I believe you are correct, Mary. I don't know how happy the plants will be about being separated from one another and then put in pots. Though, I just realized that in your zone the pots won't be exposed to multiple freeze-thaw cycles as they would be where I am. They will probably do just fine. I can't wait to hear how they turn out. I've been clearing out all the plant growth from around my patch of Poke/Common hybrid milkweed. I'm hoping it will encourage more numerous stalks along each root length.

Martha

Update on my root cuttings:

So far, I have two sprouts that have germinated from the root cuttings I made of a section of Common Milkweed root. It looks like root cuttings can quickly produce new plants from existing Common Milkweed roots. I didn't know if new growth would occur this fall, next spring or never.

Below is a section of the root I used. It was about the size of a #2 pencil. The RED ARROWS indicate the nubbins that I guessed might become new above ground shoots. The root is on a piece of paper towel. I trimmed the root into sections, leaving at least one nubbin per section and planted in two planters on Sept 28.

Below is the first little plant that came up a few days ago and the second one has only just broken the soil surface.

Many of you may know all of this but I'm rather new to root cuttings so thought it might be interesting to new gardeners.

I've no idea if the little plants will provide a larger plant more quickly than simply germinating by seed. I think I will keep one of the planters in my cool greenhouse this winter, leaving the other outside and compare the two next spring.

Mary

Update: another new shoot has just popped up from another cut section of Common Milkweed root. So far, I've gotten at least three new plants from that one short piece of root. I am curious to see what size these plants will be next spring.

Mary

I think this is great information for the purpose of rejuvenating roadsides and other natural sites for pollinators. I bet that a chunk of A. syriaca root buried in the ground has a better chance of surviving and multiplying than a seed. So, someone could take a bucket full of syriaca root cuttings and a shovel and walk along a roadside planting baby milkweed patches. I know that studies have shown that syriaca seed does not do well getting established in competition with other plants that are already in place. But, I wonder if it might do better if it were root cuttings being introduced rather than seeds.

Martha

A good observation, Martha. This experiment is interesting to me but I really don't know much about root cuttings. I am excited to see what these pots do next spring. I can say for certain that the top growth is certainly strong. Even though the common mw seedlings are larger in the first year of growth than other native milkweed I've grown, the seedlings are still far more frail looking than this new growth from the root cuttings. It would be interesting to try planting a few root cuttings in the wild, mark the spot and check back to see how they do. I was really surprised at the number of little nubbins I saw on the short piece of root I used. If I come across another piece of root, I will try planting a longer piece on a roadside, then check back to see if it produces a plant. My garden is so small, I may have to destroy the common next year if it spreads beyond the garden boundaries.

Mary