The TROUBLE with Tropical Milkweed
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- Опубликовано: 20 мар 2023
- Want to save monarch butterflies? Then you need to learn how to about trouble with tropical milkweed plant! Check out my latest video to get a crash course on Mexican butterfly milkweed plant and learn what plants do monarch butterflies like to lay their eggs on! This is a whole series on milkweed plant basics.
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I see from the comments that some people are really bummed to hear this news, but you did a huge public service by doing this video. Thank you!!! The milkweed rabbit hole is deep, and confusing. I've been down it a few times. I live in Indiana, and when I started researching milkweed, I bought as much milkweed seed as I could find online. I purchased tropical milkweed because it's so pretty, but then I learned about the OE issue, and I terminated the plant that I did start. I also learned what is native to my area, and only plant those now that I know better. The confusion about milkweed is all over the place. This is the most concise Tropical Milkweed video I have found so far. Bravo!!!
This comment made me feel so good! 🥰
NOW having said and read what you stated, one YT was also indicating that this TROPICAL MILKWEED was the only milkweed that the Monarch butterfly would lay eggs on, and the only MILKWEED that the MONARCH CAT would eat!!! NOW is this true, i didn't research it yet, and I DO NOT KNOW, does anyone know the answer to those questions??? which i happen to think are very good questions about all of this, and I haven't found, nor do I know the answer!
@@WildFloridian ....NOW having said and read what you stated, one YT was also indicating that this TROPICAL MILKWEED was the only milkweed that the Monarch butterfly would lay eggs on, and the only MILKWEED that the MONARCH CAT would eat!!! NOW is this true, i didn't research it yet, and I DO NOT KNOW, does anyone know the answer to those questions??? which i happen to think are very good questions about all of this, and I haven't found, nor do I know the answer!
@@maryjane9842 , I'm not sure who told you that, but that is not true. Monarch butterflys will lay their eggs on whatever kind of milkweed they choose. Please watch the video for information about warnings on Tropical Milkweed.
@@YourMom-kg1tb You sure seem to know much more then I do, I would venture to proceed then and ask you this. Please name for me those MILKWEEDS that are also ones that MONARCHS will eat as they grow and just before becoming butterflies AND at the same time, are native to SOUTH FLORIDA? Thank, I right now are in the process of learning the COMMON/SCIENTIFIC names of some of those MILKWEED plants, which there are so many ones, indeed...
thank you for your help. HHO333
Migratory Monarchs have been discovered to be much more resilient than previously thought. They have began hibernation in Central California's "Australian Blue Gum Eucalyptus" Trees instead of struggling through Mexican herbicide and drought depleted cattle wastelands all the way to the mountains in Mexico to spend winter. These exotic trees have been a savior to at least part of the migration for the last few years and due to the recent rains they will do extraordinary this year as well as last.
I'm an entomologist and monarch conservation scientist. This is an accurate, informative video. Good job!
NOW having said and read what you stated, one YT was also indicating that this TROPICAL MILKWEED was the only milkweed that the Monarch butterfly would lay eggs on, and the only MILKWEED that the MONARCH CAT would eat!!! NOW is this true, i didn't research it yet, and I DO NOT KNOW, does anyone know the answer to those questions??? which i happen to think are very good questions about all of this, and I haven't found, nor do I know the answer!
>>>>...>>>>You sure seem to know much more then I do, I would venture to proceed then and ask you this. Please name for me those MILKWEEDS that are also ones that MONARCHS will eat as they grow and just before becoming butterflies AND at the same time, are native to SOUTH FLORIDA? Thank, I right now are in the process of learning the COMMON/SCIENTIFIC names of some of those MILKWEED plants, which there are so many ones, indeed...
thank you for your help. HHO333
I have 6 tropical milk weeds and last year I had many monarch butterflies not make it and with deformities. Thanks for this video! I'm going to pull it all out and get Native ❤
Oh no 🙈 Thank you for all your work to help save the monarchs Leann 🥰
My local big box store has tropical milkweed mislabeled as Asclepius tuberosa so even if you know the scientific names, it’s not all that helpful sometimes. I saw the flower, so that’s the only way I could tell it wasn’t regular butterfly weed.
Even my local independent nursery refuses to even get other types besides tropical and giant. So I drive about 45 minutes to a nursery that does get Asclepius incarnata and perennis
I had heard that there was a similar situation with porterweed where they used the native scientific name but it was the class 2 invasive. The ones at my store just have the incorrect common name. That is terrible and is frustrating that they are misleading customers. You are awesome for making the effort to get native plants!
I’ve grown so much tropical milkweed before I knew the differences. I’ve raised over 100 monarchs. 😭 I know you’re just educating us but wowzers I’m bummed
I'm so sorry to bum you out 😞 I went through the same thing when I found out. But just switch slowly. The important thing is that we get the word out and get people to start switching.
I am in Orlando and just bought 11 plants at Lucas Nursery this past weekend because the 50+ caterpillars devoured my Pink Swamp Milkweed from Little Red Wagon. The label said Milkweed Scarlet #1 (Asclepius curvassavica) and I just googled it and found it’s Tropical! 😢 Buyers beware if you are local!
Thank you Jacqueline for bringing this to our attention again. You are the best!❤
I said Scarlet #1 was Tropical, I should have said non-native!
Thank you Cheri! And thank you for all that you do for monarchs 🥰
Nearly all of the monarch population of Orlando is year-round breeding. They Will Not migrate, and would almost certainly benefit from having your tropical milkweeds more than swamp/native.
@@cheridefries4980 FYI, if ya highlight your comment, those 3 dots to the right, click there and then you may edit any typo that you may have made, just saying....seems many dont know that little trick.
@@MikeGarden >>>>>.....>>>>NOW having said and read what you stated, one YT was also indicating that this TROPICAL MILKWEED was the only milkweed that the Monarch butterfly would lay eggs on, and the only MILKWEED that the MONARCH CAT would eat!!! NOW is this true, i didn't research it yet, and I DO NOT KNOW, does anyone know the answer to those questions??? which i happen to think are very good questions about all of this, and I haven't found, nor do I know the answer!
You really nailed it. I was one of those people who wanted to help and learned just enough to be suckered into thinking Tropical was Butterfly Weed. And it certainly doesn’t help that all the stores are labeling it as such. I had over a dozen plants, several at about 4 feet when I learned this. As bummed as I was I pulled them all out and am waiting on my first shipment of Swamp Milkweed. Thank you as always
I am a Florida Monarch Mama and want to say thank you and you have done an excellent job explaining the confusing scenario about Monarchs. Carry on!
Excellent tutorial you did a great job explaining it pays to double check the product.
Thank you so much for this video. I had no idea. I have a few, not many, but I will be digging them up tomorrow! I do have natives as well and will add more soon. ! Love your channel.
I'm done with my 1 plant test. Watched it, saw lots of b-flies but I will now plant native. Thanks!
You’ve explained this so well! Thank you for the education! ❤
You are so welcome!
I had tropical milkweed last year because it was all I could find. I cut it back and eventually dug it up when I found better options online. Unfortunately only a couple of my milkweeds have arrived and are slow to grow. I planted some more tropical milk weed to help supplement the food availabilty until the rest of my milkweeds come in and grow large enough. I didn't think having some tropical milkweed would be problematic as long as it was gone by the time natives were gone.
Interesting analogy with the countertop example.
Thanks! I try 😊
Thank you! I had no idea!
You are welcome! 🥰
This is such a complicated issue, and you explain it so well. Thank you also for the recommendation of how to transition the garden, cause our growing season is already underway and cutting plants that are already "occupied" would be seriously hard.
Thanks Monica! I know it is a struggle that people often find out about problematic plants as it is peak time of use. In the grand scheme, a few months will not make a difference. It is the overall conversion away from tropical milkweed that will make the difference.
Thank you 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thanks for your video. I work at a garden center in NJ. Most of our local garden centers carry tropical milkweed, except for us (because we know better). I am trying to educate people in my area, mostly because of the migration disruption issue...OE isn't as big here, because curassavica is an annual here. But, it flowers REALLY late into the season, when all the natives are done.
I wonder if you'd consider talking about the repercussions of growing this plant in the northern regions? You cover the issues really well. Thank you!💗🦋
I'm glad I saw this, I've just been working on plans for a small butterfly garden, I like the Salt and Pepper plants and blue plant grass? I'm trying to figure out the exact correct names for the common butterfly weed, and correct pics. And somewhere to buy the plants. I live in zone 10a, Gulf Gate, FL. Thanks for help from anyone, and thanks millions, Jacequeline, for all the great videos you put out!!
Thank you!
Great video thanks! 🦋❤
You are so welcome ❤️ 🦋
The Lowes here in central only sells the tropical milkweed (labeled butterfly weed), those that bloom the yellow and red bulbs at the top. While the butterflies and caterpillars (or cats) loved the 5 that I had planted in my garden in the late spring, I also do not recommend getting the Tropical. Other than the diseases they have pesticides. The rains have probably washed much of the chemicals off from the first batch and the cats never got sick.
So this past week 7 (2 small recent natives from a north nursery) milkweeds got eaten down to the stems by about 30 good-sized cats. I had to make my first emergency milkweed run and I bought 2 tropical from Lowes again and moved the cats to the pots. 2 hours later some cats were falling out and throwing up a green liquid. What a mess! So I went into emergency removal and cleanup mode and luckily the sick ones survived.
I plan on eventually replacing the eaten-down Tropicals from Lowes with more natives from that nursey up north. Hopefully others don't make the same mistake I did. Try not to settle for Tropical and go for the Native. And washing nursery bought milkweed has been recommended by some.
i'm in Central Florida. The problem is that, Tropical is all the big box stores sell. That's what most people buy. The only thing I know is I get tons of caterpillars in the winter and the butterflies seem healthy
I’m also in Central Florida and in the winter all of my caterpillars and butterflies had OE, it was so sad! That’s when I first learned about OE and I cut it back.
Sorry all your caterpillars got OE ☹️ It is sad to see all those caterpillars struggle. Thanks for cutting your milkweed back
That is the hard part and sometimes they mislabel it to look they are selling Butterflyweed. The native milkweeds, such as swamp and butterflyweed will have just as many caterpillars. You may not be able to tell if you have infected caterpillars until the OE load is very high. Just want to keep y’all informed. 😄
Oh no, 5 steps forward and 10 steps backwards. Today my local HD had loads of “tropical milkweed.” I meandered around picking up all sorts of plants then thought since I’d never seen any type milkweed there before I went back and picked one up and was planning to plant it tomorrow. Wasn’t thinking solely about butterflies but hoped it would provide other benefit to my new vegetable garden. Seriously what are the odds that I’d watch this particular video tonight? 🤦🏼♀️
I read it was a spore that developed on Tropical Milkweed that infected the caterpillar and that it was necessary to cut all Milkweed back to the ground that didn't freeze back. In Texas it's almost impossible to find any Milkweed that's not the tropical variety. I have one Native variety that's very slow growing.
Yep, that's OE. It isn't the milkweed itself that is infecting. Its that Tropical milkweed carries a higher level of OE.
Uugh! I just bought 6 of these "Asclepias Curassavica" plants here in NC, Zone 8A. Did NOT know this was tropical milkweed. Tag showed Butterflies & Sun. Oh cool, I'll get these. Was researching whether or not to prune for bushier growth as they were sort of tall & slender (I'm thinking Marigolds). Now, here is where I am. :( I think it's a bit sneaky of the garden center to market this way. I guess I'll just let them finish out the season and make a new plan. So bummed.
Very informative. I also got tropical milkweed in orange butterfly weed seed packets (orange flower on packet and everything). Bu, I live in a zone where it does die back and it is an annual - but it is a heavy seed producer to make up for it. I have also read most of what you have said about the parasite carrier warning. Could you post a link to the academic articles advising to just not plant it at all?
Once you have it, as in 2nd year plus, tropical Milkweed is easy to identify as a seedling if you want to pull it as it comes up. It DOES look like everything else when first planted from seed, which is why I was confused when it grew into what it did.
Don't know if it's sending confused signals to Monarchs down in the south. From what I read, the cues of where the sun is like in the fall tell the Monarchs to head down to the south. I'm in Dallas Texas and in the September of 2021, I had several eggs laid on my tropical milkweed in the garden. By mid October, no butterflies laid any more eggs on any of my plants from the natives I had to the tropical. Any butterflies released in early November flew away despite the fact I still had some tall tropical milkweed plants. Unfortunately those plants died when we had a first freeze and never came back.
This past year in November 10th 2022, I was out in a field across the street from my home, native antelophorn milkweed was still abundant, found an egg that late in the year, took it in, raised it to a butterfly, and released it in Houston on December 26th while it was still in the 60s and 70s down there. If butterflies are still sexually active, they can lay eggs on native milkweed. It doesn't look like it makes a difference if it's a native plant or tropical.
I completely agree on cutting back to decrease the oe problem.
Anyway, that's just my little story from these past two years.
Thanks for sharing! I live in an area where they overwinter and what I see is the native milkweed start die back during our drought season. But we don’t get migratory monarchs.
Properly managed, tropical milkweed is not a problem.
I just read a book published 2022 by jaret Daniels (Florida guide to butterfly gardening) that said south Florida rules were like you mentioned (ok but cut it back) . Confused
Yes, the information came out in 2022, so must books wouldn’t necessarily have it in it depending on when they were released or if they were aware of the new recommendations.
There was a large planting of Tropical milkweed in Omaha, Nebraska at the Gallop campus. I have never seen so many Monarchs in one place in my life. Hopefully those Monarchs migrated because there must a been better than 100 monarchs. That stuff must be like a drug to them. I took some cuttings and have them rooting in water and will plant some at my house in Nebraska but will clean all the leaves with soap and water before I plant them in the ground and will destroy them come September so that for sure the Monarchs get the hint and head south. You are not the first one I've heard from about the OE problem. Ive raised Monarchs the past few years and I'm sure some of them have been infected because some have been weak, small, and some have not even come out of Chrysalis. Best milkweed is common, at least for Monarchs in my yard.
I planted all sorts of milkweed in my yard. The problem is that the swamp milkweed didn’t grow as well. Quite a few of them died off. I’m not willing to buy more plants right now because I’m on a plant “time out” but when I buy some I’ll only buy native. I cut my tropical milkweed back this winter
LOL! Plant time out! That is perfect! You have a plan... and a budget. I love that you are converting to more native milkweed.
I raise my monarch caterpillars/butterflies in an enclosure indoors. If you thoroughly rinse the plant before putting it in the enclosure, do you think that might wash off the OE spores that are on the plants and eggs?
I have about an 85% success rate of butterflies that emerge from that indoors enclosure. They appear to be healthy upon releasing them. I always thought that someone some how had exposed the plant to BT. The symptoms are similar. I guess hearing about this I might have been incorrect. This is so sad to hear when I raise butterflies as a hobby. And now knowing that they are mislabeling plants, is so discouraging. There's less issues with raising swallowtail butterflies. Thank goodness.
Thank you Jackie for sharing this important information with us.🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
You are so welcome Shirley! We are all learning. I can't say reliably that OE can be washed off. My guess is probably not since we get monsoon rains in Florida and it persists. But that is a guess and not based on research.
Wow! I Never thought of that. I bet the nurseries ARE using organic Bt or some other pesticide on their plants. If they are not using anything the plants would certainly have caterpillars consuming them. I think that they must be.
Only way I’d get tropical milkweed is if I’m out of zero other options for feeding monarch caterpillars and even then it wouldn’t go outside due to it being an OE magnet. I’d treat it as a houseplant and not as an outdoor garden plant like all the native milkweed species are.
How can I tell the difference between tropical milkweed and the others you mentioned? I have one growing but no flowers yet. Random question but this morning I noticed it had a bunch of orange eggs or something on the branches. Is that bad?
Do all the other milk weeds die back in the Winter if you live in Southern Florida do they just die to the ground on their own and come back in the Spring?
I think it’s important to point out that milkweed sap can be very bad for your eyes, so use caution when cutting it back!
Great point Sarah! Safety Tip of the Day 😄
How can I tell the difference? How can I get the bad stuff off the plant? Could I wipe off the leaves with a solution of some sort?
I recently moved into a new home in Southern California and milkweed is popping up in the garden. According to an app on my phone it is tropical milkweed, but there aren't any flowers yet so I am not sure. Is there something I can look for on the leaves to confirm it is tropical milkweed or not?
So we live in the northeastern United States and tropical milkweed cannot survive our winters so in our case we can continue raising tropical milkweed in our area right?
I live on the edge of coastal plains/Sandhills of North Carolina but only 3 miles from SC border.
I’d like to spread some milkweed seeds to ditches,swamps,wild areas on my land and the rural area. I have a few aquatic milkweed seeds and some swamp,would these be the best two choices or should I also add some common milkweed and “hairy balls” to the options?
Hairy. All milkweed is not native to your area and I believe is from another continent. When spreading native seeds to wild area, we have to be careful to use local ecotypes. The swamp milkweed that grows in NC isn’t the same as Florida. So it may not meet the ecosystem needs of the area. Seeds for wild area should be sourced through local native wildflower and plant groups to ensure we have the right types. I love that you are passionate about helping your Wild NC!
I bought 10 mini plats yesterday at Lucas nursery...theh say its asclepias tuberosa...they sell mostly tropical... SO I AM not sure if they really sold me the native kind..hope so...until if flowers to know....ALSO my perennis seedlings are doing great.. and they were alive all winter..wonder if perennis is bad too ???
It is hard to tell the difference until they flower. Especially since there are many native ecotypes that vary in leaf shape for swamp milkweed and butterflyweed. That is awesome that your perennis (aquatic) milkweed are doing great! 👍 😊 Soooooo aquatic milkweed is native and is the only native milkweed that is known to survive temperatures as low as -27F. It does not die back like the other native milkweeds. I've done searching over the past year to understand how this fits into the OE/migratory discussion since it behaves differently. There isn't any discussion comparing and contrasting this with tropical milkweed. Which I think is an opportunity for exploration. Short version, if it is native, let it keep going. I think the big thing is that it doesn't grow as abundantly in the wild and may be one of the ways that overwintering monarchs may have survived in Florida. Also here is my video on aquatic milkweed ruclips.net/video/AbNdraBSoDc/видео.html
❤
OE is horrible, never had problems up north, but up our plants were cut back for the winter, now plant in between the plants in yard, so I don’t have to watch the process,
How do I know if mine is tropical milkweed
This is only an issue for people who live in areas where the plant won't die back naturally in the winter, correct?
I would love to know how to distinguish, visually, between the types of milkweed. I live in central Florida. I only want to grow the type that I should... and I thought, before I just googled the images, that tropical milkweed was actually common milkweed, because that is what I am used to seeing...it is ALL I'm used to seeing (except a new, strange milkweed that I have only seen in the butterfly enclosure at EPCOT during the Flower and Garden Festival...which I still can't say I'm used to seeing). It is very common in California, where I lived for 25 years.
I’m working on a video to compare the different types. The type at EPCOT is Tropical Milkweed… I believe they labeled it as one of its other names
EPCOT has another one in that enclosure...it has really big blooms on it. I think it might be giant milkweed... I just googled it, yes, giant. Oh, Disney. 😏
Yay!! I will look forward to that video. Your videos have helped this invasive species (me, I'm the invasive species) to know more about Florida natives! I've been here only a year, and I knew NOTHING. But I went to Leu Gardens' plant sale this month, and I'm proud to say that I knew what I was looking for, found native plants that I wouldn't have ever heard of before watching your videos, and was very excited to bring home a climbing aster, Jamaica cherry, (and blueberry)... I asked for swamp milkweed, but they were already sold out. Apparently they went quickly. I didn't buy any other milkweed because I didn't know if it was native, for sure. I saw the tropical milkweed, and was tempted, and now I'm so glad I didn't get it.
@@kimmmac5642 oh yes! I forgot that they had giant milkweeed in there too! Good eye! I’m so happy you are getting into native plants! Happy Dance 💃
could you possibly just trim back those long canes?
I understand that native milkweed is preferred, but what about non-native, non-tropical milkweed? I have some giant milkweed and it feeds so many caterpillars.
The suspicion is that we will find similar issues with Giant Milkweed but because Tropical Milkweed is the most readily available milkweed for sale… the majority of proper academic research is on it. So long and short, Giant Milkweed is a giant question mark right now (pun intended).
Well that sucks to know I have a lot of common natives around me but have never had as many butterflies present as I do on the milkweed. Right now there are at least 12 or so monarchs here, and I have several chrysalises on the milkweed. Along with a BILLION APHIDS 😳and some ladybugs. I have a dedicated 4x12 bed full of milkweed !! This is my 3rd year with milkweed, and my Tomatoes and Cucumbers have done so much better since the addition of milkweed. You have truly ruined my day
You can still grow swamp milkweed or butterflyweed or one of the other 20 native milkweeds. And they will do the same thing with aphids. I’m so sorry your day has been bummed out 🙁
@@WildFloridian Oh my! There are that many native milkweeds?? Because of the dishonesty (? or ignorance? or what?) of nurseries selling tropical milkweed as something else, maybe it would be best and easiest to buy as seeds (this might also avoid the problem of pesticide use in the store)? But then, when do we sow them?
@@kimmmac5642 check out Florida Wildflower Cooperative online. They sell native milkweed seeds for Florida and instructions
Ok so is my Red Butterfly Milkweed (asclepias curassavica) tropical?
Yes 😔
My milkweed are covered with Aphids. Should I cut them back or get rid of them altogether? I read where you can try to scrape them off the leaves to get rid of them, but there are so many! I also read that it means the plant isn’t loaded with pesticides, and that’s a good thing, but I’m wondering where they came from in the first place and what I should do?
Just leave them. The plant will be fine. :)
@@WildFloridian thank you
So I think now I'm confused even more. You mentioned the southern states and that there is a population of non migrating monarchs. I live in southern Ca. Only about 40 miles north of Mexico so there are a lot of non migrating monarchs in this region. Are you saying that even in my zone 10 area should not have tropical milkweed? Cuz I saw caterpillars all the way till Feb munching on my milkweed. Ps as another person commented, my cats don't seem to be on other native milkweed that I by have.
You did say if you cut it back its ok? Right? I cut mine back to the ground and its coming back.I did purchase seeds from MIgardener and I'm waiting on germination ( swamp milkweed).I will pull that tropical milkweed out.Let me know if I heard you right about cutting it back .Thanks.
Great question delphine. The recommendation from researchers used to be that it was ok if you cut it back. But that is no longer the recommendation. The recommendation is to remove it completely. Just a watch out with MIGardener swamp milkweed seeds. That swamp milkweed is a different ecotype then our Florida native swamp milkweed. So it isn't technically "native" to Florida. But poses no concerns from monarch rearing. It just may not work as well in our climate. To get reliable seeds for Florida, use the Florida Wildflower Cooperative.
@@WildFloridian ok Thanks.Dang ! I went to a nursery for my city and THOUGHT I had purchased native .Listening to everyone SOME of the nurseries don't know jack.Will keep checking around.
So point of confusion... my tropical milkweed dies back every year from a freeze at least so far (if there was no freeze I would whack it down) so if the remaining concern is that the monarchs are there at the wrong time, how does a different milkweed help them leave on time?
Great question Sonder! From a migratory stand point by the time milkweed dies back it is too late for the monarchs to move to their hibernation locations. Watching native milkweed, it naturally dies back before the freezes hit in January. They start to fade in November (here in zone 10a). My guess is that the native milkweed is going dormant due to diminishing water because the die back for native milkweeds seem to coincide with the beginning of our drought season. Our native milkweeds can grow year over year, and most likely are moving resources to maintaining their root system which causes the above ground growth to dry out. That is what I've seen in my garden. Others may have additional insights.
@@WildFloridian Now that is a persuasive answer, I will seek out some native milkweeds to replace the tropical in my fairy garden, tyvm.
I think I got sold tropical milkweed by accident. Which is frustrating when I thought I was buying purple swamp milkweed and butterfly weed. Can you tell me where is a reputable place to buy seeds from?
For Florida Natives, I would recommend the Florida Wildflower Cooperation for seeds.
@@WildFloridian Thanks for the information, but im in Mississippi. Do they sell seeds by mail?
If I were to completely prune the tropical milkweed back to the root in late fall/winter would that resolve the issues of the pests overwintering and the monarchs getting confused about the season?
That used to be the recommendation and considered best practice. The recommendation now says that is not sufficient and removal is best.
@@WildFloridian thanks for reply. I went around to a couple of native plant nurseries here and couldn’t find native milkweed so I’ve started some from seed. I was told however that here in zone 10a no milkweed goes dormant so it doesn’t matter and that the monarchs actually prefer the tropical variety. I will experiment and see.
@@brian63miata That isn’t correct. I live in zone 10a and yes our native milkweeds do die back. More likely triggered by the drought conditions. The only one that doesn’t die back is aquatic milkweed.
@@WildFloridian Thank you! There’s so much conflicting info. The woman at our local native plant nursery was anti native milkweed, saying that none of it is native to Lee Co anyway and because the Monarchs come from Mexico they prefer the tropical stuff. Anyway, I am starting several native varieties from seed and will eventually replace my tropical ones. I have a couple of places in the yard where aquatic might work so I’ll order some of those seeds or tubers too and give them a try. Everything is so different since Ian came through and decimated our ecosystem. We took it right on the chin here in Iona with a wicked 9’ storm surge. The salt has killed so much vegetation.
@@brian63miata Wow 😮 Fascinating response by the lady… just did a quick search for Lee county. Of the 20 native milkweeds for Florida… a quick search revealed Asclepius tuberosa, Asclepius lanceolata, Asclepius tomentosa, Asclepius verticillata and twine vine are native to your county (according to FNPS). 👀 Soooooooo….. but now you know and can hopefully spread the word in your area. Thank you for not being discouraged 😄 You are doing great work and the impact of Ian will be years/decades to undo. Your resilient spirit is a light for the area ☺️
My question, is Mexican Milkweed the same as tropical milkweed? I just went to USF a few weeks ago & bought a bunch of native plants to start my native garden. They sold me Mexican Milkweed. It's growing very healthy. Should I just take it out of my garden now if it's no good?
That is tropical milkweed - just under a different name.
@@WildFloridian So sad. Thank You
It also goes by "Mexican Butterfly Weed" which is probably where the confusion/crossover started. But that's no excuse for slapping at picture of orange butterfly weed on seeds for red and yellow flowers who also have a dramatic huht difference.
Why do all nurseries sell tropical?
What is the scientific name for the tropical milkweed that caused the infection? To know which one we don't have to buy
asclepias curassavica
Thank you so much
So the Butterfly weed at Lowe’s is tropical milkweed?? I’m so confused.
Yes, the butterflyweed is most likely Tropical Milkweed. Sometimes it has the correct scientific name for Tropical Milkweed... asclepias curavassica, you can see in the video that they have a mismatch. BUT some are finding that the scientific name is for Butterflyweed (asclepias turberosa) is what is listed... even though the plant is Tropical Milkweed. There is two colors of tropical milkweed... the multicolored and a yellow version. Some people think the yellow version is butterflyweed. The whole thing is a mess right now.
What color flowers does tropical milkweed have?
Red yellow orange
@@FaithVsFate oh dear, that’s what I have. But I also have seeds, common and swamp. I guess I better get them started so I can pull out the million that I have growing rampant in my yard!
Yes red, yellow, orange and they can just be yellow too.
There’s also a obscure and kinda rare pink variety of pink tropical milkweed. Red and yellow and the most common.
1st!
Yay Nick!!!
🥴👍
I just ordered from this organization. They're very strict and go by zip code. I'll probably destroy the milkweed I got last year it's not native. I hope this will help with the confusion The organization is Garden for Nature
The organization is Garden for Nature I tried to send a photo it didn't go thru
What is the strict organization that you ordered from?
@kimmmac5642 it's Garden for Nature sorry I wanted to send a pic of the website and what I ordered. I'm in Ocala Fl
Most nurseries selling milkweed only sell natives to the zip code. Joyful Butterfly and Prairie Moon Nursery are 2 others that come to my mind right away, but there are more.
Have you noticed any butterflies on your native milkweed? Butterflies prefer tropical milkweed.
I have tons of monarchs on my native milkweed. It is eaten down to sticks regularly by caterpillars. I would say it is comparable to tropical milkweed based on when I grew it.
I just read a scientific article that debunked all this. Our climate is changing and we need to help the Monarchs. If you google "tropical milkweed is not harmful to monarchs" the article is the first result. READ IT! I just got my hands on some tropical milkweed seeds! yay!
Just because you read an article that disagrees with what she is saying, that does not make that article a fact, it’s just the author’s educated opinion. Anyone can write an article about anything, don’t be so gullible to believe what you read just because of one flimsy article. You haven’t spoken with any scientists on the matter
“But plant natives better!” 💅
Truth!
i dont beleave you, if the tropical weed is bad on Mexico why all the butterfly go there?
If you live in an area of non-migratory monarchs or year-round breeding, please don't rip out your tropical milkweeds. You already have an entire separate population to migratory monarchs that are dependent on your plants to continue them and their offspring surviving. I shudder to think how many thousands of Monarchs have died because of people ripping Tropicals out.
Question….with what variety of milkweeds do you have the best success where you are located? I’m in southeast coastal GA, so very similar climate. I have poke milkweed, whirled, swamp, common, and aquatic varieties.
Swamp milkweed works best in my area. 👍
@@WildFloridian
Thank you.
I did a little research online and discovered the Georgia state botanical garden doesn’t recommend common milkweed due to it not being really native to this region. They suggest butterfly, Carolina, clasping, large-flowered, Michaux’s, pineland, red-flowered, Sandhills, swamp, white, and whirled milkweeds.