How to Grow Milkweed From Seed

 Raising Milkweed from Seed is Easier than You Think

 

Butterfly Weed, Swamp, Poke Milkweed

  Don't be intimidated by the term stratifying. Stratifying native plant seed is nothing more than, “tricking” seed into believing it is time to rev up their engines and start growing. Plants that are native to Ohio have a built in “safety mechanism", which prevents them from starting the germination process until conditions are optimal, length of daylight and ground temperature are a few of the ways seeds receive their "signal" that spring has arrived. If species like Asclepias (milkweed) are duped in to believing spring was right around the corner during the first January thaw their seedling survival rate would certainly plummet.

Deceiving Your Milkweed  Seeds

   Time Needed for Cold/moist storage – 30 days of cold moist storage will unlock milkweed seed dormancy. Small ziplock plastic bags with a few tablespoons of vermiculite work wells for winter storage.  Add only enough water to the seed and vermiculite mixture to moisten. I am still searching for a more sustainable option.

    Scheduling a seed planting weekend in February, then working backwards makes it easy to determine when to begin the chilling process. Generally a longer storage period like 60 to 90 days is not detrimental to seed. Long term dry storage is a topic for a future blog post. Keep in mind that not all native seed require the same length and sequence of warm/cold storage. Prairie Moon Nurseries's cataglog is a great reference for learning specific native seed stratification requirements.

 

 It is the Native Plant Propagators Responsibility to Convince Seed... Spring has “Arrived”.

Preparing seeds for cold storage

Labeling - It is important to label your plastic bags with seed name and date cold storage began. I like to write myself reminder notes on a calendar. Date cold storage will be complete is also useful.

Where to Store – The meat bin in our our refrigerator serves as a storage bin for stratifying seed. Plastic organic lettuce containers are also useful for organizing and storing seed.

                  "Teach your children not to pick flowers but to sow them, and a whole generation starts out with a fresh approach to nature" 

Bebe Miles - 1969 - Bluebells & Bittersweet

Planting Your Seeds

Two year old Common Milkweed plants

Soil - Suremix Perennial potting soil which contains: perlite, peat, wetting agent and bark works well. Certainly, other fine potting mixes are available.
 

Containers - Plastic seed cells (containers) are available at your local nursery. If you do recycle your cells, as I do, be sure to sterilize them. In the past I have soaked mine in 10% dilute solution of chloride bleach. I would love to advise you to use a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution or one made with vinegar as mentioned in Hub Pages, however, I don't have firsthand experience with this method. I can say using a dilute solution of vinegar in our home for cleaning purposes has kept us healthy. Mixing Hydrogen Peroxide and vinegar is not advisable.

Planting - It is best not to over crowd your seeds, they have an uncanny ability to delay growth until conditions are favorable. One or two seeds per square inch works well. When packing your cells (containers) it is important to fill them almost to the top with soil, be careful not to pack the soil to tightly as air needs to circulate. Seeds and roots both need oxygen in order to develop properly.
  

Sullivans Milkweed -Second season

Artificial Light – Hanging florescent lights, one cool white, and one warm from wire racks is a simple and inexpensive way to provide the necessary 14 to 16 hours of light that young seedling require for adequate growth.The amount of light varies from the middle to the end of the bulbs; rotating seed tray helps distribute light evenly. Keeping the light bulbs just a few inches above growth is critical. Be certain your lights are secure, more than once while adjusting light height I have dropped a heavy florescent light on a tray of seedlings. Ugh!

Watering - Knowing when and how much to water seedlings takes practice. The soil needs to remain damp but not soggy. Spray bottles work well but they are not especially durable. A friend suggested using empty dish soap bottles. I like that idea as not only are they easy to use... they are “free”.

Fertilizer -  In the past I have experienced success using a diluted solution of all purpose fertilizer. Experimenting with fish and seaweed fertilizer is a goal for this season. Either way go easy; seeds have a nutrient reserve that keeps them nourished and satisfied until their first true leaves emerge.

Purple Milkweed First Year

 

Most Milkweeds Flower Their Seconds Season 

 

 

Whorled Milkweed

  Although I have concocted a few methods of "out smarting" milkweed seed, generally it operates in its own time frame. Most Asclepias species spend their first season establishing an extensive root system and their second producing blooms. Butterfly Weed - Asclepais tuberosa has proven to be an exception.

    
   If you are truly interested in learning how to propagate native plants it will be important to give yourself permission to fail. I can’t tell you the number of seed packages I have purchased before experiencing a bit of success. I have kept all of the empty packages as a reminder of how tedious the process can be. 

 

 Raising Native Plants is a lot Like Raising Kids

 

Sweet Pea Cheese Farm

    Raising native plants is a lot like raising kids, both the two legged and four. Each matures at their own speed, not all requiring the same conditions to thrive. You will quickly discover that some Like Rudbeckia triloba ( Brown-Eyed- Susans) prefer "socializing" in neighbors yards others like  Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in the Pulpits) flower when they "feel" like it.

    It wish I could advise you to let your native plants progress at their own pace but that would go against my natural tendencies. For me the fun is challenging plants like Purple Milkweed to see how they fair in various conditions. Surprisingly, Asclepias purpurascens ( Purple Milkweed) was extremely accommodating, flowering in a variety of situations.

Purple Milkweed First year

For Detailed Cultivation Information

We raise four different milkweed species at NOG if you are interested in learning more information on each species you can visit our website

Poke Milkweed - Asclepias exaltata

Purple Milkweed - Asclepias purpurascens

Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata

Common Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca

2/11/14 - Notes to Myself-  Whorled Milkweed Seed from NY - After 2 moths - in cold/moist storage ziplock bag moldy (red) - cleaned seed and put in freezer. Will not reuse this bag. Experiment leaving little downy not a good one.  I am wondering if the red color was chemical in seed dissolving on downy. Checking into this

2/14/14 - Cleaning Plastic Bags - After cold storage rinsed baggies and soak in 50% vinegar solution, soak 1 hour rinsed and let air dry