I'm so sorry for the ignorance and lots of questions, but I'm new and learning! I wish I could do the Master Gardener thing this year or even next . . . I think most people wait until they retire, though! So, these other milkweeds spread flying seeds, right? So I might find them popping up all over the yard? I am just a little concerned about pulling them, if the sap is a skin irritant. But I shouldn't worry about it, I suppose, as I've been pulling poison ivy by hand, usually by accident, all summer. I'd be weeding, and suddenly look in horror at what I'd pulled, run inside and wash with ultra concentrated dish washing soap (to remove oil) for five minutes, then repeat. Yeaaaahhh . . . . Sometimes I'd brush against it, too, and I didn't get a rash this year - actually, I've never had it. I'm lucky . . . But with the milkweed, i am definitely looking for a "well-behaved" plant that will benefit the monarchs. Thanks so much!

Common milkweed might get two feet tall the first year, but it will take all summer to accomplish this. The root system will be growing below ground, and it is the root system that gives the plant a head start the next growing season. It makes sense to remove monarch eggs and caterpillars from milkweed seedlings, but the monarchs don't agree. The female monarchs are very capable of finding younger milkweed plants, even when they are hidden in the grass. They seem to prefer them.

I've attached a link to help ID which bug you have. Right now, the Leaf Milkweed Beetle just showed up in my garden. I fight them every year. They are nasty, because the eat the foliage quickly, and leaf behind a trail of black, slimy residue (frass) on the foliage. The nymphs are soft-bodied, and I hand pick them, put them on the sidewalk and stomp them to pieces. The adult looks like a Lady Beetle, with a hard shell, and I much prefer picking these off for the "stomping" method. Later, I get a few of the seed eating Large Milkweed Bugs and I use the same control method, of hand picking and squashing them. Haven't seen the small ones yet. As you'll see in the attached info, there is also a Swamp Milkweed Beetle, but I have never seen them here. I may yet. Just don't know their range. If you find clusters of yellow eggs on the undersides of the leaves, they are most likely milkweed beetle/bug eggs. Get em before they hatch if you can! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed Bugs and Beetles

Common milkweed typically requires cold stratification in order to germinate, so if it is cold enough, then a month outside may be helpful. I would question the timing of planting them though--it is quite early for the normal growth cycle of common milkweed. And like Martha indicated, knowing what zone you are in would help very much!