Is Your Milkweed Not Germinating? My Insights for Seed Starting, Cold Stratification & Care

Описание: Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most people know them as Monarch butterfly plants. They're really popular, so let's dive into everything you need to know to grow them successfully.

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0:22 Intro
2:19 Seed Starting
3:56 Cold Stratification
5:34 Mature Milkweed

It's such an amazing plant that has really picked up in popularity lately, and I'm excited it's getting the recognition it deserves! Milkweed is an essential food source for butterflies, especially the Monarch. We carry several varieties, and the two I'm showing here are native so they like the hot, dry climate of the American Southwest.

We have seen a lot of interest in milkweed and have had A TON of questions come in. One of the most common topics is seed starting. The first seedlings that I have in the greenhouse here were started almost TWO MONTHS ago. They're barely an inch or so!

Milkweed takes a while to germinate and is a very slow-growing plant. Don't get too worried! You just need to keep the soil moist. Some of my seeds are just barely germinated after a month.

In the vein of seed starting, a lot of people ask if they have to cold stratify their seeds. This is the process of simulating natural conditions to help the seed wake up from hibernation. There is an ongoing debate about whether you NEED to do it, but we did a test batch. We did notice that we did get more even germination for the cold stratified seeds, but they did not germinate any faster. You still have to be patient, but you should see a better success rate. That said, it helps but isn't essential to do.

With these flats of milkweed and all the others, we're going to be planting them out at our Ramona seed production farm so you can buy these next year! We do have some holdouts from our urban farm, though, so let's see what you can expect when you plant these out.

This tropical milkweed is actually native to the Southwest, but it does really well here. It can actually overwinter, so we cut it back in the fall. The plant will grow back in the spring, but we don't want to tempt monarch butterflies to get stuck at our pit stop and fail to complete their migration pattern or die due to lack of food.

When possible, you want to plant varieties that are native to your area. The caterpillars love it, and the milkiness actually helps protect them. If you're looking for an easy (once you get it started) and perennial native plant, definitely consider adding these to your garden.

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