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| Swamp Milkweed Before Pods Were Mature |
Asclepias incarnata
Cold Moist Storage - 30 days
When I was in the 7th grade, we moved to a 100 acre farm in North Vollney, NY. I sometimes wonder if my dad watched too many episodes of Green Acres, as we had no idea how to farm or manage all that property. One lesson I learned quickly was, look as busy as possible before someone found something for you to do. Consequently, we spent many hours "bombing" each other with milkweed pods.
I am embarrassed to admit, that I never considered that these fun little seed pods, when broken open sending fuzzy helicopters helter-skelter played a significant role in the life of numerous insects most notably the Monarch Butterfly. For us they were sheer entertainment.
Many years later, I find myself propagating and raising several varieties of milkweed plants. What is exciting is, after three years I now have plenty of my own seeds.