Milkweed seems to grow so easily in fields and on roadsides. Yet, it took years to establish it in my garden. I have two patches. One is in a south-facing location and the other is more north. That keeps a constant bloom of flowers going from May to late July. Always hoping that a monarch butterfly mother will choose my yard for her babies. It hasn’t happened yet. Bees and other butterflies do love the flowers and they smell wonderful.
I planted showy milkweed, Asclepias Speciosa, started from seed gathered from Ann Morrison Park. In the first two to three years, this species does not bloom. It doesn’t even look like milkweed at first. The leaves are thin and the plants are spindly.
Here is some teenage milkweed. It will probably bloom next year. Established milkweed is xeric. If you do a lot of watering, it grows 5-6 feet tall and can tip over. Otherwise, it’s in the 3-4 foot range.
The seed pod development is interesting. It happens at the bottom of the flowers and grows slowly.
Seed pods can be harvested for seed-saving when the edge starts to split. Usually in August.
~Debbie