milkweed for over 35 years…for much of that time I was not aware of some of the potential hazards.

          The sap can be a major eye irritant and I’ve heard reports of people making emergency room visits in rare circumstances. We grew dozens of them last spring and gave many away to neighbors who kept them potted on balconies.

          • Hi Mary, what a great idea to support the monarch migration while having a close-up encounter with some of the migrators. We left the containers outside till we saw eggs on the leaves, then brought them inside on the screened lanai. Fill the peat pots three-quarters to the top with potting soil. I have never overwintered milkweed outside, but I know some people have success by moving pots to protected areas of the garden, and using straw or leaf mulch. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/00/1093012500.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-33eb4g0qp"));

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