Just thinking about milkweed. I received my Whorled Milkweed seeds today from the nice folks at www.everwilde.com They were out of stock for a short time but got them in again. They also need cold stratification so into the fridge they went. The package says they need 2-3 months of cold but the website says 30 days in the fridge is enough. Maybe the constant temperature of the fridge versus outdoors makes it go faster? I have no idea how these things work - I'm a Floridian! I just double-checked the Florida Plant Atlas and it shows the Whorled Milkweed in most counties. The other one I ordered, the Spider Milkweed, shows in only a few counties but one of them is Miami-Dade and if it can grow there, it can grow here. Mostly it seems to grow about two counties up from me. Here's the Whorled Milkweed getting ready to go in the fridge.
I know I keep saying my last frost date is Feb. 15 but that doesn't mean I'm going to magically get all my gardening done on that day. First off, it's a Sunday so I'll be at MOSI.
I do have other plants to get into the ground so maybe I can leave the milkweed in for a bit longer. I would hate to have lousy germination rates. And I'm not real demanding about that, anyway! I have an area in mind for planting at least some of them, but I'll have to do some work to clear it first. Plus, no matter when I plant the seeds, I'll have to give them supplemental water which means dragging the hose around the yard every day for weeks. For those not from Florida, our driest period is March and April. As a kid, I never understood the whole "April showers bring May flowers" saying. The rainy season usually kicks in about late May (if we're lucky) so if I can manage until then, I think I'll be all right. I suppose I'm just rationalizing to myself why it's okay to plant the seeds late and leave them in the fridge. But I think this is going to work out pretty well. It's not like I don't have plenty to do after ripping out all those plants!
But in replacement plant news, while I was at Lowe's I picked up two Salvia 'Mystic Spires' because...you know...pretty. And was there ever a butterfly that didn't like Salvia? I have some Salvia 'Black and Blue' but I'm never sure if it's going to make a comeback. I've got something in the butterfly garden that's either that or Anise Hyssop and I guess I'll just have to wait until they get a little larger to figure it out. I might have both, for all I know. That Sweet Almond Bush I trimmed (and Dad pulled) was shading nearly everything out so I'm remembering what used to grow there and hoping for a comeback. While at Lowe's, I also checked out the clearance rack which is usually the "death rack" but a lot of the plants looked pretty good. I picked up an unnamed Salvia for $1. Also, they had pentas for $1 each! And they were still blooming! They only had purple and white and I took a pack of 10 purples. In my experience, the butterflies love all pentas but prefer purple, red, pink, and that magenta color. Okay, I guess the ones I bought are more magenta than purple. I'll have to buy some different colors later to mix things up. They wanted $5.98 for the regular price, slightly larger ones! Dad and I have the same philosophy, though. Buy them while they're small and cheap - and they GROW! Imagine that! Here's my pentas.
Normally, I would wait to buy pentas, but I can always cover them with a blanket if it gets cold. I can't pass up a bargain like that! I am waiting to buy my second Sweetbay Magnolia tree. It's a little hard to cover those. And I guess I'll have to send a Facebook message to my fave nursery and see about getting some more Rue. I've killed mine.
I hope everyone is staying warm and safe. All I see in the news is this blizzard stuff. So while you're hunkered down, dreaming of spring, is anyone else planning to add host or nectar plants this year?
