Growing Milkweed

Growing Milkweed for Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds

Milkweed is unbelievably important for monarch caterpillars and butterflies. Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed leaves and can not exist on anything else. And when they transform into a beautiful butterfly, they feast on the nectar of the milkweed along with other plants like bee balm, asters, and coneflowers.

But milkweed is not just for monarchs. Other butterflies, honey bees, and even hummingbirds love them. Honey bees, which have been having a hard time surviving, find the milkweed flower an excellent source of nectar to make honey. And you can find speedy little hummingbirds eating off the nectar, too.

Seed Starting

Milkweed seeds are different than your average vegetable, herb, or flower seeds. They are in need of one extra first step for proper germination. The seeds need to go through a process called cold stratification. But don‘t worry growing milkweed is easy.

Cold stratification is a process for pre-treat seeds that breaks the dormancy in a cold environment and prepares it to be ready for germination. For milkweed seeds, this process takes up to four to eight weeks and can be done in a few different methods. The process happens naturally outside and on the ground but can be manipulated inside the refrigerator. I will explain how I did the latter of the two.

First, you want to take all your milkweed packets and separate them. I had two different varieties; swamp milkweed which has a pink flower and the common orange milkweed. Next, label enough large Ziploc bags with the appropriate milkweed seeds that will be put into each.

After everything is labeled, gather one clean paper towel for each bag. Dampen the paper towels lightly all the way through. Make sure the towels are rung out with as much water as possible. Try not to rip the wet towels when ringing them out. Finally, you want to sprinkle the seeds from one seed packet to one half of the spread out dampened paper towel. I try not to clump seeds together or let them touch each other on the paper towel. Fold over the other half of the paper towel on top of the seeds. This will make a little bed and blanket for the seeds.

Now you need to carefully slip the dampened towel and seeds into a large plastic seal-able baggie. I used a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Furthermore, make sure you place the correct seeds into the correctly named plastic bag. And finally, tape the sealed bags in your refrigerator walls. Place them in a section that won’t be moved or disturbed by others that go in and out of the fridge. Keep the seed bags taped in the refrigerator for about 4-8 weeks.

Update

When I first did the cold stratification process, I kept the seeds in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. After planting, one of my seed packets did a great job of germinating but the other one did not. I think next time I would personally keep the seeds in the refrigerator for longer than four weeks.

Seed Planting

After the four to eight weeks in the refrigerator, it is time to immediately plant the milkweed seeds. I like to use a good potting soil or seed starting soil. You don’t need any special soil for this process.

You can also start the seeds in any container you would like. Sometimes if I have the room, I will plant individual milkweed seeds in my favorite toilet paper rolls. This is typically my go-to freebie seed starter method. I use this method when I want to plant seeds individually like for my vegetable summer garden.

But for the majority of my milkweed planting, I like to use small fruit plastic containers. I can plant groups of seeds together which can save me precious space under my grow lights. These are the containers that you find in the grocery store when you buy raspberries or blueberries.

Place a small piece of paper at the bottom of each container. This is important because these plastic boxes have large holes in the bottom, and the soil will fall out. Next, load the containers with your potting soil, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top. Sprinkle milkweed seeds uniformly around the soil. Finally top the seeds with a small amount of soil, lightly water, and label each container with their appropriate name of seeds.

Caring for Seed Germination

I like to use these great small plastic containers because they have a perfect lid that is attached. The lids keep in the heat wonderfully, which keeps the soil nice and warm for perfect germination. Milkweed seeds need to germinate in soil temps that are about 70 degrees F, so a warming pad is also a good idea for starting seeds indoors. To save money, I use a heating pad instead of buying a special seed starting warming pad.

Next, keep the heating pad and closed seed containers under grow lights. Make sure your grow lights are kept low to the containers but not touching. You don’t want to melt the plastic. The grow lights act like the sun and also heat the top layer of the soil. Milkweed seeds need warmth to properly germinate like in the outdoor environment. When your seedlings start growing, and they do grow fast, pop or cut off the tops of the lids. Place the lids underneath the container, so you don’t lose them.

Every day, lightly water the containers making sure not to over soak the soil. You don’t want to make the seeds soggy and possibly mold.

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Hardening off the Seedlings.

First, phase of hardening my seeds is to place my seed containers in my southern facing gardening grow window. I do this when the seedlings have about four to six true leaves. At this stage, the seedlings are about three inches tall. Milkweed seeds are “leggy” meaning they are long. My grow light area doesn’t have that kind of space, so that is why I place them in front of the window with southern-facing sunlight. They always do well there.

Finally, a week or two before planting them outside permanently, I lay them outside in their containers on your porch or deck. The best area is to place them in the space where you will be planting them. Keep the containers out at two-hour intervals each day with each day increasing the time. So the first day is two hours, the second day is four hours, and so on. This way, the seedlings get use to the wind, temperatures fluctuations, and direct sunlight. I have not failed with the method so far.

Transplanting Tips

Now you have gotten to the final stage of growing milkweed from seed. It is transplant day! Hopefully, by now you know exactly where you want your perennial milkweed plants. But if you don’t, there are a few things to keep in mind when transplanting your seedlings properly.

First of all, milkweed is a perennial. It will die back every winter and grow every spring. It will also drop its seeds if you don’t collect them first. This means that you will hopefully get more and more milkweed plants and expanding your milkweed garden without your help. So make sure you plant your starter milkweed seedlings in a place that can handle great growth and in a place you don’t need for a vegetable garden or orchard.

Secondly, milkweed plants need full sun. They do best in at least 5-6 hours of full direct sunlight. Also, milkweed is poisonous. There is no need to protect your plants from grazers like rabbits or deer. But be careful when planting around small children and pets. The milkweed sap is poisonous, so always keep that in mind when planting.

Finally, the animals you are planting milkweed for need a right amount to survive. Thus, be sure to plant at least six plants together in a patch. You don’t want the sweet little monarch caterpillars and butterflies to run out of food and starve.

How to Transplant

When your air and soil temperature reach a time when you will no longer be at risk of freezing temperatures, is when to plant your seedlings. Make sure you dig a hole double the size of the root ball or container and plant. You may want to add a little bit of 10-10-10 fertilizers and granular sulfur to acidify the soil, if necessary. Make sure you water regularly for the first few months to ensure the roots take hold and the plant grows strong. Then sit back and watch the wildlife flock on in.

Do you have any other great methods for growing milkweed? Let us know in the comment below.