I have 2011 milkweed - lots of it. you can have some if you want. Barbi

I haven't grown milkweed from seed yet, since I'm a newbie winter sower, but I know you can get the seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery (see link below). Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is the milkweed species that's native to northern California. You may have the best luck with it in your climate and soil. You can get it at Prairie Moon. See link below for plant description: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=assp Like many natives, the seeds need cold, moist stratification to germinate, which you can get by winter sowing the seeds. Prairie Moon has given it a code "C" with a number 30, which means it needs 30 days of cold, moist stratification for the seeds to germinate. I've winter-sowed many native plant seeds this year in milk jugs and am waiting for my sprouts! There are a bunch of other milkweeds that grow wild in California, such as California milkweed (Asclepias californica). You can probably find the seeds at one of the places on this webpage: http://www.cnplx.info/nplx/species?taxon=Asclepias+californica Hopefully another poster will advise about more germination tips. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Moon: Asclepias speciosa (Showy Milkweed)

Congratulations cAROL!!! That is SO exciting!! I'm happy your milkweed is blooming and hope you get lots of butterflies in your garden. I've been adding plants the butterflies & hummingbirds love to my flowerbeds the past several years. I sure got a jump on it this year with all the WS perennials I grew. Milkweed grows here on the hill behind the breezeway where my mother encouraged it as a host plant for the monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have never heard or read anything about the seasalt sand. I have read that butterflies can't drink from a birdbath and the experts suggest you keep a shallow puddle of water surrounded by sand where they can drink. I'll see what I can dig up for information and email it to you. Happy gardening!!! Eileen

Where do you live, and what zone? Most North American Milkweeds need a cold period, known as Winter stratification. There are several ways to plant and/or store Milkweed seeds thru the Winter. First of all, collect only from the healthiest pods on the healthiest plants. Avoid plants or pods infested with aphids and/or Milkweed bugs. For Tropical Milkweed, no cold stratification is necessary; simply plant in the Spring/ Summer. Keep seeds at room temp. Depending on your location, you will need to chill your Native Milkweed seed thru the Winter. You can Winter sow, planting just before a snow, or plant in the Fall. If you want to keep your seeds safe from birds, squirrels etc, you can keep them in the refrigerator for a minimum of six weeks. I put mine in a rolled Ziploc baggie, tagged c a Sharpie, and store all seeds in a vase in my unheated garage. I then Spring sow. I start my seeds in plastic deep celled flats and eventually move them to 4" pots. They make great gifts for friends, family, neighbors and coworkers. And there's still plenty for your garden :)> If you gather more seed than you can use, you can donate the remaining seeds to The Monarch Project or several other organizations geared towards preserving this natural treasure. Gather all you can. Every little bit helps. John