Hi Mary,

Thanks for responding....I did plant all of them and I had only 2 come up so far. I have them in my greenhouse and still waiting for more to come up. I purchased them on Ebay and not sure how viable they were. I raise monarchs and gulf fritillary butterflies (which I have plenty of passion vine). I ran out of milkweed, so this year I'm planning ahead and planting seeds and making cuttings of the ones that will root from cuttings. Thanks, Jeannie :)

Jeannie, not sure what part of Texas you are in. I am north of Houston and after buying more milkweed every year, the one thing I am ssure of is that you can neverr have too much milkweed -- maybe not even enough. The more you have, the more butterflies will find it and lay more eggs.

Have any more germinated? I want to try milkweed from seed this year but have heard it's not easy. I love butterflies too and have raised monarchs for a few years now. I'm in Michigan though, so my season is a lot shorter than yours. When do they start arriving in Texas?

Hi lascatx,

I live between Houston and Galveston (close to Clear Lake area). I noticed that the monarchs were laying eggs late in the year and I believes it's because of the warmer than usual weather we had. I would go out to get the smallest of any leaf off a plant and noticed new eggs on the leaf. So I would take it off and bring inside to add to the rest that I had in my home. I have 2 butterfly kits and I made a few from boxes using cheesecloth to cover it (that way my granddaughter could view them from above). She loves helping me with both types of butterflies and I've already purchased dill and parsley in hopes of raising swallowtails. I've seen the black one on my salvias and lantanas, so I know they are around. I know now what their host plants are and I will be planting lots of them.

Hi Elaine,

I just checked my wilkweed seeds/seedlings in the greenhouse and there are 17 total now. I noticed 2 had just come through the soil a few days ago:) Maybe the 3 that were floating, back when I was soaking them, could be the ones that didn't germinate.

I have not seen any monarchs yet, but I have a huge milkweed plant in a gallon pot thats full of yellow blooms. My DH bought it a few months back at an organic nursery (grown in a greenhouse) to help feed the last of my late metamophising monarchs (I released the last one in Jan. We have had warmer than usual weather. I have seen the Gulf furtrilaries already (have 3 crystalis right now) and I've had some of the yellow sulphurs fly through.

Thanks, Jeannie :)

Elaine L(6a), you probably still have time to winter sow milkweed seed as I'd guess you still have a couple of months of 'winter like' weather left? Are you familiar with the winter sowing method of germinating seed? It is ideal for most milkweed seed because the seed needs a damp cold period before they will germinate. Many of the gardeners who germinate US native perennial milkweed seed use this method of germination. Soooo easy and mother nature will decide when it's time for the seed to germinate. All you need is a plastic milk jug, a 2 liter soda bottle or similar container, some potting mix and your mw seed.

If interested, google winter sowing and all sorts of helpful information will pop up. Plus there are many here on the forum who would be happy to answer any questions you might have. Thank you for considering growing for the Monarchs.

Mary

Jeannies_Garden (Tx 9a), fantastic news, 17 out of 20! Woohoo, those Monarch babies are going to have a feast.

Mary

Yes I'm so glad.....I have never had the patience to grow plants from seeds and now I'm getting more seeds of other host plants to attract different butterflies :) I have already transplanted the first 3 seedlings into 4 inch pots.....They are doing great :) I'm thinking I need to start pinching the tips (new leaves just coming out) to make the plant grow thicker. Any suggestions/information? Maybe I should wait until they are larger!

I've also had someone from the Adenium forum send me Adenium (Desert Rose) seeds and I have had 6 of the 12 germinate....Still waiting on the other 6 to germinate thou. We have had cloudy/rainy weather for like the last week and I now wished that I would of waited to sow them. I have them on a heat mat inside my house right now. The greenhouse doesn't stay warm enough for the Adenium seeds/seedlings.

Thanks, Jeannie :)

Jeannie, we had one cat I brought indoors on cuttings and a coule of others that survived the hard freeze outdoors. Then two more emerged from eggs I hadn't noticed on the cuttings. Some were too weak to complete their chrysalis and one too weak to fly after emerrging, but we had one female and later one male who looked great. They apperently found each other -- or others. I have 20 babies in my enclosure now and have taken 19 or 20 to a friend since I wasn't ready for more. They say the Monarchs are getting ready to leave Mexico, so I bet we have more soon.

I have plants returning from last year -- tropical, antelope horns and others, but I also tried starting some seed. We had some come up last yer with no special effort, but this year I chilled them. I hadn't seen the advise to samp chill, so hope these some up well and we'll try some of both next year. We have some fennel and dill planted -- hope to plantt more.

I move mine from plants in the yard into an enclosure on my back porch. I recentlly saw a video where a man used several small boxes for instar 1-3 and then critter keepers for instar 4 & 5. That would be easier in some ways, but I don't have a place I can set aside indoors right now. And my friend set up an outdoor enclosure and I took that exampe and modified it for materials that I had available so I had to buy less. So many different appproaches!

Jeannie, that's great that so many plants are coming up for you! And how wonderful that you get To watch the cats grow with your granddaughter ❤ We raised BST's for the first time last summer and they were easy.

Mary, thanks for the info. I am actually trying winter sowing for the first time this year. I have 14 jugs out already and I can't wait To see what they do. For milkweed do you think I should soak the seeds before winter sowing or not?

Thanks,

Elaine

Good for you, Elaine, for trying winter sowing. I didn't soak my seed for winter sowing. Was it Sandy who reported she had great success with soaking the milkweed seed first? I've forgotten if she was winter sowing or providing cold stratification in the fridge and if in the fridge, she might have been using a damp coffee filter or paper towel during this process. In that case, I can see where a soaking first would be helpful. I think she also mentioned adding a tiny bit of Hydrogen Peroxide to the water while soaking. Being a germicidal agent, this would help eliminate bacteria on the seed coat.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the winter sowing process. It is such fun when you begin to see green sprouts in the containers. For me, watching/checking helps push aside the winter blahs while waiting for spring.

Mary

Add one tiny drop of Dawn or other dish detergent when you soak seeds and it will help the water permeate the seed coats. Adding hydrogen peroxide won't hurt. I start with hot tap water and the drop of detergent, add seeds and leave for 24 hours more or less, usually draining them and rinsing when they have plumped and dropped to the bottom. I add them to damp sterile sand and stratify for given times. Last year, I had 100% germination rate on Asclepias variegata seeds I was given by a person in Missouri. I just had germination of 29 out of 30 Purple MW seeds that I purchased from Robin Seeds. It does help to get good seeds with actual intact embryos, but soaking also works with seeds that are several years old. Dr. Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch told me that he has soaked 20 year old seeds and had them germinate. He soaks with the hot water and changes the water every 6 hours, draining and adding fresh hot water up to 36 hours. He uses vermiculite for stratification and germination.

Excellent detailed write-up Sandy. Thank you for sharing your personal experience with this method of MW seed germination and congrats on your stunning results.

I need to take note you soak the MW seed _BEFORE_ you place them in cold stratification.

Mary

oksandy48, was it you who posted a photo of Asclepias
tuberosa seed soaking in a clear container with lots of germinating seed floating in the water? I thought I'd bookmarked the post but now can't locate it. Wanted to comment that I'm trying to duplicate, since I have a lot of saved seed and could chance losing them.

Well, that idea of soaking this particular mw seed in water until they begin to germinate is working. I put them in a clear container of distilled water late in the day on Mar 31, covered with a clear lid and set them under my grow lights. This morning they are beginning to germinate. I took four seed out and placed in a pot of damp potting mix, covered with a slight covering of potting mix, covered the pot with a sandwich baggie with a small hole in the top and set the pot under the lights. Will see if the seed continue to sprout and grow.

The photo that was posted showed the germinating seed further along, with green sprouts showing. I thought I'd try some at different stages of germination, to see if it makes any difference in plant development.

Anyway, I love trying new methods of germinating and growing plants and just wanted to say thanks for sharing the photo of floating seedlings of Asclepias
tuberosa aka Butterfly weed. I'd never have thought to try leaving these seed in water for such a long period of time.

Mary

Mary, I didn't post the photo of the seed germinated in water. I usually soak and than add to dampened sterile sand for germination. However, I have been reading about several people who have had success with water germination. Look forward to hearing your results. BTW, I had a female on Saturday lay 32 eggs on milkweed plants in pots on my patio.

Woohoo, 32 eggs! Lucky you. I haven't spotted one Monarch but it's still a bit early. Maybe I'll get lucky, too, this spring. Are you going to have enough milkweed on hand to raise them?

Sandy, while reading some older posts from you, it suddenly came to me where I'd seen the photo. It was on Tony's Monarch Butterfly Garden website! A reader named Gwendolyn shared the photo of her container of water germinated seed with Tony. She mentions she also germinates Tropical mw the same way. You know how a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, that photo stuck in my head, even if I didn't remember where I'd seen it. Scroll down just a bit on the page at the link below and you can see the photo.

Tony's Monarch Butterfly Garden website

The butterflies and other pollinators love to nectar on the Butterfly weed. It has such a long bloom time plus, in a pinch, you can use the growth to feed older Monarch cats. I'm going to try and pick up a bit of builders sand to incorporate into the area where I'm going to plant more of this plant, providing I can get some seedlings going.

Mary

Thanks for sharing the link, Mary. I went to it and checked out the picture. I have a bunch of tuberosa, so I'm going to try this with them.

I've been using Tony's website for information since last Nov. when I was trying to get my monarch cats more milkweed.....I kept running low and searching online to see what to do and where's the best place to purchase more milkweed in the winter months. He sends me info to my email and it's always exciting to read :)

I'm now trying the common milkweed (stored in fridge for 45 days) on a tray with wet papertowels covered with the plastic lid. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or if I have it in the right place in my greenhouse (it gets pretty hot in there some days). I checked them yesterday evening and some were getting larger, but no roots out yet.

Thanks, Jeannie

Finally took pictures.....still no roots thou :(

Happy Gardening, Jeannie :)

Jeannie, did you cold stratify them in this container with the damp paper towel? That is the way I'm reading your prior post. Now you've removed the entire container and placed in your GH to wait for germination?

I would be concerned about the temps in your GH during the day. I've read seed can become damaged by high heat. Is there a reason you've not considered placing the seed in containers of damp potting mix for germination? I'm not knowledgeable about germinating seed in damp paper towels so hopefully, those who use this method will comment.

You don't mention how long the seed has been out of the fridge. I'd give them a week to two weeks to begin seeing germination and remember that seed doesn't all germinate the same time, they will most likely germinate over a period of time. It has been a long time since I germinated common milkweed seed so I've forgotten the time frame but if these seed haven't been out of the fridge very long, I'd not be worried.

Please let us know how they do.

Mary

I just stored them in the fridge (for over 45 days) in the packaging they came in (small envelopes cut down). I soaked them for 24 hours, then placed them in the tray lined with paper towels, mist them and covered. I also have some in soil (seed starting mix) like I did the milkweed tree seeds. There's no sign of them germinating.....yet (planted all 3/23). I will give it some time and hope that some seeds germinate.

Happy Gardening, Jeannie :)

UPDATE on soaking Asclepias
tuberosa seed as discussed earlier in this thread:

I placed the seed in distilled water late afternoon of Mar 31. Some seed began showing the little radicles within a couple of days so took 4 of these seed and placed into a small pot of damp ProMix. Here's what I'm seeing thus far, 3 seed have emerged by this morning. That is 6 days from beginning soak to these seedlings. I have a bank of grow lights and the little pot has been kept under these lights ..... should have created a comparison test pot sitting in natural room conditions, but didn't think to do so! I have a lot of these seed that now need potting up. I will do a comparison for the sake of this experiment, as many home gardeners do not have lights set up.

This process reportedly works for mw seed NOT requiring cold moist stratification.

Mary