Ooops! Sorry. I'm ~ 10 mi SW of Houston (TX). We have very mild winters, and it sounds like the milkweeds generally don't die off around here...which is why folks need to cut them back. Though, ahem, I wouldn't know as mine don't even last through fall! :)

A few years running, I would purchase milkweed plants from local nurseries, until I heard some nurseries were using systemic insecticides (which killed off any caterpillars that fed on the plants). When this nice gentleman offered to send seeds for the price of postage, I jumped at the chance.

Many folks have said they leave aphids alone, and Mother Nature takes care of things. Nope, not in my yard. One year, we even had ladybugs make their appearances on the aphids -- ladybugs couldn't keep up, and the MW plants all died. My yard is especially bug-y, it seems.

(Praying mantises: very cool, BTW.)

Hi Javiwa,

I live a little southeast of Houston and I can't keep enough milkweed to feed all the monarch cats I have. I also grow the tropical milkweed from seeds in the spring and take cuttings all year (in the greenhouse) if possible. I'm having trouble with die-back and having to cut back stems which could of grown a lot more leaves that are much needed this time of year.

Just took this picture...

I will most times let nature take care of the aphids, but when I do see them show up in large clusters, I use my fingers to smash them or spray the plant down with soapy water in a spray bottle. Soak down both sides of the leaves, the stems, the soil around the plant and after about an hour, I hose the plant off and no more aphids.

Happy Gardening, Jeannie :)

Jeannie: That pic -- ladybug AND buds about to burst! I'm jealous. :) I'm so trying to get back into cultivating a butterfly garden, and it may take a year or so (?) to find their path back through my yard as they head south. Oddly, I've had three healthy pentas and a lantana in the backyard. I saw swallowtails around the lantana in late spring, and we have Gulf Fritillaries flit through during the day, but no Monarchs to be seen.

As my seedlings struggle along, I broke down the other day, hit the local nursery's 70% off sale, and bought a milkweed (hoping the 'tuberosa' label is accurate). It may be late in the year, but I thought I'd give it a shot. It looks like all remaining plants (and there are a lot!) were pretty well pruned recently; all bushy and leafy at this point, but no flower buds visible. Thanks for the support.

Is it possible your plants are infected with a bacterial or fungal disease? Kind of looks like that may be your problem, especially living in such humid conditions as you do. Is the space where you grow them enclosed by high fencing all around? You may not have enough airflow, if that's the case. Try letting the soil dry out between waterings if you don't already do so.

Thanks for weighing in, Crunch. Our backyard is ~ 50' x 60', with six-foot fencing all around. I think (?) it's a large enough space, such that we get good air circulation. We don't appear to have any fungal/bacterial issues with other shrubs, flowers, etc. And the bed pictured is actually one that tends to be on the dry side. I never knew 'weeds' could be so finicky.

(Ooops...sorry: this pic goes down below, but I can't figure out how to move it!)

NEW POST STARTS HERE: :)

Gosh, I'm having such a difficult time of this -- is there such a thing as an infected bed?

Last weekend, I planted a 3-gallon asclepias tuberosa. The weather has finally cooled down into the 70s-80 high, nights 50s. It was doing great until just this morning: I noticed yellowed leaves with spots on them:

These spots look similar the ones on my Esperanza which is planted ~ 20' to the right. While my Esperanza is somewhat shaded by the neighbor's oak, the milkweed gets full sun from morning til 4 p.m. (this time of year). My first thought was: too much water? I poked my finger into the dirt: cool to the touch and slightly damp, but not soaked.

I also noticed that the milkweed leaves were all droopy:

We were away yesterday, so skipped watering. I gave it a good dousing today, and the leaves immediately perked up. So, now I'm confused about what's causing the spots, as the plant doesn't appear overwatered (based on today's drooping).

Many of the leaves have halo-looking lesions/spots on the top only, with no discernible issues on the underside:

...while other leaves are damaged on both upper and lower surfaces:

BTW, the red pentas are flowering, and most of the leaves look okay; but over the summer, it's apparent (by the leaves) that something hit them, too:

For reference, a look at the bed (area shown is ~ 32' l-r):

I think that plant to the left is an angelonia -- purchased ~ 5 years ago, so I can't remember...small purple blossoms (see pic at beginning of post). It's carefree and doing fine -- it anything, is suffers from too little water.

We planted the gardenia ~ 20 years ago -- I do nothing to it, and it's perfectly fine (though the two right branches seem to be protesting a bit lately...starting to green up again).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. As the Monarchs are starting to lay eggs on the milkweed (yay!), I don't want to start spraying with fungicides or chemicals. Thanks, all.

Again, what comes to immediate mind is fungal or bacterial. Another possibility is an insect attack of some kind. We could also throw into the mix an insect that is a vector for a bacterial attack.

I would take samples of the various leaves and stems from several different plants and species and take them to a local ag extension office, or to a registered master gardener for determination.

Sorry to hear of your plight.

Thanks again, Crunch. I've just emailed the county extension, along with photo attachments. If need be, I'll make the drive down and bring them the leaves. As of this morning, more yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant -- very disheartening:

And with the chilly weather coming today, I don't think this little guy will be a very happy camper.

The brown spots look to be rust.....

Here's a website that gives info on milkweed problems.

http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2007/08/milkweed-leaf-problems.html

Happy gardening, Jeannie :)

Thanks, Jeannie -- I actually just skimmed that page you referenced, but skipped over rust as a possibility since the site didn't provide a photo. I looked more closely at a few leaves I harvested (trying to save a few Monarch cats from predatory wasps and raise them indoors), and sure enough, I found small dark-red, raised bumps on top of the leaves. When I brushed my fingers across the top of these bumps, powder came off. Spores, I suppose.