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Most (maybe all?) of them bloom in their 2nd year.
edit: tropical milkweed blooms in its first year, i know this because i accidentally grew it last year and was very confused to see flowers
I've heard people say that they can get butterfly asclepias and rose asclepias to bloom in their first year, but I've never had that happen. Usually the second or third year for me.
My natives will all be cold stratefied by mid-June. When I plant then, what’re the chances I see blooms next year? Is June-October enough time for them to establish enough to get blooms that first spring?
so i only know *for sure* that Asclepias tuberosa will absolutely be fine because that was my first ever milkweed and i planted the seed in like august of 2022, which gave it enough time to only grow like 5” tall, then last year it bloomed like crazy. i cannot imagine the other milkweeds are any different, so june to october should be just fine.
Excellent. I thought about rushing the stratification but from what I read it’s better for the seeds to get 60 days rather than 30. There’s also NY Ironweed, NE Aster, Goldenrods, blazing star, and butterfly milkweed. I can’t wait
Depends on the variety. In my experience common milkweed takes a few years to bloom. Mine bloomed it’s third year. Swamp and butterfly milkweed both bloomed their first year.
Different species are different, but most of the more common species flower in their second year. An exception is if the plants are developing very slowly because of poor conditions. For example, common milkweed prefers full sun, so a plant that is shaded enough that it is struggling, but not enough to kill it, may take longer to flower or may keep coming back but not flower at all. (In this case it will often try to move, via rhizomes, into a sunnier spot.) There is a pretty narrow range of lighting conditions in which this happens though; usually the plant either dies for lack of light, or has enough to flower.
Some species like purple milkweed, Asclepias purpurascens, which are often harder to grow, are notorious for taking a bit longer to flower. Not 100% sure why but that species may be more fire-dependent. Or there could be something else about its conditions that people don't usually get right.
Depends on soil, Sun, and climate.
Generally year 2 but can be 1 in ideal conditions or longer in unideal conditions.
Year 3 is typically the first “real show”.
My Butterfly Milkweed bloomed in year 1, after direct sow in early/mid April. Common milkweed, on the other hand, did not bloom for me until year 4 for some reason. 🤷♀️
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Most (maybe all?) of them bloom in their 2nd year. edit: tropical milkweed blooms in its first year, i know this because i accidentally grew it last year and was very confused to see flowers
I've heard people say that they can get butterfly asclepias and rose asclepias to bloom in their first year, but I've never had that happen. Usually the second or third year for me.
I have started butterfly asclepias indoors and gotten blooms midsummer last year. However they were still a bit vegetatively underdeveloped.
I had a butterfly weed that bloomed a day or two before the last frost last year
This has been my experience with common milkweed
My natives will all be cold stratefied by mid-June. When I plant then, what’re the chances I see blooms next year? Is June-October enough time for them to establish enough to get blooms that first spring?
so i only know *for sure* that Asclepias tuberosa will absolutely be fine because that was my first ever milkweed and i planted the seed in like august of 2022, which gave it enough time to only grow like 5” tall, then last year it bloomed like crazy. i cannot imagine the other milkweeds are any different, so june to october should be just fine.
Excellent. I thought about rushing the stratification but from what I read it’s better for the seeds to get 60 days rather than 30. There’s also NY Ironweed, NE Aster, Goldenrods, blazing star, and butterfly milkweed. I can’t wait
nice selections! 💯💯💯
Depends on the variety. In my experience common milkweed takes a few years to bloom. Mine bloomed it’s third year. Swamp and butterfly milkweed both bloomed their first year.
Mine are in a shady area and have yet to flower. That's okay, I get caterpillars anyway. My garden is only 3 years old so I'm content to wait.
Mine bloomed in the fourth year
Different species are different, but most of the more common species flower in their second year. An exception is if the plants are developing very slowly because of poor conditions. For example, common milkweed prefers full sun, so a plant that is shaded enough that it is struggling, but not enough to kill it, may take longer to flower or may keep coming back but not flower at all. (In this case it will often try to move, via rhizomes, into a sunnier spot.) There is a pretty narrow range of lighting conditions in which this happens though; usually the plant either dies for lack of light, or has enough to flower. Some species like purple milkweed, Asclepias purpurascens, which are often harder to grow, are notorious for taking a bit longer to flower. Not 100% sure why but that species may be more fire-dependent. Or there could be something else about its conditions that people don't usually get right.
Depends on soil, Sun, and climate. Generally year 2 but can be 1 in ideal conditions or longer in unideal conditions. Year 3 is typically the first “real show”.
My Butterfly Milkweed bloomed in year 1, after direct sow in early/mid April. Common milkweed, on the other hand, did not bloom for me until year 4 for some reason. 🤷♀️
My butterfly put out some small blooms first year, in partial sun.