You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
I'm new to raising butterflies this year and also new to growing milkweed. I ran out of tropical milkweed to feed my Monarch cats this summer and it really cost me a lot to round up food for them so want to be better prepared next year. :-)
I purchased 80 starts of Swamp Milkweed late this summer and transplanted them into cups of potting soil. Some cups are 8 oz size styrofoam and some are 12 oz clear plastic (of course, with punched holes in bottoms of all cups). I currently have them sitting on my deck.
We live in zone 7b, central Arkansas. I am wondering if I should keep them in a cool greenhouse until spring or leave them sitting on the deck through the winter months? The plant guide says they're hardy to zone 3a so I assume the roots can be frozen and still come back in the spring? In the greenhouse during sunny days of winter, I assume it will become warm during the day (first year with greenhouse) and I intend to always keep night temps above freezing so would those temps confuse the plants. Being perennial, are they expecting to be frozen during their dorment rest period?
They currently don't have any leaves on them, just look like little sticks right now. I pulled one up and it didn't appear the roots have grown anymore from what they looked like when I planted them as plugs.
My thanks for your advice.
Mary
This thread has 3 replies. This forum is accessible only to subscribing members of Dave's Garden. There are many free features here, and about half of our forums are completely open to all members. Take a tour of our site and learn more about Dave's Garden, and explore the benefits of becoming a subscribing member.
