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Milkweed Identification.? please

14 years ago

I found this milkweed this afternoon along the side of a abandoned road in NW Iowa.

I'm looking for someone to help me with identification.

It is a fairly short plant, about 12-18 inches tall. The leaves are narrow and point upwards. The seed pod is small, compared to my buttterfly milkweeds.

The seed pods are just now starting to open up, so they are fairly late to disperse their seeds.

They are either juvenile plants, or they dont have a very extensive root system, as they come out fo the ground easily. Is it too early to transplant a bare root plant directlyt into the ground, or should I bare root it and store it over the winter and plant in the spring

Any help would be appreciated.

Here is what it looks like

{{gwi:1068900}}

Thanks,

R

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Comments (6)

rbrady
14 years ago
Looks like Asclepias verticillata. Here is a link that may be useful:
http://www.missouriplants.com/Whiteopp/Asclepias_verticillata_page.html

Rhonda
lycopus
14 years ago
This species normally has fibrous roots. It might be just as easy to grow from seed sown in the fall. Does best in soil with good drainage, such as sandy or gravelly soil.
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terrene
14 years ago
If you were to dig up a small plant, then perhaps you could scatter some seed in its place (from what I understand, wild-collecting plants is generally frowned upon unless they would be lost to development). I would transplant it directly into the ground as quickly as possible.

This species is easy to start from seed, I winter-sowed a container of these this past winter and now have 5 small plants in the back garden. Mine didn't flower the first year, but I'm hoping they will flower next year.
Mark (wildflowerman_2000) Rose
14 years ago
Rollie, I think it is definetly Asclepias verticillata. Is there any chance of getting a couple of the seed pods for our project establishing a Meadowlark & Butterfly Sanctuary here in NC? If so please contact me offline at wildflowerman_2000@yahoo.com . Thanks, Mark
rollie
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the info!

These plants are growing on a dirt road that occasionally will get bladed, so I have no problem with taking a few of them. If and when the blade goes thru they will be lost.

I transplanted 4 plants that I was able to dig out yesterday, and am drying the seed pods right now out in the shop.

Ill get back to you Mark when I see how any seeds I end up with.

Is there anything special I need to do with the seed before starting them. Should I dry them and then refrigerate them until I want to start them next spring?
Mark (wildflowerman_2000) Rose
14 years ago
I would recommend keeping the seed dry and at room temperatures until giving them a moist cold treatment for about 90-110 days before sowing them. This timing should be set so that you plant them out after any danger of frost has passed or if you have a greenhouse at anytime. One method of cold moist stratification is to place the seed in moist paper towels in a ziploc or better yet by putting the seed in moist sphagnum(soak the sphagnum in warm water for about an hour and then squeeze out the excess water) and place the seed in the sphagnum in a ziploc. I prefer to use milled(chopped-up) sphagnum as it is much easier to handle. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me. Hope this helps. Mark

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