As some of you know, I'm on a mission to find milkweed on my property. I found this today near a ditch. It is about 3-4ft tall. It stinks to the high Heavens. Is it milkweed?

No, I think you have found a Pluchea:
http://garden.org/plants/searc...

I had never heard of this prior to you mentioning it. Funny that I see the name "Stinkweed"..... I think mine is the paler pink. It's the only one I see out here which seems odd for being a wildflower.

Happy to suggest. ;)

Hi Terri 😎
I thought you were crazy 🙉wantin milkweed...What we all call milkweed hear is a weed and ugly !!## it makes a little yollow flower 4 one day.then afew days ..opens to a fluff of tiny seeds.100s.that the breeze blows everywhere.😫😠😡
8foot tall.spiney.break a leaf an white sap bleeds out. SO BEING INQUISITIVE 😕
I googled California Milkweed..powiee#
🙈😄 All kinds pics. of em.I didnt know it was a flower # so thanks ! 57 yrs old and l learned something today. ("You learn something new everyday an you never grow old") 😎😎😎

There are many species of milkweed (Asclepias.) One reason why one might want to cultivate some is to aid the declining monarch butterfly population. Monarch caterpillars can only eat Asclepias plants.

Hi Philip @Philipwonel! Yes, I am trying to help the Monarch population as mentioned above by Tiffany @Purpleinopp. I have about 4 acres of wild growth (trees and plants) so I have been actively searching the elusive (for now) milkweed. Hopefully next year I will see both milkweed and Monarchs, but I have to get better about growing the seed. So far, I suck at that too.

A. tuberosa should do well in your area, Terri.

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

A tuberosa, A incarnata are your native milkweeds. A test in the field is their sap is a milky latex and a skin irritant, so be careful not to get the goo on you. Another surefire way to find them is to look for a milkweed bug. I cant send you links - maybe someone can help? Links that is?

kittriana said:A tuberosa, A incarnata are your native milkweeds. A test in the field is their sap is a milky latex and a skin irritant, so be careful not to get the goo on you. Another surefire way to find them is to look for a milkweed bug. I cant send you links - maybe someone can help? Links that is?

Pics of both large and small milkweed bugs and nymphs:

http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_d...

Lots of milkweed grows wild here but I haven't seen any monarchs so there 's no guarantee.

Phillip,

I know what plant you are thinking of because I grew up calling it 'milkweed' too. The milkweed Terri is looking for (Asclepias sp.) is a whole different plant. Our's is actually Prickly Lettuce Milkweed (Lactuca serriola).

Butterflies tend to travel where they grew- if you have butterflies, grow the plants they like. Planting milkweed DOES NOT mean you will get monarchs if you haven't seen any. Hummingbirds are the same. I have 4 this year and will probably not see more ruby throats than that. A few miles away a friend is in their migration path- she gets literally dozens and goes thru at least a gallon a day with 5 feeders staying busy. Monarchs have migration routes too- are you within one of those? What butterflies Do you see?

Hi Terri😎 OK SEED PLANTING # 101😬
General rule plant seed deprh 3× diameter of seed. Direct seeding.gently sprinkle every morning and evening.or😫 I allways sprinkle some snail pellets and bug granuales around.4earwigs.sowbugs.and cutworms. If the soil gets dry or crustuded over ! Its 😫 time 😠😡. #2-- start em in pots 🙉 Cover da pots well with plastic wrap.and make some little knife slits in plastic.slits not holes. Now you have a little greenhouse 😎. You dont have to water till seeds sprout. At witch time take plastic off.put em where they get some indirect sun . then some direct sun .little by little. AND !!! Be devoted toowowowawa
watering em ! Dare your babies and totaly dependant on you 😎. I started dis years
tomato seeds in da house.in middle of winter. When they sprouted i put em outside in sun in morning and brought em inside at evening. They dont like cold and frost will kill em. If it rained ! GREAT ### rain is like a fertilizer to everything. Unfortunately to weeds ALSO 😠😡😫
SO DARS YOU GO !!! So ! GET ER DONE GIRL ! I can do it YOU CAN TO DODODO#
Oh tanks 4 da thumbs up # 😎😎😎

PS: Lantana attracts butterflies. Ownce you get it started though . it growes like weed (girls gone crazed ) ha ha ! Spreads. Good to grow up trellis ! 🙊🙉🙈
😎😎😎

Here Lantana draws whiteflies, but its a native. I just wondered WHAT butterflies she does see...

You could also look into butterfly weed which is another milkweed with orange flowers. I find that state and national parks are very helpful when it comes to information especially if You don't know what something looks like. They can also tell you what species are more common in your area. Your local extension might even have info on native plant groups that you can participate in so you can either help gather seed or cuttings.

Are you looking for the kind of Milkweed to attract Monarch butterflys? This plant has a cluster of pinkish flowers, and will get a large seed pod that will open and carry a seed attached to a fuzzy
much like a dandelion or a salsify plant. These are started much easier by a small root cutting. Let me know if you want some.

Deryll? Are you talking abt A.Syriacus? They do grow pretty well in the area, but aren't a native. I saw a bunch of the A.Tuberosa in Tn going north toward Knoxville. If she doesn't see any butterflies, she may not be in a migratory path...
Welcome, by the way!

Asclepias syriaca is native to the eastern half of US
http://plants.usda.gov/core/pr...

You must be thinking about something else not native to that area.
A syriaca is very aggressive in a garden, spreading by thick thizomes several inches down. It isn't one for neat tidy gardens but is great for the wild look and monarchs.

Terri is in Georgia so maybe this page about Georgia milkweeds would be helpful. It does say A. syriaca is rare there but does occur in extreme NW Georgia.

http://www.eealliance.org/asse...