Hi Emily,

before you settle on common, do the people who manage this land care if the common mw spreads? If the answer is yes, you may want to limit that species and offer some other varieties instead (or in addition too). Swamp milkweed butterfly, purple milkweed, prairie milkweed, showy milkweed, etc...

It would be a shame if you did this, and then they decided they wanted to pull it all in a couple years because it's unmanageable.

If you winter sow then plant in spring, I wouldn't worry about roots becoming entangled...that's an issue with more mature plants. (I would suggest spacing seeds and not just sprinkling)

In addition to transplanting seedlings, I would also direct sow more seeds in case some of your plants don't make it.

good luck with your project, Tony

I agree with coolbutterfly that sowing in small containers for planting, and direct sowing a few extras, is a good approach. Once the seeds have germinated and gotten some roots going, they should have a decent shot at surviving wherever you plant them. Milkweeds are pretty tough. Keep up the good work.

Martha

Thanks for the helpful advice. : ) I'll save some of the seed back to plant along with the transplants to help ensure that some milkweed plants are available either way. We'll be planting in naturalized areas, so spread shouldn't be an issue. Maybe an updated post with pics will be in order down the road when the plants are established.

I would encourage, if OK with land owner, at least planting Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) at the beginning.

In my experience, it grows faster than other perennial milkweed, especially during the first year, providing some nice size leaves to help encourage egg laying and food for the tiny Monarch cats.

Once your other milkweed varieties become established, you can use roundup to spot treat and eliminate the Common MW if it becomes a problem. In a natural setting, I'm not certain if spreading will even be a problem. In a small, confined home garden, spreading might become more troublesome.

If you're located in Iowa, I'd think you still have time to winter sow seed. I winter sow mostly in containers made from 2 liter soda bottles. The plastic is very pliable, making it easy to cut and to make drainage holes in the bottom (even with cheap scissors.) When I'm ready to plant out, I just slice down the sides in several places with a paring knife and lift out the root ball.

Monarch Watch (www.monarchwatch.org and click on Milkweed Market) will be selling milkweed plants by the flat again this year and this might be something to consider. They contract with Applied Exological Services in Kansas to grow the milkweed for their program. I bought Milkweed plants last year and they were big and healthy; I was very impressed.

Good luck with your project and thank you for planting for the Monarch butterflies.

Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch Watch website

Anyone who can afford to, I would encourage donations to Monarchwatch. They have excellent connections with many organizations which are well situated to have powerful influences on the Monarch situation. Any money sent their way will be put to good use. I am not connected to them in any way, except that I donate seeds and money to their efforts.

Martha