One of the easiest butterfly-friendly flowers you can grow!
Brighten your landscape, borders, and bouquets with large clusters of orange, red, pink, and lemon-yellow blooms engulfed in oblong, mid-green leaves. Butterflies all summer long! Enjoy the bright orange and lemon hues of this vibrant mixture while flocks of butterflies treat you to their own show of color and activity. Fragrant, quick-growing plants form clumps of foliage that make the perfect backdrop to the showy flowers. Milkweed plants are drought tolerant and provide a steady food source for beautiful Monarch butterfliesPlease join in the fight to raise back up the declining numbers of Monarch butterflies by planting milkweed in your area. Milkweed is essential to the Monarchs as they complete their life cycle on the plant. The monarchs will fly all the way from Mexico to reproduce on it. They begin by laying eggs on the leaves and once they hatch, use the leaves of the plant as their food source. Once large enough, the process of metamorphosis begins and the caterpillar emerges as the Monarch butterfly. The butterfly feeds off the Milkweed flowers until it lays eggs for the next generation. Milkweed is essential to their short life cycle and by planting it in your landscape, you are creating a habitat for the butterflies for years to come.Once established it will continue to come up in the same spot each year. I include complete instructions for germinating the seeds with each order. If we all work together we can insure that future generations get to enjoy the beauty of the wonderful Monarch butterfly!!!Species: Variety of Milkweed. We do NOT make any claims that you will receive all seed varieties since we have no way of knowing which are which. The mix may include; Soulmate Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed Carmine, Orange Glory Flower, Cinderella Asclepias, Summer Zest Asclepias, Bloodflower, Sunset flower, Whorled Milkweed, Common Milkweed, Showy Milkweed, Tropical Milkweed, and Butterfly Weed Heirloom pollinator attractor Multiple colors of blooms beginning in the summer that can thrive in almost any soil Thrives in bright, sunny growing areasBotanical Name Asclepias tuberosa Form Perennial Hardiness Zone 3-9 Flowering Time All summer Light Requirements Full Sun Flower Color Mixture of yellow, orange, and pink tones Flower Form Clusters (umbels), 2-5" across Foliage Type Alternate, lanceolate or oblong, 2-6" long Growth Rate Fast Height/Habit 18 - 36 inches Spread 24 inches Planting Instructions Top of the plant should be just below the soil, plant approx 24" apart. Soil Requirements Well drained Will Tolerate Acidic Soil, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Loamy Soil, Sandy Soil Pruning Remove spent blooms can prolong blooming time.LIGHT Full Sun SIZE #1 Plant ZONE 3-9 BLOOM TIME All summer HEIGHT 18 - 36 inches SOIL REQUIREMENT Well drained DEER RESISTANT ATTRACT BEESHow to Germinate MilkweedsMILKWEEDS (ASCLEPIAS SPP.) ARE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TO GERMINATE. But don’t despair. Follow this process and you’ll soon be on your way to supporting monarchs, bumblebees and tons of other insects that depend on milkweed plants.1. Collect Materials Here are the materials you’ll need to get started: Milkweed seeds native to your specific ecoregion A plastic bag with a seal or zip closure A bulb growing tray or another large shallow container with drainage holes Numerous 4-inch pots Stratification mix (one part perlite to one part vermiculite) Seed germinating mix (can be found at garden centers or nurseries) Well-draining growing mix. Wildflower Center experts have successfully used several different growing mixes: One part coarse sand to one part compost, or One part coconut coir to one part coarse sand to one part compost, or Composted pine bark (can add coarse sand)2. Soak and Stratify Seeds Milkweed seeds require some time in the damp cool. Soak milkweed seeds in water for several hours or overnight; tap water is okay. After the seeds have soaked, put them in a sealed plastic bag filled with moist stratification mix (and by “moist” we mean like a damp sponge, no excess water). Refrigerate the bag of moist seeds in their mix for at least two weeks. For some species of Asclepias, 30 days of cool moist stratification yields 85 percent germination or better. Check your seeds every day or so; some seeds such as A. incarnata and A. tuberosa may begin to germinate in the bag.3. Germinate Once cold stratified, your milkweed seeds are ready to germinate. Transfer the moist seeds and stratification mix into a bulb tray of damp but not soggy germinating mix. Cover lightly with germinating mix. Mist to moisten soil surface thoroughly and check daily. As seeds germinate, mist occasionally. If they are kept in a germinating mix that is too moist, the seedlings will “damp off,” which means they’ll die. Good air movement seems to reduce the potential for damping off, so if the weather is mild or warm, move the bulb tray outdoors under bright, indirect light. 4. Transplant Those little seedlings are growing up! Time for them to move out on their own.Once the seedlings have one or more sets of true leaves, gently transplant them into 4-inch pots or 5-inch liners filled with a well-draining growing mix. Center Propagation Specialist Susan Prosperie advises leaving seedlings in pots for at least six weeks (until they grow enough roots to survive) and transplanting them into the ground in fall or spring.FREE GIFT when you order 5 items or more. Free gift is full of surprise seeds which may include single or mixed varieties.Note: No tracking # will be provided to make the shipping cost-effective for us and free for you. Returns & exchanges Not accepted. But please contact me if you have problems with your order
Brighten your landscape, borders, and bouquets with large clusters of orange, red, pink, and lemon-yellow blooms engulfed in oblong, mid-green leaves. Butterflies all summer long! Enjoy the bright orange and lemon hues of this vibrant mixture while flocks of butterflies treat you to their own show of color and activity. Fragrant, quick-growing plants form clumps of foliage that make the perfect backdrop to the showy flowers. Milkweed plants are drought tolerant and provide a steady food source for beautiful Monarch butterfliesPlease join in the fight to raise back up the declining numbers of Monarch butterflies by planting milkweed in your area. Milkweed is essential to the Monarchs as they complete their life cycle on the plant. The monarchs will fly all the way from Mexico to reproduce on it. They begin by laying eggs on the leaves and once they hatch, use the leaves of the plant as their food source. Once large enough, the process of metamorphosis begins and the caterpillar emerges as the Monarch butterfly. The butterfly feeds off the Milkweed flowers until it lays eggs for the next generation. Milkweed is essential to their short life cycle and by planting it in your landscape, you are creating a habitat for the butterflies for years to come.Once established it will continue to come up in the same spot each year. I include complete instructions for germinating the seeds with each order. If we all work together we can insure that future generations get to enjoy the beauty of the wonderful Monarch butterfly!!!Species: Variety of Milkweed. We do NOT make any claims that you will receive all seed varieties since we have no way of knowing which are which. The mix may include; Soulmate Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed Carmine, Orange Glory Flower, Cinderella Asclepias, Summer Zest Asclepias, Bloodflower, Sunset flower, Whorled Milkweed, Common Milkweed, Showy Milkweed, Tropical Milkweed, and Butterfly Weed Heirloom pollinator attractor Multiple colors of blooms beginning in the summer that can thrive in almost any soil Thrives in bright, sunny growing areasBotanical Name Asclepias tuberosa Form Perennial Hardiness Zone 3-9 Flowering Time All summer Light Requirements Full Sun Flower Color Mixture of yellow, orange, and pink tones Flower Form Clusters (umbels), 2-5" across Foliage Type Alternate, lanceolate or oblong, 2-6" long Growth Rate Fast Height/Habit 18 - 36 inches Spread 24 inches Planting Instructions Top of the plant should be just below the soil, plant approx 24" apart. Soil Requirements Well drained Will Tolerate Acidic Soil, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Loamy Soil, Sandy Soil Pruning Remove spent blooms can prolong blooming time.LIGHT Full Sun SIZE #1 Plant ZONE 3-9 BLOOM TIME All summer HEIGHT 18 - 36 inches SOIL REQUIREMENT Well drained DEER RESISTANT ATTRACT BEESHow to Germinate MilkweedsMILKWEEDS (ASCLEPIAS SPP.) ARE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TO GERMINATE. But don’t despair. Follow this process and you’ll soon be on your way to supporting monarchs, bumblebees and tons of other insects that depend on milkweed plants.1. Collect Materials Here are the materials you’ll need to get started: Milkweed seeds native to your specific ecoregion A plastic bag with a seal or zip closure A bulb growing tray or another large shallow container with drainage holes Numerous 4-inch pots Stratification mix (one part perlite to one part vermiculite) Seed germinating mix (can be found at garden centers or nurseries) Well-draining growing mix. Wildflower Center experts have successfully used several different growing mixes: One part coarse sand to one part compost, or One part coconut coir to one part coarse sand to one part compost, or Composted pine bark (can add coarse sand)2. Soak and Stratify Seeds Milkweed seeds require some time in the damp cool. Soak milkweed seeds in water for several hours or overnight; tap water is okay. After the seeds have soaked, put them in a sealed plastic bag filled with moist stratification mix (and by “moist” we mean like a damp sponge, no excess water). Refrigerate the bag of moist seeds in their mix for at least two weeks. For some species of Asclepias, 30 days of cool moist stratification yields 85 percent germination or better. Check your seeds every day or so; some seeds such as A. incarnata and A. tuberosa may begin to germinate in the bag.3. Germinate Once cold stratified, your milkweed seeds are ready to germinate. Transfer the moist seeds and stratification mix into a bulb tray of damp but not soggy germinating mix. Cover lightly with germinating mix. Mist to moisten soil surface thoroughly and check daily. As seeds germinate, mist occasionally. If they are kept in a germinating mix that is too moist, the seedlings will “damp off,” which means they’ll die. Good air movement seems to reduce the potential for damping off, so if the weather is mild or warm, move the bulb tray outdoors under bright, indirect light. 4. Transplant Those little seedlings are growing up! Time for them to move out on their own.Once the seedlings have one or more sets of true leaves, gently transplant them into 4-inch pots or 5-inch liners filled with a well-draining growing mix. Center Propagation Specialist Susan Prosperie advises leaving seedlings in pots for at least six weeks (until they grow enough roots to survive) and transplanting them into the ground in fall or spring.FREE GIFT when you order 5 items or more. Free gift is full of surprise seeds which may include single or mixed varieties.Note: No tracking # will be provided to make the shipping cost-effective for us and free for you. Returns & exchanges Not accepted. But please contact me if you have problems with your order