@dbarron I would love to be considered for any seeds that become available this fall/winter, or next spring. I'm happy to send a SASE or postage. Please let me know, and good luck with your seedlings!

Any luck with the redring seeds?

Hard to believe this conversation took place in April/May, it seems almost like yesterday. I had a banner year for monarchs.

I saw exactly one female who laid one egg on my swamp milkweed. Sad year :(

However, the little red rings from spring germination are going in their permanent location (roots intact in pots) very soon, having grown well in their first year. Maybe more milkweed next year.

dbarron could you send some pictures of your redring milkweed?

Cynchpr, any redring seeds available for 2017 or 2018?

Well, I'd be sending photos of dying foliage...don't think there's any point in that ;)

@ctnchpr, any chance of seeds this year? I'm in CA, Z8, and would love to add this to the milkweed patch!

Illinois here - been looking for Variegata for 'forever'. Fingers crossed someone knows....

Yeah, been watching this post for a year. Would love some too sometime.

Me, too. Please keep me in mind

Does anyone know what kind of roots redring milkweed has? There is a beautiful redring on the side of the road. If it has a tap root I will not dig it up, but collect some seeds next year if it makes seed pods. If anyone has any redring milkweed seeds I have clasping milkweed, California milkweed, sandhill milkweed, Indian milkweed, pallid milkweed, hall's milkweed, broadleaf milkweed, heartleaf milkweed, woolly milkweed, purple milkweed, rush milkweed,white-stemmed milkweed,tropical milkweed, common milkweed,ice ballet milkweed, swamp milkweed, green antalope horns, western sand milkweed, prairie milkweed,butterfly weed,poke milkweed whorled milkweed, showy milkweed, and zizotes milkweed to trade.

willkelly1009, yes Asclepias variegata does have a tap root. I have successfully moved mature plants in the same situation you describe to keep them from being continually being mowed or worse yet to be sprayed with a herbicide. You will need to move back about 8-10" from the plant and use a sharp shooter type shovel. That is one with a long narrow blade. Go all around the plant digging down as far as the shovel will reach (hopefully 12-15") . Once you have encircled the plant it should pop out of the ground. There isn't much more than the main root which looks likes a carrot . Don't worry if the soil falls off of it. I would collect as much of the soil as possible to use in the new hole you are going to place the plant into. Make sure you place the crown of the plant at the same depth it was growing in it's new location. Water it in once and forget about it. It may be a couple of years before it flowers again depending on how much you damage the root. Good luck. Mark

Thanks Mark, I think it got mowd down already. The flowers are gone and now it has died, can't find it. Next summer I will go and look for the white blooms. Then transplant it to my yard. If anyone ever comes across some healthy redring seeds pls post! :) thanks, William

Hi, folks! I only have a few White milkweed seeds to spare this year. The distribution area will be the same as last year, see my Nov 7 2016 post on this thread for info. The seeds are free, I don't need money for postage, just an address. I won't respond to any requests on this thread or outside the distribution area.

Regards

Glad to hear you got some Mark, I had such success last year that I certainly don't need any more this year. I wish everyone luck with any seed received.

William,
Would you by any chance have a few extra seeds of the Asclepias species you listed? I have some varieties as well that I could trade. I am using the phone app, and do not know how to DM from the app, but if you’d like, please send me a message: if anything to discuss success rates for the species we grow.

Danny

Hi Daniel I do have a lot of seeds still. I do not have clasping milkweed, rush milkweed, wholly milkweed or purple milkweed. Pleas list all of the milkweed species you have:) lets do a trade! I will get back to you tonight on how I grow these.

Hi ctnchpr, I just sent you an email. Regards, Mark

Does anyone know what time of year this milkweed blooms in Z6 NJ? I am in the native range and so I would like to keep an eye open.

I would think the first two weeks of June.

Thanks - so during the height of rose bloom then. That would be a fun scavenger hunt.

"Based on the lack of positive feedback in previous years, and, some research, this year's distribution will be limited to a portion of the Southeastern US."

So reading into ctnchpr's comment, there seems to be a lack of success outside this area? What problems have growers run into?

Well, at least during the initial year, I had no issues. They were among the easiest of all asclepias I've ever grown. Now, I don't know if I'll be saying that this year..planted in their permanent locations.

Hi ctnchpr, I sent you a message about the redring seeds.

How is everyones redring milkweed plants growing?

We got a series of abrupt cold snaps and all mine departed for happier hunting grounds. It wasn't the only thing that didn't like the abrupt 1F days.

Anyone hear of some redring seeds this year maybe fall time! Would love some!!

dbarron, that's disappointing. Are you sure the roots are dead?

Not a sprout...on either seedlings of perennis or white ring.

these are hard plants to grow. I have 4 small plants right now, one plant looks large enough to flower. I don't think I will have seeds this year though.

They grew so very vigorously during the growing season till fall, just my weather threw everything for a loop. I lost several hardy lantana, much of my passion flower vines (but enough to replenish themselves survived) and several other things that didn't make a good transition from warmer temps to 1 F.

It is worth uncovering the roots and see if they are still there and fleshy before tossing.

Mail Order Natives has them back in stock. I never used them but took a chance.

http://www.mailordernatives.com/asclepias-variegata-redring-milkweed-1-gallon/

Thank you so much, Loretta! I just ordered some to be delivered in the fall. I am beyond excited!!

Me too. We'll compare notes!

They are already sold out.

It's obvious they need to start tons more for next year.

Yeah, I first noticed them last year and I hesitated. I've been watching them on and off since. I lucked out this time.

The thing (for me) is that I had fantastic germination last year with the previous year's seed. They grew well and easy...and I planted them into the garden as foliage was dying down. We had several severe abrupt cold snaps, and I lost every one of them. Same with aquatic milkweed (A. perennis), it was growing like a weed, but the cold snaps got them. The milkweeds weren't the only casualties...even some established (but more tenderish) plants like 50% of my passionflowers. Bad winter :(

Anyway, my point being, they're not hard to grow, but getting hold of the seed is a bear.

It was a crazy winter here too. There were a lot of casualties all around.

I buried my first year milkweeds and other first year perennials next to the foundation. It isn't a guarantee but it improves their chances.

With this many people growing these plants there should be sources for these seeds somewhere.

I read it doesn't always produce seed.

debarron, doesn't A. perennis need a moist/wet enviroment. Do you have that kind of condition for your plants? I'm planning on growing it and I will try to water it frequently, but if it's not happy I will introduce them to some nearby wetlands. I too, am desperate for A. variegata seeds. Hoping they become available, come fall and winter. I was thinking of doing a trade with you for some variegata seeds, for maybe seeds of unusual natives that I grow, but it sounds like you won't be having any seeds this year. I even looked at B and T seeds in the U.K. but they didn't have any. They list some rare milkweeds that they don't carry, which is confusing and stupid. They also require you to give them your nac, natural area code. It's a new designation for your location that works better than zip codes, but I've never heard of it before and have no clue as to finding out what mine is, so until I do, I can't purchase any seeds from B and T. It really irks me anyway when the only place to find seeds for our natives is in another country.

Jay, my yard is saturated late winter through early summer. I can't grow most milkweeds because of that. Swamp milkweed is all that has made it so far :( Perennis would have been fine (if it hadn't been killed by abrupt heat and cold waves). Variegata would have made it in drier areas of the yard I believe.

I ordered american natives from an English nursery last year...sad, I know.

I grow A. perennis in a 12" pot and have it sitting in a deep saucer that keeps a couple of inches of water around the base of the pot. My plants started flowering in early May and have not stopped since. They are on their third wave of blooms. I have seed pods forming from the first two waves of blooms. Lots of bees and butterflies(mostly skippers) who use these plants as a nectar source. I've have several Monarch caterpillars in the yard but none on this species although I've seen a couple of them nectaring on the perennis. Give perennis a try as it is really worth it as mine flowered last year until late October.

Thanks Mark, I feel a lot more hopeful now. And that's great that it's a repeat bloomer. I've been planting a few native grasses that skippers use as host plants. Some are 3 or 4 ft. tall. I think I've got enough tall ones. debarron, is it wetter in eastern Oklahoma like it is in eastern Texas? Is that the area you live in. For some reason I was thinking you lived in a dry place with sagebrushes growing near your house. Wish I could send you my Blue Flag Iris. She's not getting enough sun and moisture up here. I don't have any low spots that collect rain anywhere. Are you able to grow Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes where you are? I'm so happy I was once in Texas when all those wildflowers were blooming. It puts Illinois to shame. Teasle and Poison Hemlock seem to be our most abundant roadside wildflowers. They have been spraying the Teasle (not very thuroughly) and leaving the Hemlock, which in time might overtake the teasle because it's taller. There are an awful lot of common milkweeds all over the place. And a few small colonies of A. sullivantii, but here you never see tuberosa or incarnata growing in the wild, only in gardens. All the other species that are supposed to be native to this area I've never seen. William, I was just reading that kn annual zones Calotropis gigantea grows faster than C. procera. I would like a really tall tree type plant so I'm planning on growing both. One for the size, and the other for its fragrance. Germination can be as long as 3 or 4 months, so I"m going to start the process 6 months before planting outdoors, because nice sized plants will give me a better chance of them getting tree-like.

Actually both in my home in Oklahoma (ceased living there 5 years or so ago) and here next door in Arkansas, I have both challenges.

Late winter through early summer, very wet, then usually quite dry. So, I try to plant accordingly and break out the hose if I must (which I have this year:() in summer and fall.

No, I'm not warm enough for Bluebonnets and never had long term success with paintbrushes either (though I saw lots of roadside covered in paintbrush in Oklahoma).

It's a difficult climate, on one hand, there's lots of hardy bananas here, but on the other hand, I lost a lot of things last winter due to abrupt cold snaps (down to 1F three times last winter). As most people would say, gardening is a challenge. I use a lot of natives, but sometimes I planted something in the wrong place (I think my viburnum is on the way out..I can't water it enough to make it happy).

Mailordernatives shows Asclepsias variegata available again.

Hi Jay, Regarding the NAC it is very easy. Go to the following website : http://www.nacgeo.com/nacsite/  and where it says nac or address fill in your complete address ie. street number and name , town, state, zip, and country then follow their directions. A map with your house should show up and if it is indeed your location click on it and then your nac will show up. I just printed out the page with the map for future reference and use. Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mark

Mark, I got my NAC. Hopefully no more nurseries will require it, but who knows, the powers that be might force everyone to use it in the near future. I also would love A. variegata seeds, maybe when the new harvest comes in. In the meantime I have quite a few others. A.syriaca, A.tuberosa, A.incarnata, A.sulivantii, A.purpurescens, A. viridis, A. exaltata, A.perennis, A. verticillata, A. cordifolia, A. curassavica, A.halii, A. oenotheroides, A.asperula, A. arenaria, A. hirtella, A. pumila, A. stenophylla, A. viridiflora, Calotropis gigantea, Calotropis procera, and A. physocarpa.