Round Up

I grow milkweed in my garden on purpose. Its a great host plant for monarch caterpillars.

One man's weed is another man's flower.

Milk weed is the only plant that Monarch Butterflies will lay eggs on, and the flowers have a very pleasant odor when in blossom. There is no really good reason to eliminate milk weed except one of perception.

Cheryl,
I just keep pulling it, eventually the root will exhaust itself, but, I've got it in a very small area if you have a lot it will be an ongoing battle. Round up does work on it here.
I've had it self sow in a bed where I didn't want it and had to resort to roundup finally. I can't get it to grow where I want it to!
good luck

Kimmsr:

Common milkweed has invasive roots and will take over. I grow other milkweeds (buttefly weed, whorled milkweed) for the butterflies but not common milkweed.

Like a fool, I planted some milkweed in my yard. Now I find I can't seem to get rid of it.I find the ugly roots just spreading all over the place. I can just puke! I try digging it out; it goes down at least a foot into the ground. I have found that Lime Away, the rust remover will dry it up on young plants. I use a dash of liquid drain cleaner on it after digging on it a bit. Keep kids away, though.

I have common milkweed growing in some of my planting beds and the only control I use is mechanical removal, no poisons, no caustic chemicals, just pulling them out which is faster than any chemical there is although it will need to be repeated many times, just as applications of weed killers need to be repeated, many times.
This method is very low cost, too.

hey i thought of planting milkweed in our garden and read this site and found out that my mom won't let me because of the "i was a fool" one. thanks a lot internet now my mother thinks i make up things also i think i like harry potter

Milkweed is Asclepias. There are many kinds, all of which are the sole food source of monarch butterfly caterpillars. They eat nothing but the leaves of these plants. Many kinds of butterflies like to visit the flowers. It is an important native that can grow where it is not wanted, like an oak or maple tree seedling in a flower bed.

If any of you from 3 or 4 years ago are still trying to kill some, try cutting it at the ground and pouring boiling water on the stump and roots. But if you look first, you might discover some butterfly eggs (little white dots) or caterpillars under the leaves. If left alone (and not eaten by some other critter) they will grow, make coccoons, and then become monarch butterflies. Right in your own yard.