I'm hoping it wasn't something we did wrong....the milkweed was infested with aphids...when the ladybugs never arrived, I sprayed them with insecticidal soap, made sure all the aphids were gone, then hosed them down really well before I put them in the ground. I hope that didn't do something wrong. The only other treatment we did was a heavy soaking of compost tea and applied coco-coir mulch chunks to the bed. If I killed anything besides those aphids, I will be really sad!!!
On a second note, these plants all came from a nursery that is strictly organic (and biodynamic too, I think) and they have proven to be the strongest, most prolific and beautiful plants I've ever purchased. Hands down. It's the Florida Native Plant Nursery in Myakka. Very knowledgeable people!
