Back in Days of Yore, in my "crafting years," one time I took some that had completely dried on the plant, then spray painted them gold, or covered them inside with velvet, put "little decorations" in them, and hung them as X-mas tree ornaments! They were pretty--and unique to say the least! They can be used as a dried arrangement in a vase too!

Skybird

They are fascinating little treasures, aren't they?

So far the pink pods are smaller and the orange flower are still blooming! I saved the orange from last year and still have the seeds “fluff and all” in a large paper bag, ready to remove the fluff - outdoors. They should still be viable, I am assuming.

Baptisia also has an interesting pod. I took this picture today. I still have some work to do learning how to focus properly with my new camera. These are pretty wild looking too.

I wrote on another thread that I "acquired" some seeds from a yellow variety. Debating whether to put them in a pot with soil and keep outside over winter, or to put them in moist perlite in baggie and keep them in the refrigerator for 3 months before planting. Would love to get some seeds from the pink variety as well :)

The pink pods are just beginning to dry, so I will be bringing them to the swap. Hopefully the rest of the pods will be completely ready to share.

Woohoo! Hope to get some :)

should these be seeded to overwinter (kind of like columbines)? is there a preferred way to start these? limited green house like (window :)) setting.

The seeds should be cold for ~3 months, is what they say. If that were true, I wouldn’t have the plants in many places.

Why don’t You save half in the fridge, and sow the other half where you want them to grow.

I planted my butterfly weed seeds in early Jan., and they sprouted fine. They are now seedlings about 2-3" tall. Have both yellow and pink, so excited to see them planted in the ground this spring!

That's fantastic news, mstywoods! I never planted my pink ones. I wonder if it's too late to sow them outside.

I've never seen Asclepias tuberosa in pink, only orange and yellow. Are you talking about Asclepias incarnata, swamp/rose milkweed?

The NRCS claims they need a 90 day cold strat period, but the ones I ordered from Prairie Moon this year said only 30 days, I sowed mine about 10-14 days ago put them outside so I guess we'll see who was right.

Alternatively you could try this:

1. The milkweed seeds were not cold stratified beforehand.

2. I used plain room temp, rain water, I guess about a cup in the containers, (plus a tablespoon from a gallon of rainwater mixed with 1 cup 3% Hydrogen peroxide). I spray it on seedlings and their soil to kill fungus gnat larvae.

3a. The containers are also under lights for 14 hours a day and room temp. is 70° F.

3b. If room temp is below 70° F use a heated seed mat under the containers

4. The milkweed seeds began to germinate within a few days.

5. I pour them out on soil when I start seeing roots, then sprinkle a little soil over them.

https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/cold-moist-stratification-milkweed-seeds/

Also, the reason milkweed typically has very few seed pods (at least compared to the number of flowers) is that they have a an extremely bizarre pollination mechanism. Something to do with the insect must get it's leg stuck in a certain part of the flower and when it pulls it's leg out that pollen sack has to have attached itself well enough to be removed and then when the bug visits the next flower it has to get it's leg stuck again to deposit it. Sometimes the insect get's too stuck and either it dies or has to remove the limb. It's incredibly complicated and I can't for the life of me figure out what actual purpose such a difficult pollination method serves. I used to have a really good link with a bunch of macro-photos showing this process but now I can't find it...

Thanks for the fascinating information about pollination, Zach. All I know is they have the most bizarre pods, sticking up straight like a candle wick. So that goes along well with the bizarre pollination.

Wow - fascinating about the trickiness of the pollination, Zach! Amazing it ever works with all that the poor insect has to do!!

Here's the method I followed for cold stratification and planting the seeds:

• Place the butterfly weed seeds in a plastic bag filled with 1 cup of moistened perlite. Store the bag inside the refrigerator for three months. Mist the perlite with water every few days to keep it from drying out completely.

• Fill 3-inch starter pots (I used yogurt cups) with a mixture of half seed-starting compost and half coarse sand. Moisten the mix and press it firm.

• Make a 1/4-inch-deep planting hole in the center of compost mixture. Drop one butterfly weed seed in the planting hole. Cover it with a loose layer of compost. Mist the compost to settle it.

• Arrange the starter pots on a propagation mat near a source of bright, indirect light such as near a partly shaded south-facing window. Set the temperature on the propagation mat to 86 F (I didn't turn mine up quite that high - about 75) during the day. Turn it off at night.

• Water the butterfly weed seeds whenever the compost feels barely damp when pressed. Apply the water by the spoonful or use a spray bottle to keep from dislodging the seeds.

• Watch for germination in two to three weeks.

Happy mine were successful! I separated the pink and yellow seeds into different pots, except for one pot that had both (each color on separate sides of the pot). Interestingly, in most of the pots, the pink seeds sprouted first - the exception was the one pot that I had both colors. That pot, only the yellow seeds sprouted!

I still have some seeds in the refrigerator, keeping some in reserve in case I didn't have luck the first time. Not sure if keeping them in the cold for this long is not good for them or not - I would think it would be ok.

We can compare results Misty! Mine will probably only get about a month-six weeks of "true" cold treatment. I hope it works. I also sowed swamp and showy milkweed (A. incarnata & speciosa) which both also came with the "30 day" instructions and I have sand milkweed (A. arenaria) cold stratifying in the fridge (I only had a few seeds and it was expensive so I wanted to have a little more control with it). It has been in the Fridge since January, it had a "60 day" requirement.

Keeping them cold for several months shouldn't be a problem. Milkweed seeds ripen and get "planted" in the late summer-fall naturally and sit in the cold all winter long.

That's serious dedication, Msty. I just dont have that kind of patience. If I can't throw it out on the ground, it's not happening.

I'm with you, PopMama! I used to look up "germination instructions" on the Tom Clothier site--which is listed by Genus/species and is often very complicated--and then "try to follow it," but I eventually started to question if "all that stuff" was really necessary and I just stopped doing it! Many of the "complicated" things germinated just fine for me in "normal warm temps," and with some things--if I'm not winter sowing them--I'll still stick them in the fridge and/or freezer "for a while"--sometimes in damp paper towel and sometimes dry--before sowing them, but I don't "spend my time" doing "complicated stuff" anymore. I just go with the, "these things germinate all by themselves in nature" theory, so if I put them in soil and add water I expect them to figure it out themselves!

Having said that, if I run into something I REALLY want, I'd consider jumping thru hoops if the "natural way" of getting the seed started didn't work! But over the years I have very much come to the conclusion that often, less is more!

Skybird

Msty will have lots to share with the rest of us slackers at the swap. Ha!

In years past, Gardenchloe did a lot of seed starting and I must say that I benefitted from her patience year after year as she gave me lots of seedlings.

lol. Keeping them cold for 3 months in the frig wasn't too difficult because I placed them on the bottom shelf in the door, and basically forgot about them! I did check them maybe twice and added a little water, but that was it and when I remembered them again they had been in there closer to 4 months. I've never tried doing this before, but I was curious on how well it would work so decided to attempt it (and also wasn't quite sure where I wanted them growing in the yard, so didn't want to just scatter the seed). Also new for me was the heat mat. I've been eyeing them for some time and never could bring myself to pay the $25 for one at Walmart. But the price never dropped from year to year, so I finally decided to spring for it. I ended up buying one off ebay, though, because it came with a thermostat and total price was less than $25 including shipping :)

Here's how they look now - I transplanted them from the yogurt cups into larger peat pots (and a few together in a couple of plastic pots) last weekend). They seem to be adjusting well:

I've started some other plant seeds in the 2 yogurt cups, but the rest are the butterfly weed. Someone at work wants a couple, and of course I'll plant at least a couple. The rest most likely I'll bring to the spring swap if it happens! They may outgrow the peat pots before then, if so will plop them into some larger plastic pots.

Those look great!

I technically "winter sowed" mine. Just planted the seed in starter cells, popped a lid on the tray and stuck them in the barn. they have been frozen for most of the time but should be thawing out during the day this week. Winter sowing hasn't proven terribly successful for me in the past, so we'll see how this year goes.

I did do a refrigerator cold strat as back ups for everything. Just wrapped seeds in moist coffee filters, put them in a tupperware with a lid and stuck them in the crisper drawer. Like Misty, I have mostly forgotten about them (until now). I will plant those ones and just leave the pots outside here in a few weeks and see what happens this spring.

I did orange butterfly weed in the fridge last year (ziplock with seed starter mix), and I think it only took about two weeks to get sprouts. Maybe it was longer, but it only felt like two weeks! (And I didn't have to add any water or check on them at all during that time.)

(Just looked in my notes — it was actually only one week until the first one germinated.)

So I have several seedlings, and they are doing great. But ought to either get into the ground or into larger pots soon. Anyone live in/near Westminster and would like to stop by to get a plant or two? Many counties are starting to lighten stay at home orders, but of course there are still social distancing, etc. restrictions. Could set them out on my front porch for pick up - and wave/chat with each other from 6' ft distance or through window!

Wish I lived closer! I haven’t seen any indication the plants survived this Spring. I’m too impatient. Thanks for the offer - I wish we had the swap this May - maybe in the Fall.

Tomatoz, don’t give up, butterfly weed is a later starter in my experience , I wouldn’t expect to see much, if any, growth coming from it yet.

My winter sowed milkweeds did great except the swamp milkweed. Assuming I can keep them alive I will have more showy milkweed and butterfly weed than I know what to do with. A single strong gust of wind that came out of no where took out one of my trays with the Joe Pye weed and hoary vervain in it. I was able to salvage some but lost half the Joe Pye and several vervain. I am not a happy camper.

Thanks Zach. I know you all will have a few for swap if mine don’t appear. I do have older seeds that I should just sow and hope for something - in the ground.

sorry for your wind loss Of Joe Pye and vervain. Hard work.

Thanks for the encouragement, Zach. I actually found 4 plants just starting to emerge - in different places from last year. Close but not in the exact same place, so I have no clue what colors they will be. Hopefully pink and orange. I'd love some seeds from yellow ones, too, if we have a swap in the Fall.

First Butterfly Weed flower

I only have pink this year, about 6+ plants.

Hey Tomatoz, I THINK that is swamp/rose milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) rather than butterfly weed (A. tuberosa). The first comes in pink and white flowered cultivars and the second comes in orange and yellow. It doesn’t REALLY matter except for the fact if you want a specific color you’ll have to find the right species!

I have ave seeds for both species so if you want more pink or more orange or both let me know! mine are are all “wild type” rather than cultivars so you are much less likely to get white or yellow out of them though.

Thanks for another learning opportunity, Zach. Last year I grew the orange butterfly weed but they failed to return this year. The pink rose milkweed has returned in force, though very erratically spaced. I should have lots of these seeds come end of summer. Yes, I would love some orange seeds to try and plant next Spring. This way I can plant them where I want.

In any event, I hope the butterflies enjoy the flowers.

I wouldn't worry about the butterflies not liking the A. incarnata. The first photo I took at Rocky Flats where there is a large wet meadow dominated by swamp milkweed and was FILLED with monarchs. There was so many that we were even able to do a Monarch Watch tagging event out there one year. The second photo I got at Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The swamp milkweed is more sparse there, but still attracts the monarchs for nectar and a larval host plant (we get more showy milkweed, A. speciosa, at RMA).

My eyes glaze over when I try to read how to get plants to grow from seed... I just don't have the patience or skill :( After several failed attempts to get orange butterfly weed to grow from a packet of seed, a neighbor gave me some of her seed pods. I stuffed the seeds under the mulch all over in the area I where I wanted it to grow, and finally got ONE plant to grow a couple of years ago! It's on a berm in the middle of our backyard lawn where we had 2 trees that died (only to replace them and have the replacements die). Rather than plant more trees there, I'm trying to turn the berm into a butterfly garden.

Last year was the first year my little butterfly weed flowered, and this year it's back and the blooms are opening up now. I found babies in a few spots around the yard this spring, and successfully transplanted one and have a second transplant on life support-- the top died back but I keep watering the roots. I just found 4 more tiny baby butterfly weeds growing in a patch of ground cover near the parent plant, but fear they're too small to transplant at this point so I may need to wait until next spring.

I want to add some milkweed to this area as soon as I find some. The swamp milkweed pictures are so pretty!

Here's my only mature butterfly weed (surrounded by Mexican feather grass), and the bitty babies I'm hoping to transplant next spring...

You didn't give up, eastautumn! Do you recall if you planted them under the mulch in Fall?

And I know exactly how you feel. I rarely have patience to grow anything from seed.

popmama, I'm pretty sure I planted them under the mulch in the fall so they could go through all the freezes and snow. I found info that says they really don't like being transplanted, but hopefully I can successfully transplant my little volunteers and keep at least one of the current transplants alive.

So funny how plants that seem to grow like weeds for other people are hard to establish for me. I've twice bought red knautia 'mars midget' plants from a nursery and had them not come back in the spring. I think maybe it's because I planted them in the fall. Meanwhile, my neighbors complain that they re-seed profusely in their yards, to the point that one is trying to completely eradicate them. I even tried to grow them from seed that skybird gave me at the only swap I ever made it to (spring of 2010), but that didn't work either. About 3 weeks ago I got a couple of knautia volunteer babies from a neighbor and killed them both. I was so paranoid they'd dry out in the heat I think maybe I drowned them by over watering :( My other neighbor let me dig up a chunk of her established patch of knautia and I was pretty sure I killed that too, but it still has some green on it and I just got my first tiny bloom!! So maybe by next year I'll finally have a clump that survives and thrives.

I know just what you mean about plants that thrive for others that do not for me. It's maddening! I'm glad you didn't give up. Fall makes sense as that would be the time that they would self-seed anyway.

Looks great! I'm sure the butterflies are on their way!

Beautiful! Is that a pink butterfly weed next to it? They look so pretty together :)

No, it's actually pink sedum that is everywhere. The bees love it right now.

I have some that I started from seed that I suck in a random pot, but they get too much water. I read the more neglected they are the better they do. I was going to plant it in the open field next to my complex.