Fruit: Milkweeds produce large seedpods (3 to 5 inches long) after flowering. Pale green and covered with bumps, the pods eventually turn brown and split open, releasing up to 200 flat, brown seeds. Silky white hairs attached to each seed facilitate wind dispersal. Common milkweed seed pod.

33 to 164 feet

As the seedlings become established, it is important to avoid watering too much or too little. A light watering each day until roots are well established (7-10 days), preferably in the morning, should be sufficient. All milkweeds are perennials and some can be grown from cuttings.

Staking: Milkweed plants have sturdy stems – no staking needed. Whorled and Common Milkweeds, as well as Butterfly Weed, are suited to a dry environment. Fertilizing: Milkweed does not require fertilization. This native plant performs well in poor soils.

“Very fond of milkweed blossoms, bees will desert other flowers when these are available. “Generally, milkweeds are considered beneficial to bees. However, there are potential negative aspects to milkweed flowers. It is conceivably possible for bees and other small pollinators to become trapped in a blossom.

Myth #1: Milkweed is an invasive weed. Milkweed is a beneficial wildflower. It may have “weed” in the name, but there are over 100 species of milkweed native to the United States and none of them are considered “noxious weeds”.

sunflower seeds Feed the bugs organic, unsalted, shelled sunflowers. You may also feed the bugs milkweed seeds. If those aren’t available, any unsalted, shelled sunflower or pumpkin seeds may work.

Adults can mate a week or so after the last molt, and a week to two weeks later, females start to lay eggs. Females that have plenty of milkweed seeds available, lay considerably more eggs than females on short rations.