Anyone want free milkweed seeds?

[Bettacreek]

Just wondering if anyone wants any common milkweed seeds. They're the only source of feed for monarch butterfly caterpillars (well, milkweed in general). I collected a ton of fluff for a project, and have the "by-product" of hundreds of seeds. If you'd like any, please PM me, I'll send you my address, then send a self addressed, stamped envelope and I'll get them out to you.

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
What a geat idea,
you know come to think of it, I havent seen Milk Weed at this property since I moved in 15 years ago.
I had heard (not checked) that MilkWeed is slowly disapearing. if it disapears completely there will be no more Monarch Butterflies.
I will Pm you later this morning, I will plant the seeds.

 

[evonne]

i think we had milkweed on the fenceline of the military housing we lived in in upstate NY... i loved it when i was little.. if it is what i think it was.. don't remeber what i did with it.. but i remeber picking it and playing with it...

do you know if it would grow out here in vegas??
i'll research it later and see...

 

[firedove]

my mom has a bunch growing in her wildflower garden, just for the monarchs. It's probably disappearing because most people pull it up and burn it since it is a very invasive weed.

 

[TXmom]

Hmmmm...I kinda thought this was a joke when I read the subject line. I pick it and throw it away because I'm pretty sure it's toxic if my chickens and goats eat it. I didn't think about the butterflies...but I'm sure the chickens would eat the caterpillars if they were in their yard! I only pick it out of my goat and chicken areas...not the rest of my property.

 

[Bettacreek]

Going to give this a bump for the lovely monarch butterflies who eat the milkweed plants! I still have plenty left!

 

[Haleth]

I haven't seen any growing out here (Los Angeles County) but the only time I looked for it was when my son got a butterfly house with caterpillar eggs. I had to BUY milkweed for them. I looked up their requirements and it sounds like they'd do fine just about anywhere, so I'll give it a shot in my yard. Out here, they call invasive plants "drought tolerant", sounds good enough for me.

 

[firedove]

Quote:
I've been away from BYC for a bit, but TXmom, your chickens would not eat the caterpillars, birds know better. The toxicity of the milkweed is transferred into the caterpillars. I'd worry more about the goats eating the plants, chickens are actually pretty smart about toxic plants.

 

[Lozen]

Noone told me it was toxic. I've been eating young pods since I was a kid.

 

[SunnyDawn]

I'd love some! Awesome idea, could save the monarchs!