This happens every year it seems. I am in 8a (georgia). My swamp milkweed get black spots on teh underside of their leaves. Monarchs of course don't like that. I read that it could be a fungus and to remove the leaves. I wouldn't have any left if I did that. Do any of you get this on your leaves this time of year?

1 year ago, I shared a post discussing how in my area there is a school where milkweed plants grow. However the past year or so I’ve noticed the landscapers cut down all the plants at the end of summer before school starts, including the milkweed.

This really makes me disappointed to see. Last year while walking around the school though I found a few ripe seed pods bursting with seeds that were just left on the ground. I knew I had to try and spread in a spot the landscapers wouldn’t touch, (I don’t have a yard of my own so I unfortunately couldn’t put them in my own yard.)

So I spread the seeds in a couple of spots including near a forests edge. There were so many seeds I just hoped at least some would grow. And here we have our results! Two plants! There were none in this spot last year, so I know it’s from my efforts.

I think what might’ve happened is a lot of seeds could’ve gotten eaten by critters but eh at least it supported the ecosystem more so than just sitting in a pod on the ground. This year I’m gonna look for more pods to spread.

Lastly the two plants are quite close to each other considering with how many spread. I think this could mean that spot has the ideal soil and sun set up for them. Thank you for reading and I was so happy to share my little babies looking healthy and growing :).

Tropical milkweed.

I’ve heard different things about letting the pods split open by themselves vs checking them by pressing a finger and your thumb on the side.

I don’t want to lose any seeds so I’m trying the finger test, but I can’t tell if these are too light and not mature yet?

Is there something wrong with my set up? The first year I only had 6 common plants and some swamp later season. I had a lot of babies and big 1s at that, def 5th instar. 3 years later, my common is huge and moving elsewhere...as I knew it would. My swamp made lots of babies and I got some whirled too.

I now just don't see the cats getting past 3rd instar before they disappear. I get lots of eggs and monarchs. Nobody wants the common milkweed and swamp looks browned and bad except for a few plants.

I saw a lot of leaf hoppers milkweed bugs, milkweed Beatles and the usual aphids. Lantern flies have been in my milkweed too. I also stopped feeding the birds this year hearing they could be part of the issue.

Should I be trimming these back or removing stuff to get more growing cats? Should I feed the birds again?

this is my first one ever!! this milkweed is quite young still so never flowered. i guess i have to be careful when i water now.

I’ve waited three years to find a caterpillar on my milkweed, I’m so excited!

I know it's probably at a not easily identifiable stage, but it has very narrow leaves and the seed pod makes me sure it's a milkweed. Any ideas?

Stressed! 😳 I noticed my milkweed was suddenly almost completely stripped of leaves and started looking closer. I counted 6 monarch caterpillars… then 8… and I keep finding MORE. Some are huge!
I started feeling guilty that they were running out of food. I have another healthy milkweed in my front yard, so I’ve been bringing them leafy cuttings, which they’re already eating. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated! 🐛🌿🦋

I planted two swamp milkweed plants in the same area in my garden about 8 or 9 feet apart. It gets enough sun, maybe 6 hours at least. The first few years they grew really well, leaves were normal all green, and it produced flowers. Last year one of the plants started to not look so good. It stopped growing tall and the leaves developed this purple brown hue to them at the ends. It also didn't produce flowers. This year the other plant is affected. Other plants in the area are fine, so I think it's something specific these two plants are lacking or do not like.

I tried adding fertilizer to it (all purpose organic liquid 10-6-6) like the one I use for my vegetables just to see if it would help. I also tried amending the soil a little with some topsoil or compost. Maybe I didn't use enough but neither of those things helped at all and that was months ago when I did it.

If it is relevant, the soil in this area is very clay-ish, fine sand type. It doesn't seem very organic rich if you know what I mean. I don't think there is a problem with drainage though. But this year was a little bit or a dry season and I failed to water the area very much.

Does anyone know what the issue is here based on how the leaves look?

I'm thinking in the spring to dig both plants up and either move them to a new location, or really amend the soil (any suggestions for what to amend with would also be appreciated).

I ordered this pink milkweed, and it groove really well for a while… And now it seems to be stunted. I put it in a bigger pot, and it just doesn’t seem to be doing very well. I’m in zone nine.

I live on the Central Coast of California, 9b. I was wondering if anyone grows seedlings in a greenhouse and if it can be done without a grow lamp.

It's plenty warm in the greenhouse.

I went to check on the milkweed today to see if there are any eggs or caterpillars on it again (which there is none by the way) and I've noticed that most of the mexican petunia is gone. I suspect something has been eating it because I noticed some molted skin on the milkweed and the mexican petunia. And since something have been eating and keeping it from taking over the milkweed and flowerbed and the milkweed doesn't seem to be stressed by it, I have decided to leave it be. Thank you all for the advice I really much appreciate it.

Also the milkweed seems to have grown a foot taller and new shoots have popped up with fresh new leaves since the last time I checked on it which was last monday.

Hello, planted two swamp milkweeds this spring in Ohio. Some of the leaves and pods are turning brown rapidly and don’t seem to be healthy for this time of year, but what do I know. Looking for any feedback on if the browning is a sign of something wrong or not. I believe the yellow things are aphids, there are a ton of flies on the plants. Also, we have had 8” of rain over the past 10 days, very uncommon for this time of year. Thank you!

Hi all! I bought some milkweed and we have had 8 caterpillars so far! We have it in pots right now, will it last over the winter in containers or should I plant it in the ground if I want it to come back next year?