Hi Jim,
if you have the Common Milkweed like me, just sprinkle the Seeds in the Areas you want them to grow....If you have problems with Birds, maybe you can put a small Amount of Soil on the Seeds.. Its not too late for planting them, I am doing the same here....
Good Luck
Butterfly-Greetings
Susanne

you might want to ask the same in the winter sowing forum

ken

Common milkweed does not compete successfully with other plants that are already established. So, for them to sprout and grow, I would recommend clearing a spot for them just as you would for a vegetable garden. You can then direct sow them ( the sooner the better) or use the Wintersowing method for germination and then transplant them into the cleared area. Once established you can let the surrounding plants go "wild" again.

Martha

I am in SC. Go ahead and plant now ( do not plant if you just had a hard frost ) and I normally wait until it rained so the soil is nice and moist. Milkweed will start peeking in late March, early April depending on where you are in NC.
If you want to control where your plants are going to grow, you can also plant them in pots and leave the pots outside and transplant them later in the Spring. Good luck! Enjoy the beautiful Monarchs. I always get Monarchs laying on tiny sprouts of milkweed in early April!