Are your milkweeds up?

[Anonymous]

My child’s second grade teacher told me to keep the milkweed cut back so new leaves are always present. Monarch caterpillars like the new tender leaves. She’s been doing monarchs for a years and years and planted a milkweed patch in a raised bed. I took her advice last year and saw the monarch butterflies abound.

[Anonymous]

Bumping up from last year- are your butterfly weed plants up yet? Swamp milkweed popped up with the heat but my butterfly weed plants from last year have yet to emerge....

Come to think of it my garden phlox hasn't emerged either and I feel like that is usually up on the early side. Admittedly they didn't do great with the prolonged dry spells last year so I wonder if they just died.

[Anonymous]

Garden phlox are definitely up. About 6" tall now. Swamp milkweed is up. Butterfly weed is just starting.

[Anonymous]

This is encouraging. My butterfly weed is definitely not emerging yet

[Anonymous]

Related question for the milkweed mavens here: if I plant it in a pot can it still spread to my garden beds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Related question for the milkweed mavens here: if I plant it in a pot can it still spread to my garden beds?

Common milkweed can spread by seed, but it's usually spreading by roots that most people have problems with. You will substantially limit spread by putting it in pots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Related question for the milkweed mavens here: if I plant it in a pot can it still spread to my garden beds?

Common milkweed can spread by seed, but it's usually spreading by roots that most people have problems with. You will substantially limit spread by putting it in pots.

+1 There are other native milkweed you can get that don't have the tap root common milkweed does and can be grown in a pot. If you don't want it spreading, just clip the seed pods before they burst.

Whorled milkweed - asclepias verticillata
Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
Butterfly weed - Asclepias tuberosa

https://www.google.com/search?q=native+milkweed+virginia&oq=native+milkweed+vir&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMggIBBAAGBYYHjINCAUQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAYQABiGAxiABBiKBTIKCAcQABiABBiiBDIKCAgQABiABBiiBNIBCDk3OTBqMGo3qAIUsAIB&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep, my milkweed is up! I just transferred it into a bed from a pot though, so I'm hoping it survives.

I ditched my butterfly bush in favor of natives.

Butterfly bush is not the same as butterfly milkweed also known as butterfly weed.