If you want to do it the proper way(pot, keep moist etc) they root almost instantaneously.

I don't bother anymore. I stick the cuttings in the ground where I've cut them and probably 50% will root without any attention. It's impossible to have too much butterfly weed and the closer together they grow the less kinda straggly they look.

Okay, I'm down with that idea. I'll just cut and poke! I have loads of room in that bed and my plan was to put a lot more in there for the very reason you mention...so they won't look so straggly. Thanks, mini!

Marcia

Do make sure the ground is loose soil. You will have greater success if it is rather than packed, but you probably knew that!

I've never tried to root it but I was thinking anything with "weed" as part of the name would HAVE to be easy to root!!!

All of my milkweed has been defoliated by the cats. I though I had enough...WRONG!

It roots in water too. I picked some for a bouquet and it rooted.

Thanks for all the good input! I never even thought about rooting it in water. Mboston, the bed I'm putting it in is one of the few in my yard that has good, rich, loose soil in it. The rest of the yard is pretty much sand. I'm thinking if it will root in a pot, it should root in this bed.

Marcia

I'm hooked on the whole growing milkweed for monarchs thing. It really is fascinating to watch.

I've been watching two of the fat cats find a location for their metamorphis, turn in a "J" and then the pupa.

Unfortunately, weeks went by and nothing. Still stuck in the pupa stage.

Then, I realized that there would not be any metamorphis. Something went wrong and the two catapillars had died in their chrysalis.

I wonder what happened? Microscopic insect attack? Some bacterial attack? It makes you wonder though, doesn't it? It also made me realize that even butterflies don't have any guarantees in life.

Ain't it the truth, SPF! No guarantees for anyone or anything. That's what makes every day so special, and what makes all the miracles of nature seem like magic! I love raising monarchs and other butterflies, too, but last year, I wasn't able to find one caterpillar on my milkweed. I'm planting lots more this year, and hoping for a repeat of the summer before last, when I raised and released 75 monarchs, 35 gulf frits, 3 pipevine swallowtails, and one fantastic fuzzy white leopard moth. COOL!!

Marcia

Good idea, don't know why I never thought about rooting them. I let the seeds come up and replant them all over, but never rooted them. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks guys!

My problem is, I never get seeds. I think the seed pods are like dessert for the cats, they always seem to head for them first.

I've already had my first round of cats. Two weeks ago, I had the best looking milkweed, even flowering. Couple days ago, I cut them all down again.

Mine are in full flower, and as of yet, I haven't even SEEN a monarch in my yard this year! I've had gulf frits, sulphurs, and several kinds of swallowtails, but no monarchs. Sniff. When your milkweeds look pretty, you know something's wrong!

Marcia

I don't know WHY I was calling it "butterfly weed," when I normally call it milkweed! I had a senior moment when I first posted, I guess! Sorry for any confusion.

Marcia

My milkweed freezes to the ground every winter. I had just started growing this year when those 2 late frosts hit it. It's still coming back tho. I will definitely root some this summer! Each year it has died has left me with a kinda mound where it emerges in spring. Should I do something about that?

I often hear it called butterfly weed and knew exactly what you were talking about. It's funny to see people say they thought they had enough of it to feed the cats and have some left with leaves. I don't think you CAN have enough! No matter how many sprout, at some point it ends up as just stalks without a leaf in sight.

Sandygator - as long as it keeps coming back in the spring, I wouldn't do anything different.

Hey Marcia and all! I just got some seeds from "MONARCH WATCH" I have been looking for swamp milkweed. I think I am pushing the zone limits but, I like to live on "the hedge" (G) I will let you know if I get any going and I will share if I do. It says to cold stratify them first, so they are in the fridge. Did you ever get certified as a "MONARCH WAYSTATION" It is just a fun thing and you can get the sign for your yard. BTW I have had great luck with rooting mw also just cut it back and stick it in the ground next to the parent plant, put it in pots with other plants and root it in water but, (I've heard you should) let the tip harden off a bit first so you don't get latex in the water.
You know me and website links! Here is one for Monarch Watch - milkweed propagation tips!
Kat

Here is a link that might be useful: milkweed propagation

I raise the cats and put the milkweed cuttings in low cans that have plastic lids with holes in them. Often when the cat has muched it down and it is time to clean the container and add more I find they have rooted. Monarchs are very susceptable to many diseases and if you raise them cleanliness is of utmost importance,still some will die.
My milkweed is so prolific I have it growing in my lawn!
Double click for my homegrown butterflies
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Manature - I usually root mine in water first but sometimes when I find it growing in the grass, I will pull it up and stick it in the loose soil where it belongs.

Monarchs can carry what is called the OE virus on their abdomens and they transfer it to the plants when they lay eggs. If you ever have one emerge that has a saggy abdomen or some yellowish on it, it is best to so ahead and destroy it. Lots of time they won't be able to fly anyway. If you have a chrysalis that has black stringy stuff coming from it or has turned brown, not black like when it is ready to emerge, destroy the chrsyalis as well.
The black stringy stuff means its being invaded by a trancid fly (sp?) and the brown means its gone bad too.

There is a lady name Sherry from California that is very knowledgeable about Monarchs in particular. If you go to the site and look for tdogmom, that is her id. She has a blog about Monarchs with lots of info. You can do a search to find it.

Thanks for the info, mboston. So far I've been lucky and never encountered any problems raising them. Only that last year, there weren't any here to raise. They never showed up in my garden all summer. I think another greedy gardener somewhere had them ALL! ;o)

But I will keep that in mind in case they DO show up this year, and I see anything like that. Thanks again.

Marcia

I guess I kind of let nature take it's course or maybe I'm lazy. I plant lots of milkweed and scatter the seeds all over the garden. I have lot's of yellow seeds for some reason. And have lots of butterflies. I have other plants that the different butterflies like as well. But I let them do their thing. Oh, I have put a cat going the wrong way on a leaf, but don't tell anybody. :o)

My milkweed has already produced 2 sets of monarch cats so there is pretty much nothing left of the milkweed! I have a lot of pupa on my fence in little hiddie places and I got stain on them when I was painting the fence...the stain kills them. I felt bad but I was in a hurry and they got stain on them when I tried to go around them.

Location of the milkweed could be a factor in raising the cats. At my last house and at this house I have milkweed in two locations. One location at each house gets plenty of cats and the other none. Even when I move my overflow to the "non" cat location they disappear. I am going to assume that preditors such as wasps are getting them.

I think I'm not explaining my current situation too well. I get cats on my milkweed when there are monarchs around to lay the eggs. Last summer, I didn't see more than two monarch butterflies the entire summer. They just weren't there to lay the eggs. The preceding years, there were MANY of them, and I rescued and raised 75 more to release. But last year, plenty of gulf fritallaries, but no monarchs! I haven't a clue why. So my milkweed never saw a cat all season that I'm aware of.

What I'd really like to see are more Queen butterflies in my garden. I've had one or two over the last few years, but haven't seen any lately. I think they are even prettier than monarchs. And I don't get nearly so many zebra longwings here as I did at the other house. I miss them. They are so much fun to watch.

I get lots of sulphurs, several types of swallowtails, and my gulf frits more than anything else. And today, I had a red admiral sipping from wet dirt in the flower bed for awhile. They are not typically thought of as garden butterflies, so I'm always happy when one stops by.

Katkin, I let the seed go where it will, too, but I needed to cut these lanky plants back and wondered if the cuttings would root or not. As for raising the baby cats, the wasps and lizards get so many of them that I like to help when I can. I don't always do it, but it's so much fun to watch them go through their life cycle up close and personal.

Marcia