Thursday, June 9, 2011

Milkweed Blooms

I am sad that I haven't seen any monarch caterpillars or eggs lately, but I did see one monarch butterfly a few days ago.  Well, I am happy to see some blooms on the milkweeds.  I have more than one plant of several of these, but just posted one photo of each kind, with a close up of the blooms.  I think the plants are pretty good looking, and I encourage you to find a spot for some.  Monarch Watch has a nice growing guide for milkweeds. 

Purple Milkweed, Asclepias purpurascens:



 White Swamp Milkweed, I think it's Asclepias incanata 'Ice Ballet':


It's not blooming yet, but you can see the flowers are going to be white.


Pink Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata:



Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow':



Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa:



This common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is going to bloom for the first time in my garden.  This is its third summer here.


The showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa was small when I planted it last year, but its bigger this year, and has some nice blooms.  It is leaning against the fence, so I need to support it better.



Each of these plants had monarch caterpillars chewing on them earlier in the season.  Hopefully there will be more.  Frequently, I don't see any one caterpillar more than a few times, but this time, some got pretty large, so I'm hoping they are butterflies by now.

Have a great weekend!
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17 comments:

  1. Diane at My Cottage GardenJune 9, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Very nice, Sue. I like that you showed a photo of the plant as a whole, and then a close-up of the flower. Just showing one or the other doesn't always really tell the story, does it.

    I don't think I've ever seen these. I'll have to check the zone for them.

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  2. Single GalJune 9, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    I like the shapes and the colors of the milkweeds. It's nice to look at...thank you.

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  3. GonSSJune 9, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    You have such a great variety of milk week. My little plants are still little.

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  4. greggoJune 9, 2011 at 8:44 PM

    Like your collection. Hope your cats weren't eaten by birds. I have two varieties I planted from seed last October. They are pretty puny. I believe herbicide in the municipal compost has stunted them. Haven't seen any adults since April. Haven't seen any swallowtails either.

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  5. GRACE PETERSONJune 9, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    Milkweed is not only a beneficial plant but also extremely beautiful. And your photos attest to that fact. Great post, Sue.

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  6. Judy ~ Through My Garden WindowJune 9, 2011 at 10:43 PM

    How can they call anything with such pretty flowers 'weeds'?! They are so pretty!! I have to look into getting some in my garden.

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  7. RoseJune 10, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    Sue, you have certainly made a case for adding milkweeds to the garden. They really do have such pretty blooms. I don't know much about the life cycles of butterflies, but your Monarchs may be off traveling already, and a new generation of caterpillars may hatch later.

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  8. AnonymousJune 10, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    i haven't seen many chews. Love the yellow blooms.
    Steve,OOTP

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  9. scottweberpdxJune 10, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    Wonderful post, Sue...so glad you showed all the different varieties! Those pink/silvery ones totally remind me of the ones we used to have growing wild in the fields at home...my dad is actually collecting seeds for me this fall and I'm gonna start my own little patch next spring...can't wait!

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  10. Becca's DirtJune 10, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Wow Sue I didn't know there were so many different kinds of milkweed. They are beautiful. Love the pink and the yellows.

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  11. DesireeJune 10, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    What a wonderful selection of milkweeds you have, Sue! I knew you were keen on them and now I can see why! They really are beautiful and, of course, their attractiveness to butterflies rates them even more highly :)

    I hope you and your family, especially your daughter-in-law and new grandson, are well. I have no doubt you're spending every possible free moment in your garden or playing with those grandsons ;)

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  12. JayneJune 10, 2011 at 7:51 PM

    It's only through reading your blog that I realize there are so many different types of milkweed. I only have the tropical milkweed down here. One thing I don't like about it is the orange aphids that swarm on it, but this year I found I can hose them off pretty easily and not harm the plant.

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  13. SiestaSisterJune 11, 2011 at 4:57 AM

    Really enjoyed your pics of all the milkweeds!! I also only have the tropical milkweed. I have a new milkweed coming up and it seems to be much larger than the tropical. I am hoping it is a different kind.

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  14. gldJune 11, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    The common milkweed and the orange one grow naturally on the farm. I have a few plants of some kind of milkweed growing around the mailbox. I hope it blooms this year. It didn't last year.

    They love hot and dry and we sure have that here now.

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  15. CassiJune 11, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    I didn't realize there were so many varieties of milkweed. We have the common one, transplanted from a wild area of our land, and I've planted an orange butterfly weed. They're just getting ready to bloom, and I haven't seen any caterpillars on them yet. A few days ago, I watched two monarchs and a swallowtail play around in the yard for a couple of hours --it was wonderful to see.

    I'm going to have to look into some of the others, they are really pretty. Are they as invasive as the common milkweed? We've had to pull lots of milkweed this spring to keep it contained within it's garden.

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  16. deborahJune 12, 2011 at 10:37 PM

    Thanks for the garden tour since I was unable to attend! It was great meeting you at my daughters spring show! Stop by me blog and check out the pictures from the show!

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  17. GinnyJune 13, 2011 at 10:18 AM

    This is the second year for my swamp milkweed. It didn't bloom last year but I'm hoping for blooms this summer. And hoping for monarchs, too! I've seen one monarch but believe it was just passing through.

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.