I have been removing individual leaves from my Tropical Milkweed, to feed my Monarch Caterpillars.

I am seeing some new growth in areas where I have removed leaves, but it is very slow.

Would cutting stems instead of removing individual leaves be more likely to encourage more vigorous regrowth?

The 30 Monarch caterpillars I have already fed in the last 6 weeks or so have eaten a good deal of the growth on the plants I have.

I currently have 10 eggs (from yesterday's Monarch mama), 11 2nd & 3rd instars, and 6 that hatched today. While the plants will probably support this batch, I'm concerned that if I add any more (and there are usually new eggs at least every few days) I am going to run out of milkweed if it doesn't start re-growing more aggressively.

If I run out, are there places in the Northwest Houston area where the milkweed is growing wild and I can gather some leaves?