skip to main content

Milkweed cuttings

10 years ago

Anyone have any luck getting milkweed to root from cuttings? I was forced into cutting down a HUGE patch of common milkweed at my rental property, and because of the tap roots, there is just no easy way to move them.
I have cut them all off, and have them in water for now...and they are very alive. I'm panicking that once I hormone dip them and try to root them that I'll lose them.

Any ideas?

Comments (3)

Wildflowergma
10 years ago
This may help, but remember the cuttings should be about 3-6 inches in length, and the top portions of the plant work best in MHO.

Propagating milkweeds from cuttings:

To start cuttings, cut the stems underwater, then dip in rooting hormone. The cuttings should be placed in sand, vermiculite, or potting soil that is kept continuously moist. Best cuttings are made from stems 1/3 inch diameter.
Wildflowergma
10 years ago
Also, I have moved Asclepias tuberosa several times and have had no trouble with reestablishing the plants because of the taproot.
Related Discussions
Rooted Tropical Milkweed Cuttings
Q
Comments (2)
Hi I am interested in your milkweed plants. Thanks, Sherri
...See More
Swamp Milkweed- Spring 'cut down?'
Q
Comments (1)
You dun gud.
...See More
Tap-rooted milkweeds from cuttings?
Q
Comments (8)
Air layering is kind or what they use on corn plants (the house plant.. not the real vegetable....) where they make an incision in the plant then they wrap damp sphagmum (sp..?) moss around the cut and then add a layer of saran wrap....(rubber bands on the top & bottom of the selected area.) Then the roots start basically where you made the original cut. It does work on other plants as well. It is really a simple way of making more of whatcha have all ready.. I did not know that they would readily root in water. So I am really going to try that when they get big enough.. Mine are just barely starting to grow at the moment they look so really, really, spindly at the moment do they ever really get that thick as the ones in angeie83's post?? I am most impressed at the size of her cutting's cause mine from see are minscule at the moment. I was almost afraid to plant them because they looked so doggone delicate! I'm talking they are about 1/8 to maybe, maybe, 1/4 of an inch or less. (My eyeballs can be deceiving these days..) Those are really good looking plant's by the way!! I hope one day my meager plantlet's will look that good....!!! By the way while we are still on the topic of butterfly's.. Does anyone have RUE Seed??? Or a plant of Rue??? I would love to have some if anyone has some to spare...Thank you all this has been a most interesting topic to me!! Sorry to take over your thread dog_wonder I sincerely apologize however, I can't just help but learn knew things that amaze me I would never have known that you could root milkweed by a water method!! I apologize for being a bit confused that it would actually happen!!
...See More
Tap-rooted native milkweeds from cuttings?
Q
Comments (2)
Here's information about root cuttings. You are in luck as fall is the proper time to do this. Here is a link that might be useful: Asclepias tuberosa root cuttings
...See More
Mary Leek
10 years ago
If your cuttings don't root, all is not lost. I find starting common milkweed by seed is extremely easy and it grows very fast. By the second year, you should have another nice patch, by the third year, great huge plants once again.

I live in the city on a small lot and I grow my common milkweed in huge pots to keep it from spreading into unwanted places by underground nodes. It grows very well in these huge pots, too. I find it about the easiest of the perennial milkweed to grow by seed.

Mary

Sign Up to Comment

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Butterfly Milkweed, a Beacon in the Prairie

By Pollination Press LLC

Vivacious orange flowers for you, nectar for the butterflies and bees. Asclepias tuberosa is worth planting for more reasons than one

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Milkweed

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Quit cringing. This not-weed plant is a sight to behold in the garden, has a delicious vanilla scent and is a magnet for butterflies

GARDENING GUIDES 7 Ecofriendly Gardening Ideas That Also Cut Chore Time

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Spend less time weeding, less money watering and more moments just sitting back and enjoying your healthy garden

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS Great Design Plant: Asclepias Is Attractive to Monarch Butterflies

By Debbie Ballentine

Increase monarch butterfly populations in California by planting stunning native milkweeds

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Incarnata for a Butterfly Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Beautiful swamp milkweed makes it easy to help monarchs and other pollinators in eastern U.S. gardens

GARDENING GUIDES Northeast Gardener's November Checklist

By Paintbox Garden

Let titian foliage and berries, silky milkweed, late-blooming asters and more lure you out into the autumn garden

ART Barn Quilts Piece Together a Community

By Mary Jo Bowling

One man with one beautiful idea transforms Wisconsin’s Shawano County

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Sullivantii

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Celebrate the pollinator community that flocks to this rare prairie native’s nectar and leaves

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

GARDENING GUIDES How I Learned to Be an Imperfect Gardener

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Letting go can lead to a deeper level of gardening and a richer relationship with the landscape. Here's how one nature lover did it

Sponsored

NME Builders LLC

2 Reviews

Industry Leading Kitchen & Bath Remodelers in Franklin County, OH