milkweed
Sun, 07/06/2008 - 15:57 — Maybam2
There are several kinds of milk weed besides the butterfly weed plant I would like to know the other names of the milk weed so I could purchase some seeds to add to my flowerfly collection of plants that I have. Can anyone help with the other names of them or where the seeds can be bought. We live in Alabama and they don't grow wild down here. Thanks for the help.
milkweeds of North America (MonarchWatch)
My favorite source of information on milkweeds is on the Monarch Watch site. (http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/guide/index.htm)
They list and have photos of 23 species and 3 related plants.
Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa) and swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) grow well in most of the eastern US and make good garden plants. I'm growing swamp milkweed (in a normally dry yard) in Michigan -- several species of bees have been visiting.
where to get milkweed seed
check out the following website, http://www.livemonarch.org/ This website also give you a lot of info of milkweed and monarch butterfly.
You can send a self address return envelope to request free milkweed seeds , or make a $3 donation online and get milkweed seeds by mail, or there is a store of this website you can buy milkweed seeds or milkweed, even catapilla or butterflies. I got it a couple months ago and I think everyone of the milkweed seed did germinate unlike the sunflower seed in this project, I had only one germinated.
Asclepias
The scientific genus for all milkweed plants is Asclepias. Searching for it on google will show you all the varieties all around.
milkweeds in AL
Actually there are several varities that grow wild in Alabama. I live near Guntersville and i've seen 3 species blooming recently, A. tuberosa, A. incarnata and A. syriaca, though the butterfly weed was blooming late on cut verges of the highway. A. syriaca is just coming into full bloom, in my meadow and along roadsides and A. incarnata in the shallows of a swamp near here. Good luck on finding them, A. syriaca, comes easily from root cuttings and digging a small clump with usually give you a start. I have never sucessfuly dug an A. tuberosa, or an A. incarnata, I'd strongly suggest seeds. I have recently purchased several species from groco seeds and plan on sowing them in a day or 2. Good luck .
nonwild recommended species
Talked to a friend, who knows more than I do about milkweeds and she suggested the bloodflower, A. curassavica, it is an annual this far north but reseeds reliablely here, but you should save some of the seeds as ocassionaly none come up in a hard winter.