GardenDC Podcast Episode 244: Got Milkweed?

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with UMD extension educator Ginny Rosenkranz all about Milkweeds. The plant profile is on Gardenia and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Making Gardening Fun for Kids by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 227: Ironweed for the Mid-Atlantic

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-227-ironweed.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 29: Butterfly Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-29-butterfly.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 47: Pollinator Victory Gardens

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-47-pollinator.html

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Show Notes will be posted after 6-24-2025.

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Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Interview Edit & Show Notes: Ian Ferris

Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Plant Profile: Monkey Balls (Gomphocarpus physocarpus)

Gomphocarpus physocarpus a member of the Milkweed family that has many common names including Hairy Balls, Giant Swan Plant, Goose Plant, Family Jewels, Oscar, Monkey Balls, and Balloon Plant. (Asclepias physocarpa is the former botanical name.)

It is native to South America and grown as an annual in our region.  It is hardy to zones 9-11.

It prefers full sun and moderate moisture.  It can grow 4-6 feet high. The flowers are not that showy, but the seed pods are a show-stopper. 

Like other Milkweeds, it supports Monarch caterpillars and butterflies – as well as other pollinators. It is also deer-resistant.

You can start seeds indoors a few weeks before the last expected frost date in spring and then transplant them outdoors.

This plant is a favorite for flower arrangements. The seedpods dry nicely and it makes a terrific conversation starter in the landscape or on a table.

Gomphocarpus physocarpus - You Can Grow That!

 

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Visuals by Nicole Noechel
Audio by Kathy Jentz

 

Filmed at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.

 

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GardenDC Podcast Episode 15: Orchids, Insects, and Hummingbirds

Carol Allen

This episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation with plantswoman Carol Allen about Orchids, Insects, Hummingbirds, and more. The plant profile is on Common Milkweed and I share why gardening has real value.

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Video Plant Profile: Common Milkweed

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is an important plant for pollinators in our Mid-Atlantic region. The “weed” in its name can scare some people off, but it is important for local gardeners to add it to our landscapes.

   Recent studies show that the wide-spread use of pesticides and herbicides has impacted the Asclepias and Monarch populations.

   It is a perennial native to most of the eastern Unites States. The flower is also a popular nectar source for both honey bees and native bees as well as hummingbird moth and many other kinds of butterflies.

  Asclepias syriaca bloom from June and continue through August. In the fall, their seed pods ripen and dry out, splitting to reveal each seed attached to a long, silky fluff that floats away in the breeze.

Milkweed needs sun and adequate moisture to get established. Once in place, it is quite hardy and drought-tolerant. Its rhizome goes straight down, forming a tap root stabilizing the single-stalked plant above ground, and providing the plant with resources hidden deep, when needed.

   It can be hard to start from seed and it is difficult to transplant due to the taproot, but give it a few tries and you’ll eventually have success.

   It tends to run a bit and pops up here and there, growing to about five feet tall. So, plant it in a mixed bed with other sun-loving, native perennials such as Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Solidago, Asters, and Coreopsis. This is especially important because pollinators need groups and clumps of flowers to thrive,

   If some of the leaves on your plant start to look ragged and chewed on, great! The plant is doing its job providing food for the next Monarch generation.

   The toxic milky latex Asclepias exudes when a stem is broken makes them inedible for deer and rabbits, while Monarch butterflies can eat the leaves at their caterpillar stage and that makes the insects in turn unpalatable to birds and other predators.

   Common Milkweed: You can grow that!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine and edited by intern Alexandra Marquez.

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Milkweed for Monarchs Project

Guest blog by Kelly Zheng

As many local gardeners already know, the monarch butterfly population has decreased by almost 90 percent in recent years. There is simply not enough food at each migration stop to sustain them.

The National Capital Area Council of Boy Scouts of America kicked off the Milkweed for Monarchs project this past Saturday. More than 500 people celebrated the start of the program at the U.S. National Arboretum. The project promotes building sustainable habitats for migrating monarch butterflies by planting milkweed.

Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation told the Boy Scouts that they were making a huge difference and “lighting a conservation fire across this country.” He continued by saying he will challenge all scout troops to follow their lead.

As part of the kick-off, scouts took a pledge to “help create a milkweed garden, care for the milkweed plants, allow any wildlife to thrive, take photographs or draw what is seen, educate the community, and have fun.”

Scouts received milkweed seeds to plant in their home gardens, as the first ceremonial planting of the spring. Environmental historian and author Lowell Baier helped water the potted seeds. He was the first Eagle Scout in Jasper County, Indiana.

The National Capital Area Council expects the program to expand and become an example to other organizations for conserving the butterfly population and creating interaction among the youth.

Milkweed is vital to the monarch’s survival. Make sure you protect existing milkweed in your gardens. If you don’t have any, plant some. Milkweed is easy to grow, as you can start them indoors and then transfer into a plot.

Milkweed is a perennial. Your plants will return the following year to help feed the next generation of monarch caterpillars. Despite the common name, Asclepias sp. is not a weed.

Take the pledge to receive a free seed package and limited edition conservation patch at: http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Milkweed-for-Monarchs-Pledge-Final.pdf

Hopefully with our efforts, milkweed will hit a peak population in the near future for the monarchs to bounce back.

About the Author

Kelly Zheng is a junior multiplatform journalism major, with a minor in technology entrepreneurship, at the University of Maryland, College Park. This spring semester, she is an editorial intern at Washington Gardener.

Magical Milkweed and much more inside the November 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine

 

The November 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out.

You can view it online at http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardenernov2016

Inside this issue:

Magical Milkweed

Nutritious and Delicious Lamb’s Quarter

Your Monthly Garden Tasks To-do List

Meet Yao Afantchao: Ethnic Crop Specialist

Local Gardening Events Calendar

New China Garden at the US National Arboretum

Top Tips for Preventing Diseases in Your Garden

Giving Bulbs a Great Start

Maryland’s State Herbarium at Risk

Latest Boxwood Blight Research

Tips for Planting Bulbs with Kids

Many Mulching Benefits

And much more…

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the December 2016 issue are due by December 10.

  Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Native Spotlights: Milkweeds

Guest Blog by Rachel Shaw

It has been a good year in our region for Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). We have had a lot of rain, and they certainly seem to have appreciated it. The plants are lush this year, and quite a few new seedlings have popped up in my yard. (Seedlings are easy enough to pull out if they’ve landed in an inconvenient place.) Although my Swamp Milkweeds certainly appear to appreciate the water, mine normally get little supplemental water, except from the rain barrel, and the plants do well enough up until the end of the summer.

Milkweeds of course are best known for hosting Monarch Butterflies. I wish I would see more of these in my yard; I was lucky to observe one flitting from plant to plant the day I was taking pictures. Swamp Milkweed also attracts a wide variety of bees, wasps, and other insects. The “other” category includes several kinds of insects that find milkweed particularly enticing, such as the Small Milkweed Bug and Large Milkweed Bug. What I’ve mostly seen on mine are aphids of a golden yellow color, which apparently are Oleander Aphids. They seem to cluster on stems late in the season, although they appear to be more unsightly than damaging. 

In addition to Swamp Milkweed, I grow Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) -- one of my all-time favorite native plants. My Butterfly Weed patch remains small, and as these plants seem to come up particularly late in the season, I always wonder if they will reappear, but they have not failed me. I have to say though that it is the Swamp Milkweed that seems most splendidly attractive to pollinators. Both do fine in a modest-sized yard. I have not tried Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which I understand spreads pretty aggressively and probably is suited to more spacious areas. 

About the author:

Rachel Shaw focuses on vegetable gardening and growing native plants in her small yard in Rockville, MD. She blogs at http://hummingbirdway.blogspot.com/

This guest blog post is part of a monthly Native Plants series posted around the 10th of each month. Rachel is taking little hiatus from this monthly column in order to focus on some family matters. WE anticipate that this series will return in mid-summer.

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