This is a "good" find. A "great" find would be if they were dripping with monarch cats. :D

Those are some tall plants.

I doubt there are too many Home Depots carrying tropical milkweed right now. You're in a zone where it makes sense. I'm curious how many Home Depots carried tropical milkweed earlier in the year. I have not seen it.

KC

Be careful to isolate them for awhile. HD sprays their plants with insecticides/herbicides and if the Monarchs lay eggs on them before the chemicals have leached out of them, the cats will most likely die after consuming the foliage.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

What a great find, tho! Perennial in your zone 10.

Susan

I once saw some very nice swamp milkweeds being sold at a Home Depot near me in zone 6; it looks like some companies are catching on!

I bought many milkweed plants over the years and they always died. Then I found out they were tropical and I'm in zone7. They were never marked as tropical, just "milkweed".

Ditto to what Susan said. You'd think they'd know better than to spray host plants or give them systemic insecticides, but they frequently do. If you can, it's better to start your own from seed or buy from someone who you KNOW doesn't poison them.

Sherry

Thanks for warning me about the insecticides that can be present on the plant. I thought they would know that the monarch butterfly caterpillar does lay eggs and would not spray the plants.

How long do you suppose you would have to isolate a sprayed plant before it would be safe?

Eggs3,

When I buy milkweed, I always check to see if it has aphids. If aphids are present, I give the plant a good spray with water, washing all leaf surfaces and drenching the soil. Then I go ahead and use it for the cats.

If there are no aphids, I isolate the plant for about 2 weeks. With every watering, I spray the entire plant, tops and bottoms of leaves, with water. I also drench the soil letting the water run through. Don't use a saucer under the pot. After about 2 weeks, I usually start seeing aphids on the plant and I know it's safe for the cats.

Hope this helps,
Dana

Dana, good advice! A lot of people who work at the big box stores (especially) do not know that these tropical beauties are larval host plants. Even the smaller, more knowledgeable nurserymen don't know sometimes. They're in the business of selling plants, and don't want to sell one covered with Oleander aphids. Not very aestically pleasing. It's easier to buy herbs and know that they are most likely chemical free because people do eat these plants, e.g., Fennel, Dill, and parsley for the Black Swallowtails. Even so, there could be some herbicide drift on these plants, too.

Susan

Dana,
I like your aphid test. I would not have thought of that.

Thanks Susan and KC. I learned my lesson the hard way early in my butterfly gardening "career". The cats had eaten all my milkweed, so I bought a milkweed plant from a small local nursery. Well, you know what happened. So I went back and talked to the nurseryman and "educated" him about what milkweed is used for. He said he had no control over application of pesticides because the growers apply it. As you said Susan, they think people won't buy plants with bugs on them.

Dana

Unfortunately, the store where the plants are sold often has no idea what is in the plant soil. Many plants are given a systemic pesticide treatment. This can remain in the soil for six months. So, the staff at the store are not even aware of any pesticides in the plants. They don't bother spraying them at the big boxes. They are lucky if they get watered there (which is great for me because I often find deals that just need a little care and a lot of water).

Luckily many nurseries are returning to the tricks of the past and are starting to employ natural pest control (wasps, lacewings, etc.). It can be more effective than pesticides, cheaper, and safer for employees. Now if I can just convince my "better living through chemicals" neighbor.

-Elisabeth