I planted milkweed for the first time this year. Wash Warning: This one isn’t for milkweed seeds, but for your hands. Hi Nicole, I recommend washing your hands after handling milkweed and, of course, not touching your face while handling it. What other varieties would you suggest for Southern Ca.? They have points at the tips. Cold stratification is a simple pre-treatment that breaks the natural dormancy of the seeds and promotes germination. Hi Laura, I separate the seeds from the fluff right after harvesting. 1-2 months after your seedlings have sprouted next spring, pinch off extra plants (or consider transplanting) to achieve ideal spacing for your specific milkweed. I waited until my native milkweed pods turned brown and cracked open but there were only seeds inside, no fluff. I am happy to hear you will be harvesting milkweed seeds Linda. IE Fall planting of seeds or Indoor starts in the early spring. Is this normal? Prairie planting is not my field of expertise, but there is a link to planting a field for pollinators in this post: What 5 acres that’s a lot of land!!! Saw post about raising monarchs indoors, if I pulled it off, what wold I feed them. Stratification is when a seed is moistened, chilled or frozen and thawed, breaking down germination inhibitors on the seed coat, such as waxes, hormones, oils or heavy coats. But yes, you can plant seeds with fluff attached if you wish. You can accomplish this with your refrigerator. Otherwise, facebook groups are the best place to give or trade milkweed seeds. Grip the floss end of the cluster with one hand and gently remove the seeds from the floss with the other hand, brushing them off into a bowl. If so, please post a comment below and let us know your seed germination rate the next season. It is so much information I will have to read it over again. Hi! Cutting back where previous caterpillars have been might help. There are many reasons to collect and grow seeds from your garden, especially milkweed seeds. When emerging milkweeds have three to four sets of leaves, thin seedlings to 6 inches apart. I tried the paper bag and penny method. The pod is still tightly closed so seeds are not ripe. Living in southern California I figured I have Monarchs all over the place. However it is heavy with fern. There were probably 25 other seeds including black eyed Susans, goldenrod. Jun 2, 2019 - How to harvest and plant milkweed seeds: Learn how to collect, harvest, and plant common milkweed seeds to attract monarch butterflies to your garden. Turn it off at night. good luck…. The plant was in a pot so I brought the whole thing inside. The Ascelpias viridis (spider milkweed) plants will be spaced 1.5 to 2 feet apart. I have about 50 milk weed plants in my back yard. The resulting caterpillars then eat the leaves of the milkweed plants and build their pupas on the milkweed plants. Hi Karyn, not sure where you are located. This summer and wanted to help the butterfly’s . I noticed that the honeyvine pods still had plenty of latex sap in them even tho’ the vines were dead, so I left them alone thinking the seeds *might* continue maturing. Only a few seeds went to the bottom. Some of the pods have already split but I still have about 20+ that have not. It could be aquatic milkweed. Other sources say they won’t mature if picked too soon. Once the floss fluffs out like the one in the lower left, it is harder to remove from the seed. Collect milkweed seeds in late fall when the seed pods are brown and open, or green and easy to pop open. Will plant in Nov. when the pods burst open does the fluff fly everywhere? Plenty of caterpillars, chrysalis.. Butterfly’s but no pods. You could also try winter sowing and then plant all the seedlings next spring. Kept in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in plastic. She was half way through it. It was a scramble to feed later this summer. Thanks. Upon examination, I found a large praying mantis. Yes, the new plants should produce more seeds as long as they have a chance to grow and aren’t constantly eaten down. One year? Interesting ideas. Sow the seeds directly onto the soil, lightly covering. The seed is simple to harvest from the ripe pods. The pods and seeds look fully developed and the seeds look brown and healthy for harvesting. Hello Heidi, thank you for helping the monarchs. I have seen a few downtown this year and this is the first time I can remember that happening and I have worked here 11 years. Am I doing this right? that will use the insides of the stalks for homes. Hi Shae, usually 8-12 weeks before your average last frost is a good time to start seeds indoors. Etc. Tony, Just want to say thank you for all of this good information. I know the danger comes from the sap but still…? You can plant milkweed seeds in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, but they will need to be stratified for 2 to 3 months in the refrigerator before planting in spring for better germination. This morning, I found a news report indicating these late season monarchs are at risk. Simply sprinkle seeds on well-tilled soil and pat them down, add a topdressing of soil, and water them in. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we These seeds are not ready to harvest. I never noticed any seed pods until now (December 29). Do I try to dry them in the basement or do I open the kinda green ones and separate the seeds any way to plant now or in the spring??? Loosely cover it again in soil and mark the spot where you buried it. I plan to plant a milkweed/butterfly garden next year and am stratifying the seeds now so I wont be needing most of my seeds. I do this by leaving the seeds out in a bowl overnight. Hopefully I’ll have more success next year. This has been such a helpful source of information. Hi Ginny, you can tie organza bags around the pods like these: or you can knock them into a bucket of soapy water. This is quite a service. I was under the impression that next spring the plants will produce more seed and thicken the area more. This can happen in regions with a continuous milkweed/monarch season. Good luck! 8. In short, the cold temperature breaks or softens the hard outer casing of the seed so it can sprout easier. The seed cluster can then be removed carefully from the milkweed pod. I have the asclepias tuberosa plant. Great job! Road trip! I just planted a few A. tuberosa this spring and only had a handful germinate. I wasn’t able to plant them right away and now it’s the middle of June. Is it a good idea to plant them here? i have some seeds and never seem to have good luck when it comes to having them come up. This past nov. The life cycle of Monarchs starts by adult Monarchs laying eggs on the milkweed plants. 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