I never thought about it, but it's worth a try I guess.
A. incarnata has more of a fibrous root system rather than a tap root and is easily transplanted.
Large specimens can be divided.
But of course the surest way to get plants that overwinter is by seed.
Rooting incarnata may have more of an important role in rearing hungry cats that demand fresh food.

Hi John,

the problem with seeds is they can get moved around by weather/animals and seedlings are much more fragile than cuttings. Seedlings also grow much slower.

As for curassavica, I'll never plant seeds again. Cuttings get WAY better results and you have mature, flowering plants for most of the season. (especially for those in colder climates)

I will experiment with with incarnata and tuberosa next summer and plant cuttings outside in September.

A Florida gardener posted this photo on my facebook page... surprised I have never heard of anyone trying this with tuberosa before. Seems to work!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tuberosa Cuttings Started in Water

I agree John, incarnata performs much better than tuberosa as both host and nectar plant. But I moved around a couple tuberosa plants last fall and hoping for better results this year.

If all goes as planned, I'll have 15 varieties of milkweed this year. Hopefully they'll attract lots of monarchs...

Good for you, and best of luck :-) This year it's going to take a national effort to save the Monarch Migration.
Where are you located?

John, I'm your next door neighbor in Minnesota (south suburbs of Minneapolis)

Doing everything I can to get them off to a great start up north...sounds like you are too! Tony

Tony, Have you ever kept your water warm while rooting curassavica? It only takes 7 days before they are rooted good enough to pot. Also Physocarpa roots really fast also when kept in warm water. We take coffee containers, cut slots in the top, take the cuttings and put them in the slots and place near our wood stove. Works extremely well.

Also where did you buy your Gigantea seed? Got 2 packs off ebay and got 0 germination. Nice web page btw.

Hi GarynJeanna

warm water? thanks for the tip! I have 3 large physocarpa plants with lots of potential cuttings. I will take cuttings next weekend...

I probably got seeds from the same vendor you did. My immediate reaction when I looked at the seeds was that they looked immature and old...

I tried an experiment soaking half the seeds in warm water overnight before planting...3 of those seeds germinated. None of the untreated seeds did.

I think the biggest problem was the seed quality. I got some 'procera' seeds last year that looked much healthier and all of those seeds germinated.

I will let you know how the cuttings work out. Thanks so much for the tip, Tony

I am wondering if the cuttings shown in the link are A curassavica (Tropical Milkweed or Bloodflower). A tuberosa stems and leaves are generally quite rough looking and a bit hairy.

Still, I think it's a good idea to give A tuberosa cuttings a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. :-) If anyone has success, I hope you'll report back with your findings.

Mary

Hi Mary,

I asked the lady who posted this several times and she assured me it's Tuberosa (she also grows curassavica)...I plan to try it this summer to see if it works

I'm super excited to try the physocarpa cuttings this weekend....it never occurred to me to root them in warm water. Tony

Hi Tony,

I've no live Gomphocarpus physocarpa to take cuttings from right now, otherwise I'd try some cuttings, too. I do have new Oscar seedlings started. Please let us know how the cuttings trials work out.

I've got two small pots of Narrow-leaved cotton bush Gomphocarpus fruticosus in the greenhouse that looks great for being over wintered. First time growing this variety. The stems look to my eye to be more woody than Oscar. Think I'm going to try them inground as soon as weather permits.

Mary

This is Physocarpa after 8 days

Fantastic! A picture is worth a thousand words! :-)

I wonder if sitting the container of cuttings beside a furnace heat register would provide enough frequent heat to maintain the water at the correct temp?

Do you pot these cuttings up at this point?

Mary

As long as you keep the water warm and not hot you'll be OK I think.

Mary,

I'm using my cloning bucket and I added a 25W submersible aquarium heater and turned the thermostat to 80 degrees. I'll keep you posted.

Please keep us updated on you fruticosus...might try some of those next season.

GarynJeanna, fantastic results! I just took 12 cuttings from 2 plants. If this works it will be a BANNER year for our Minnesota Physocarpa patch...3 plants + ? cuttings...I also have 8 seedlings that are really taking off...

I also am wondering about Mary's question...how long before you pot them? The longer they stay in water the greater the risk of rotting.

Tony

We pot them as soon as they have some good roots. 7-10 days after making cuttings.

Thanks so much for your help GaryNJeanna...if you're keeping the plants indoors for awhile, try spraying and watering them with hydrogen peroxide mix...it kills fungus gnats, gets more oxygen to the roots, and my indoor plants look fantastic...all of them! I'll keep you posted on the cuttings, Tony

Here is a link that might be useful: Using Hydrogen Peroxide On Plants

They look real yummy so far.
They should be real producers by the start of the Monarch/ Milkweed season. Bring'em in!!

Let's all hope this season is good.

I copied this down from some online source (forget where) and saved it to a text file regarding increasing A. eriocarpa via basal cuttings:

"Basal cuttings in late spring. Use shoots about 10cm long with as much of their white underground stem as possible. Pot them up individually and place them in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse until they are rooting and growing actively. If the plants grow sufficiently, they can be put into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in the greenhouse until the following spring and when they are in active growth plant them out into their permanent positions. Give them some protection from slugs until they are established."

I just started taking cuttings this year off of A. curassavica VS. starting seeds after I found out how easy they are to root. Bought a large 5 gal. A. curassavica 'Wildfire' at a local So Cal nursery and got 8 nice cuttings. All doing nicely in a domed seed starter tray planted in 3 inch plastic pots with a commercial potting mix, all sitting atop a heating mat.

Also started Physocarpa from seed this year, but upon reading the above posts, am looking forward creating new plants through cuttings once they get big enough later in the year.