How can I tell what type of milkweed I have?
Milkweed is perhaps most well-known for its milky sap or for the latex contained within its leaves. You can break a leaf to see if a plant you suspect to be milkweed has milky sap. Be careful not to ingest or get milkweed sap in your eyes.
What does milkweed look like when it comes up?
Pale green and covered with bumps, the pods eventually turn brown and split open, releasing up to 200 flat, brown seeds. Silky white hairs attached to each seed facilitate wind dispersal. Common milkweed seed pod.
Is there a plant that looks like milkweed?
Another plant, dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), looks strikingly similar to common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). This look-alike can leave people disappointed if they’re expecting monarchs on their milkweed, but it turns out not to be the right plant! Differences: Common milkweed has a hairy stem, unlike dogbane.
What does a swamp milkweed look like?
Swamp milkweed’s smooth narrow leaves are lance-shaped with sharp tips and occur in pairs. Sometimes the leaf’s edges turn inward and upward suggesting the prow of a ship. The fragrant umbelled clusters of flowers range in color from soft mauve to pink to reddish-violet.
Does milkweed come back every year?
These native milkweed are perennials, meaning they come back year after year. Their aerial parts (flower, leaves, stem) die back but their rootstock remains alive throughout the winter.
Is milkweed poisonous to dogs?
The Pet Poison Helpline reports that milkweed is a moderate to severe poisoning in dogs and cats, which means get to the vet as soon as you suspect your pet has ingested the plant, or even butterflies or caterpillars that eat milkweed.
Does milkweed grow back every year?
Should I deadhead milkweed?
Deadhead milkweed flowers to prolong blooming during summer. At the end of the season, allow the plants to form those attractive pods that look great in dried-flower arrangements. Cut back old milkweed stalks in late winter, before new shoots begin to emerge.
Where should I plant milkweed?
Plant in full sun locations. Soil: There is a Milkweed variety for every landscape. Common Milkweed grows well in average garden soil. Swamp Milkweed, as its name implies, will do best in a moist environment, making it great for wet meadows or rain gardens.
Is milkweed poisonous to touch?
By feeding almost exclusively on milkweed leaves, they can accumulate enough of the poison in their bodies to make them distasteful to predators. Humans are not exempt from this poison. Milkweed sap can be very irritating to the skin but is also very dangerous if it gets in your eyes.
Where can I find common milkweed?
Common Milkweed is a native perennial of the eastern United States and southern Canada, though it is found most commonly in the northeast and the midwest. It can be found in upland fields, woodland margins and disturbed areas such as roadsides (Wilburg, 1979). It prefers well-drained soils.
Do milkweed plants spread?
It is native to North America and reproduces primarily from seed. Once it is established it can spread from its rhizomatous root system. Common milkweed stems are covered with opposite, oval shaped leaves. If you already have common milkweed in the garden, you can prevent further spread by removing immature seed pods.