planting seeds... too late?

[Bob]

I live in Southern Illinois.
Last fall I ordered the Monarch Habitat seed kit and promptly lost it. I just found it tonight. The seeds have not been stratified. If I plant them now will anything be likely to sprout? Is it too late in the year to plant anyway?
If I order a Monarch Waystation seed kit now will I need to wait until next year to plant the seeds?
Sorry, I'm not much of a gardener, but want to learn.
Thanks for your help.

[milkweedman]

Bob, you must cold stratify most varieties of Northern milkweed seeds for 6-8 weeks otherwise the percentage that will germinate will be very low. Exceptions to this rule include Asclepias curassavica (Tropical milkweed) and a few others.
You can still plant out after stratification in late summer, just don't expect the plants to grow very big until they reappear the following spring. The first year is all about root and rhizome development anyway. Hope this is helpful. I'm sure others will chime in.

[Bob]

So if I put them in stratification now, they would be ready to plant near the end of August.
Would that be enough time for them to do any meaningful growing before winter? We usually get frost in mid to late October.

[Paul Cherubini]

In my experience, the need for stratification has been exaggerated. I get about 50% germination without stratification which is still pretty good. So I would say you should go ahead a plant now without stratification (if you are planting a common milkweed like syriaca)

[Bob]

Interesting.
The seeds I have now are:

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

The waystation kit has more of these plus:

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
Tithonia Torch, Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia)
Zinnia, Dahlia Mix (Zinnia elegans)
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Purple Horsemint (Monarda citriodora)

[blazing star]

Hi Bob,

I would say to go ahead and sow the seeds now. The more time the have to make their way into the soil, the better. They likely won't germinate until next Spring, however. I wouldn't stratify them and them, and now sow, as it seems too late in the season for this.

I order my native seed from Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota. Their website has germination codes next to type of plant. For Asclepias, they note that 30 days moist, cold stratification is necessary, fyi.

Good luck.

[Mona Miller]

http://www.butterflyencounters.com/growing-milkweed/
There's some good advice on propagating milkweed in video from on the above website.

[blazing star]

I have tried stratifying my native prairie seed in a bag. I was subsequently told to just toss the seed in the Fall as the seed needs time to work its way into the soil and the freeze/thaw patters from Fall to Spring allow for this to happen. Just a thought.

[Mona Miller]

When I used to plant wildflower seeds with the kids at school, I would clear the area of weeds and dig up the soil a bit. Throw down some new soil on top of that--most of our school yard soil is pure clay. Then I'd have the kids come in and toss the seeds. Sprinkle a little more soil on top. Less than 1/4 inch. Some seeds are tiny and covering them would not allow them to germinate. Then, I'd have the kids do a wildflower dance. Nothing rock and roll--just walking around to help the seeds make soil contact. We always had good germination rates. I told the kids it was because if they helped me the seeds grew better--they were magic.

[NickiM]

I always plant seeds whose seedlings are unfamiliar to me in a design, a circle or letter shape. That way, when spring comes I know which seedlings to leave when I'm weeding.