Giant Milkweed Question

[sbannister]

I purchased a giant milkweed earlier this summer by mail order and it is now in a large pot and has reached only about 12-15 inches tall. I can't plant it in ths ground until it is a little larger because my dog has a tendency to knock down tender vegitation. This is my first time trying this species. Today I noticed it has 3 Monarch eggs on it. If I brought the plant inside would it be happy? My house stays between 70-80 degrees F. We live with air conditioning on down here all summer in SE Louisiana. Suggestions from those more familiar with this species of milkweed would be most welcome!

Thanks!

[Mona Miller]

There are several giant milkweeds. Can you give us the latin name?

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/67012/
Crown Flower, Giant Calotrope, Giant Milkweed, Swallow-wort
Calotropis gigantea

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CAGI11
It grows outside year round in Hawaii.

http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_ ... s_gigantea
Hardy to zone 9.

Do you have an area with full sun inside? This sound like a conservatory type plant.

[sbannister]

It's calotropis gigantea. My "caterpillar" room, aka laundry room :>), has morning sun from the east and southern exposure also that gets some afternoon sun.

[tarheel]

I raise this same plant, & it does beautifully in my solarium. I give them added humidity by placing them in front of my granite waterfall as well as placing them on humidity trays. They get abundant light, surrounded by windows & solar tubes in ceiling. They look like giant fiddleleaf ficus (forgot the Latin name for this). All of these links by Mona show the very same giant mw, Calotropis gigantea. I see it called the different names, Crown Flower, Swallow-wort, etc - but all are the same Latin name Magnoliopsida > Gentianales > Asclepiadaceae > Calotropis gigantea. A couple of different bloom colors are mentioned, but same name .Would love to know the others you were referring to, Mona. Am always looking for new mw varities, especially the giant mw. We had a very mild winter here, some of my tropical mw came back from root, & a great common mw that I started from seeds from a lady in PA. came back from root, & now towers 7' tall in large containers on my southern facing deck. With the plant containers pulled up against the brick, most of my tropicals survive; lemons, kumquat & a few others. Will keep the seeds separate just in case. Had both pink-brownish & white blooms, same seeds.

[Mona Miller]

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32070/
Dead Sea Apple, Rooster Tree, Rubber Bush, Swallow-Wort, Sedom Apple, Sodom Apple
Calotropis procera

[tarheel]

What a surprise to find I had both the Calotropis procera & Calotropis gigantea growing in my deck garden. I am not one for 'specifics', I grow for the mere fun & personal enjoyment in feeling I am helping the Monarch to have a chance at life, not for any other reason . And BTW I have sent some b'fies across the state lines, & the the law hasn't come knocking at my door, yet. At least the b'flies lived, & were released, giving them a chance for a life, not held in, or released to a certain death. Now with good conscious, which is truly best? No answer, please, I know the answer. They came from a certified grower, who sent them to me, I merely forwarded them.
I try to keep up with what I have, but, if by chance, I get a new variety, as I did last year from seeds, or by purchasing on-line, I don't get all involved in researching, I just plant & nuture, try to protect from pests, & enjoy. So, in a moment of relaxation, this morning with 1st cup of coffee, I visited some of the sites for mw that have been listed that I hadn't gone to b4.
By the photos, I made a new directory folder for list of what was in my garden, as another member had requested my list, & I wanted to be as specific as I could. When it came to the Giant mw, I copied the pic, then the info, thinking this was from some seeds shared w/ me, & I, in my mind was referring to it as a 'very large Common mw', (which was fine for my (mental catalog) only to find by leaf & bloom identification that it was Calotropis gigantea Giant Milkweed (AKA: Giant Calotrope); then when it came to the Calotropis procera Calotrope (AKA: Rubberbush, Apple of Sodom, Roostertree), I stopped 'dead on the keyboard', not 'dead in my tracks', as the saying goes. Did a little mental run-through or fillmstrip in my mind, of leaves, blooms, & was thrilled to find that I already had both. So, going back through the posts has proven to be really helpful, & now my wanted list is completed. Although my Calotropis procera's Calotrope (AKA: Rubberbush, Apple of Sodom, Roostertree), (not wanting to leave out any of the Latin name, or descriptive terms), have not bloomed, have about 15 of these beauties, there is no mistaking the leaves. So am heading out now to do my "ritualistic morning check for pests", which has turned out to more fun since I started getting the knack of preventing the Oleander aphids this year, & will give each of my C. proceras a little "iluvu ", as well as the others. Have been so Blessed by God to have not seen these horrid aphids, my plants have been the prettiest this year than ever b4, have to give credit to the Master gardener for this, I do my praying & praising out among His creations, is a wonderful way to start off my day. And with seeing my first babies y'day, am going to have a wonderful weekend . That is, if I don't get chided for wrong name or something . God Bless all. Have a butterfly weekend..tarheel BTW, I know the Latin names are supposed to be italics, but am not one for specifics, as I said & if the photos were copywrited, let 'em sue me, not even gonna publish or print, just keeping on laptop for identification, gosh I hope I covered my back in this post. (some will know what I mean)

[Mona Miller]

The permit laws are put into place for a reason; for example, what if someone shipped butterflies from the east to the west and in that shipment sent along another pest that ended up being as bad as the gypsy moth. Please think about what you do and the consequences. These consequences are more than being fined, there are environmental consequences.

[sbannister]

Well thanks to everyone's responses and advice about the giant milkweed. I ended up bringing it inside and the three eggs hatched. The baby cats ate only a little and then disappeared. IDK what happened to them. I don't think the monarchs around here like this type of milkweed or do well on it. Anyway, the plant has gotten a lot taller indoors, and I am going to put it back outside and plant it in the ground soon and just see what happens. I think it is going to be very attractive once it gets established. I'm going to keep feeding my baby cats the familiar tropical mw that I have lots of right now!

[Mona Miller]

I planted seeds of the SWAN PLANT (Asclepias fruticosa) from the Waystation kit. I ordered the kit for California just to get those seeds. I had about 8 plants come up. When they were only about 4 inches tall, there comes momma monarch and lays on them. I put netting over the plants to prevent more eggs from being deposited. The plants grew another 5 inches and the monarch caterpillars mulched and mulched and now they are stems, but the caterpillars were huge. They have currently traveled to the top of the tomato cage that I put in to support the netting and are pupating. I can't wait to see how big their pupae will be.

http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/seed_kit.html
Seed kits for Waystations
http://shop.monarchwatch.org/product.aspx?p=125522(base)
Here's where to order the kits.