I have had this particular type of milkweed grow in mostly shady spots for several years, and although it would come back each summer, it never really developed very well. This particular plant doesn’t grow well with a lot of shade, so plant showy milkweed where it gets at least 6 or more hours of direct sunlight each day.Ī little shade during the hottest part of the day is tolerable, but too much shade seems to keep their growth at bay. Plant showy milkweed in a location that gets full sun. I have had a little success digging up very small milkweed starts and transplanting them, but the success rate is far from encouraging to do as a normal practice. For best results, they should be planted directly in the soil during their first year if started in pots.Īlso, because of their large taproot, showy milkweed doesn’t transplant well either. Showy milkweed can be started in pots, but because of their large taproot and rhizomes, they don’t grow well in artificial pots. But once you have seedlings, the rest is quite easy. The hardest part of growing showy milkweed is getting the seeds to germinate. (This stand of showy milkweed was planted in our yard by seed only three years ago and has now grown into a full, lush patch of milkweed available for monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on.) It doesn’t take much to get a good stand of milkweed growing once you get a couple of sprouts started. Seeds should be planted very shallow, about. I have tried planting Asclepias speciosa seeds without cold stratification and the germination rate is extremely low without it. You can also cold stratify showy milkweed seeds indoors for 30 days prior to planting if you prefer, but the best way is to just sow the seeds in late fall and let nature take care of the rest. Showy milkweed seeds need to be cold stratified to help the germination process, and the easiest way to do that is to plant them directly in the soil, thus letting them cold stratify naturally. The best time to plant showy milkweed seeds is in late fall, usually after the first frost. Monarch butterflies love showy milkweed, and they are very attracted to this particular species of milkweed, both a host plant to lay their eggs on and as a source of nectar when the plant is in full bloom. It makes a great addition to a backyard pollinator garden. It is quite a beautiful plant when in bloom and it is very easy to grow as well. Planting milkweed is critical for the survival of the monarch butterfly.) (Without milkweed, scenes such as this monarch on a sunflower from my backyard a couple years ago won’t be around for much longer. One of those plants, the showy milkweed, or Asclepias speciosa if you prefer the scientific terminology, is one of the milkweed plants monarchs do utilize as a host plant. Forest Service lists 33 of them on their website as being used by the monarch butterfly as a host plant (a plant where they lay their eggs and the larva eat). There are 73 varieties of milkweed plants in the United States, and the U.S. No milkweed literally means no monarch butterflies. This is why the milkweed plant is so vital for monarchs. It’s also well-known milkweed is the only species of plant monarch caterpillars will eat. It is well-known and well-documented monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on milkweed plants. There are other aspects that also factor into the decline of the monarch population, but it is widely believed the loss of milkweed plants is a big cause of this decline. The monarch butterfly is in trouble, however, and part of their demise is the loss of habitat, particularly the loss of the milkweed plant along its migration routes and traditional breeding areas. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) (Kaytee Wild Bird Black Oil Sunflower Seed)
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