Butterfly Weed Milkweed Seeds

Butterfly Weed Milkweed seeds produce perennial, drought tolerant, plants that grow to about 24″ in height. The bright orange blooms grow in large flat top clusters that reach about 5 inches across. Foliage is dark green with lanceolate shaped leaves that have a smooth edge. You may have heard this plant referred to as Orange Milkweed but produces no milky sap. Loved by many butterflies but a favorite of the Monarch. We’ve had many Monarch caterpillars feeding on our Butterfly weed over the years. The love munching on the flowers and foliage. This plant is frequently grown from seed by gardeners. When started from seed, the Butterfly Weed may produce flowers the first year if started indoors preseason but usually takes at least two years for abundant blooms. These milkweed plants can also be propagated from root cutting of an established plant. However, it’s easier to collect seed pods at the end of the flowering period in late summer or early fall. Collect pods when they brown and are barely splitting open before the seeds attached to silky hairs are carried away by the wind.

Starting Butterfly Weed Milkweed Seeds

Seeds can be directly sown outdoors by planting the seeds in mid-November. Scatter the seeds in the area of choice and cover with 1/4″ of soil. The cold period over winter will help germination when the seeds sprout the following Spring. Seedlings can be transplanted to different locations when they are 3-4 tall. If you intend on sowing the seeds indoors, I’d like to note that they will benefit from a stratification period of 4-6 weeks, simulating winter. This can be accomplished a couple ways. One way is to put the seeds into a ziplock bag of moistened perlite then place a refrigerator for a couple months before planting. Additionally, you can plant the Butterfly weed seeds in a seed starting tray and place the tray outdoors where they will experience the cold of winter for the appropriate time frame. Once ready, bring the tray indoor warmth, moisten the soil, and grow under lights until Spring. Check out this link for more instructions on how to plant Butterfly Weed seeds.

Be sure and check out the rest of our flower seeds.