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| Was at Metra station today. Saw an opened seed pod of milkweed. Took the seeds. :)
Are these perennials? I was thinking of not allowing it to produce seed pods. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 13:33
| Also, a milkweed grew in my front yard. However, it didn't flower. Is that normal? I'm hoping it will come back next year. |
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- Posted by kimka z7 (jkkaplan@erols.com) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 13:34
| Some milkweeds are perennial and some are annuals. And that can change depending on what zone you are in. In 6B/7A, where I am, swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is reliably perennial, but others are annual like Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). I've also found that butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is borderline perennial in my yard, probably because I don't have it in full sun. Common milkweed can be invasive and a real thug if you let it seed. But the pods are easy enough to cut off before they open and send out seed. |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 13:42
| I'm pretty sure what I got is a common milkweed since it was at the area where all weeds were growing. I'm hoping this is fragrant. What do you think about my question in my second post above? |
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- Posted by tiffy_z5_6_can 5/6 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 14:07
| Neil, All Milkweed - whatever the kind - has never bloomed in it's first year in my gardens. This includes Curassavica, the Tropical, so for that one I overwinter in the basement to get blooms the following year. My plants are actually going on four years now since I just dig them up every fall to place in the basement. I would not miss the bloom on that one!! In our zone, most others are perennial. I grow quite a few for the Monarchs. |
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- Posted by gardenweed_z6a 6 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 17:52
| I've got the native milkweed growing here which I believe is asclepias syriaca. It has dusty pink flowers and the fragrance is out-of-this-world heavenly. I only had 1 flower--the earwigs ate all the other buds--but that flower produced a seedpod 3" long by 1" wide. It just split open last week and it's FULL of seeds. I took pictures of the seedpod & seeds but haven't downloaded them from the camera yet. Still can't post pictures here either and don't know what the problem is. |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 20, 10 at 18:26
| Not sure why you aren't able to post. Send me the link and I'll try to post it. |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Thu, Oct 21, 10 at 12:07
| Are the common milkweeds fragrant? I took 5 dried seedpods again at the same place. :D If it is fragrant and I ws it next year, looks like I will be able to enjoy it on 2012. :) |
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- Posted by not_a_contessa z5b S Central PA mtn (My Page) on Thu, Oct 21, 10 at 20:23
| Are they fragrant? Get ready to have your socks knocked off! I took home a blossom this summer after seeing the gorgeous pic posted by Piti. It filled my house with fragrance, and it lasted even after the blossom dried out. I have my eyes on a couple of pods, I want to grow some plants under my porch windows. Mary |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Thu, Oct 21, 10 at 22:20
| I'm aware that milkweed is fragrant. I saw a milkweed at one of the camps in Wisconsin and Mackinac Island. I didn't want to leave the place. The fragrance is better than korean lilac. However, this milkweed I found along Metra Station, I'm not sure if they are fragrant. Are all milkweeds fragrant? Please see link below. It contains pictures of the milkweed I found last year. :D |
Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed
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- Posted by sandysgardens 4MN (My Page) on Fri, Oct 22, 10 at 8:36
| All the different milkweeds I grow are fragrant, even the wild ones that pop up in areas throughout the yard/gardens. So I would believe the wild milkweed you found along Metra Station will be too. I pretty much let the wild ones stay where they pop up, since they are a great host plant for the monarchs. Monarchs had a rough winter (where they migrate to had bad weather and lots were lost) last year so they were on the decline this past summer so all the help they can get is great, so the more milkweed the better. |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 22, 10 at 11:33
| Thanks for the info! :) This reminds me of another thread I started I think last year or early this year. I posted a flower that I cut from a forest preserve. Someone identified it as sambucus. I really wanted this because the scent was sweet and heavenly. And I can smell it from 20-30 ft away. I wish the id was correct. I'll try to find the thread. :) |
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- Posted by v1rtu0s1ty Zone 5a, Northern IL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 22, 10 at 11:36
| Here is the thread I started. Maybe you can id it too to conclude the identification of this plant :) |
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| V1, your pictures look a lot like Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed. This milkweed is the most common in the eastern and central US, and has a heavenly fragrance. The 2nd pic looks a bit like A. purpurascens (purple milkweed), which is an uncommon species, and also supposedly has a pleasant fragrance. More likely it is common milkweed though. I have winter-sown both species, and they are both easy to start from seed. But they are slow-growing perennials and haven't bloomed yet, so I don't know what the purple milkweed smells like. I love the scent of common milkweed though! I raise Monarch butterflies and even if it doesn't bloom, the leaves are still great caterpillar food. |
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