I did some searching and the fragrant Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) grows there.

I saw a thread I posted maybe 2 years ago about milkweed. One of the posters said that the milkweed in my area is extremely fragrant. However, it wasn't.

That milkweed smells so good! Syriaca is the one for sure. It smelled so good in Maine. You could smell it while driving!

remind me in fall.. and i will send you a couple billion seed pods ... its the stinkee one.. lol.. just kidding.. its devine.. bordering on overwhelming ...

and it loves abuse ...

btw... it is taking over an area .. i thought mine was an annual ... see above re seed.. lol ... but my un-educated 15 year old daughter [let me clarify that.. brilliant student.. novice gardener].. suggested it is perennial.. and is invading her spot [she planted it originally ] ...

sooooo .. seedlings or perennial????

ken

I've got a love/hate relationship with Asclepias syriaca. Mostly love, haha! It has a heavenly fragrance, the flowers are beautiful, pollinators LOVE it, and it's one of the most important host plants for the Monarch butterfly in eastern North America.

But it is not the easiest plant to grow, except where IT wants to grow. I have one patch growing in the middle of a woodland garden in almost total shade. I did not plant it there! I tried to transplant it, thought I had moved ALL of it. Alas, it died in the new spot and came up as vigorous as ever in the woodland! So I let it be because the Monarch females still lay eggs on it, and I use for caterpillar food.

Also It doesn't make a very well behaved garden plant. Once established it spread by rhizomes, just about anywhere it desires to send out its runners. Now the patch in the Xeric garden is spreading into the pathway; and the woodland patch has spread out into the grass.

This is the only plant I let grow where it wants and even pamper it and pick off insects, except for the Monarch eggs and caterpillars. My property is a certified Monarch Waystation. So Milkweed is king!

My property is a certified Monarch Waystation.

==>> oh crimminey .. who certified it.. King Monarch ... or is that repetitive ... lol ...

so its a pervasive perennial.. who knew...

ken

lol @ ken's ... its the stinkee one..

I lost count long ago how many times sellers have tried the convince me to purchase plants because they are 'fragrant'. They usually laugh when I reply "Often that just means they stink."

oh.. the fragrance of this one is pervasive... i am talking perfuming a whole acre ... on a slight breeze ...

sorta like a porta-potty .. but in a really good way .. lol ...

i did not mean it smells like the week old wet gym socks of bradford pear or prunus serotina [wild cherry trees.. the furniture one] ....

if you want the seed.. you will have to remember.. because come harvest time.. i will recall someone wanted them.. just not who.. lol

ken

Ken it sounds like you have a nice patch of common milkweed on your property!

My property is registered and certified by Monarch Watch as a site that supports the Monarch butterfly as it migrates throughout North America. Monarch Watch is an organization out of U. Kansas that promotes Monarch conservation and conducts research projects on this species.

Monarchs are declining. The Monarch population that over winters in central Mexico was recorded at the lowest level in 2012-13 since the discovery of the site in 1975.

And Asclepias syriaca is not as pervasive as you think. Development, agricultural practices such as blanket spraying of herbicide on GMO crops, roadside mowing, etc. are reducing this species.

Here is a link that might be useful: MonarchWatch - About us

Sure Ken, I will remind you in fall so you can harvest seeds for me.

I looked at my garden today. I now have 4 or 5 Milkweed :D I'm very sure it's from suckers because I cut the seed pods last year. I only had 1 last year.

By the way, I found my wilkweed picture. However, I played with the picture(put some art to it). This is an old upload to my Google account.

So what do you think is the type of Milkweed I have in my garden?

{{gwi:226157}}

Years ago I used to pull the common milkweed that grew in my garden until I discovered how "life giving" it was. Now I let it be (except when it spreads into the lawn, then I transplant it). Since then we have raised and tagged at least 75-100 monarchs every year. When my mother visits she still tells me "that's a weed, you need to pull it". LOL!

I still pull the common milkweed in my garden, I have five acres seed to native prairie and it can (and does) romp to it's heart's content. But those rhizomes tend to pop up in the most unexpected and unwelcome places in my flowerbeds. I do plant asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) in my beds. It seems to be better behaved at least so far. It is a happy self-seeder, so I'm careful to cut off the seed-heads before they mature.

Can I cut them down to say 6 inches now? It's 1ft tall now. It's because last year, it reached 3feet+ and it was having a hardtime staying upright. I remember it even fell to the ground.

Terrene,
I'm intrigued that you have A syriaca growing in a woodland garden. I've always assumed I couldn't grow syriaca because my yard is so shady. I'd love to plant a ton of it in my unkempt woodland area. It's such a great nectar plant for so many creatures, plus the Monarch issue. I'm going to order plants now from some native plant provider and see if I can get a head start on next year.

Martha.

It's growing in my CT garden in mostly sun (11 a.m.-sundown), very sandy, poor soil on a steep bank--what my mother would have called bank-run gravel. I let it do its thing wherever it wants to in support of the monarchs who frequent my various flowerbeds, all of which were planted with them in mind. When it grows too tall and flops over my stone walkway I just use a garden support ring to keep it out of the way. The flowers are very fragrant and pretty but I wouldn't deliberately plant it based on the foliage and its tall form.

Hosta your prairie sounds nice!

V1, you can cut it down now if you'd like. I cut some of mine down in if they get ratty. If it's early enough in the season they will sprout nice fresh stalks, which is good for the Monarch larvae. I collect extra Monarch eggs and leaves for the caterpillars in a field nearby that is hayed in late Spring. The Common milkweed grows great after having been "chopped"!

Docmom, this patch of milkweed has grown happily in a mostly shady area for years - but it planted itself and it doesn't flower! And it's spreading into the grass, seeking more sun. I'm letting it grow for now, and tell my son to mow around the stalks. :)

The milkweed field - you can see the line where they stop mowing in the distance.

Terrene,
Thanks for the followup. If yours doesn't flower, then I think I'll skip it. I have plenty of other nectar sources without inviting a useless thug. There is also an unused piece of property just 1/2 mile down the road from me that has A. syriaca growing. I haven't taken the time to find out who owns the property, but I'm hoping they won't mind if I walk through occasionally to check for Monarch eggs or cats. My twin sister has tons of A. syriaca on her 20 acres, but she's an hour drive away. I'll ask her to see if she can find some eggs and cats for me this year. Actually, I should tell her to get off her duff and raise some cats herself. She has a job with a very odd schedule, so she often has many days off at one time. But, then she works 24 hr shifts for a stretch. Those stretches might make raising cats difficult, I guess. I'll just have to visit her more often and do some egg searching myself.

Martha

fyi, I video recorded 70% of my plants this afternoon. The milkweed was included. :) Hopefully, I'll be able to upload it to youtube this week. I'll make another video when there are more blooms.

The scent is strongest before the flowers fully open.

Thanks for the info. If I remember correctly, it was around 1:30pm when we were walking along the shores of Mackinac. It was extremely fragrant but very heavenly. Lilac is very strong too but milkweed's fragrance embarrasses the fragrance of lilacs. :)