Milkweed Seed Success

I planted 6 milkweed seeds I sprouted on a wet paper towel. All of them grew after I planted them in some 4" pots after a few days of germinating in a heated humidity tent. It seems like the key is to cut or scratch the husk, and keep them moist, but not in a condition that'll rot the husk away after a few days.

I think you could have a really high success rate by prepping the seeds, then scattering them onto a thin layer of straw or grass clippings just on top of some bare soil. You might be able to get a hundred of them to grow with some pretty minimal effort.

If you just plant them in the ground, chances are they won't grow at all.

No-Till Sunflower Update

Sunflowers do really well around here. On our property they'd rather grow than not grow, when a bird drops a seed on the ground, chances are it will grow. It's no surprise, then, that my no-till planting of sunflowers in our future expanded garden are doing well. I planted them with three methods. One was to poke a hole in the ground and stick a seed in the soil. Another was to mash one into the ground and cover it with a handful of dirt. The third was to scatter them around under straw. All the seeds are growing. The most labor intensive method was the least effective. (poking the soil)

I think all I'd need to do is throw handfuls of sunflowers around and cover them with some straw and they'd grow like grass. I will probably give that a try.

Milkweed Seed Update

Mix of Clipped and Unclipped Seeds

I nipped the bottom of several milkweed seeds with a pair of sharp clippers. The pair I used was actually for electronics, but anything would work--scissors, a pairing knife, etc... I just clipped away at the seed husk until I could see the interior of the seed just a little bit.

I then spread those seeds on a paper towel and covered them with a paper towel and kept them moist. (covered with a dishcloth). A wet dishcloth keeps the paper towels moist overnight. You can check the progress of the seeds during the morning, then soak the dishcloth.

A number of the seeds sprouted in just a couple days. The unclipped seeds take a very long time to sprout. Actually I haven't witnessed any sprout yet. I planted the sprouted seeds in pots and am growing them inside.

Sprouted Milkweed Seeds (4 days later)

How to Grow Milkweed from Seeds

In the late autumn, you can find milkweed seed pods in meadow-like areas alongside the roads, under power lines, or along paths. If you want to grow milkweeds in your yard, it can be difficult to get the seeds to germinate if you scatter them in your lawn, or even if you put them in a prepared bed. The outer husk of the seed prevents the seed from just germinating. It's pretty likely the seed will rot or be eaten by a critter before the plant ever gets started. If you start them inside, you'll have more luck.

You can buy seeds online, or go collect them yourself. The seeds are ready when the pod splits open. If you take a seed pod too soon, the seeds will be immature. One pod has hundreds of seeds--probably more than you'll be able to use.

There are many people who provide tutorials on scarifying seeds. I tried a couple methods on milkweed seeds. One was to deep freeze the seeds for a number of weeks. The other was to simply snip open the seed shell to expose the interior slightly, which is super easy. The seed has a tear drop shape. I snipped off the pointy end by a small amount. I put the snipped seeds in coir/worm-casting planting soil in an egg-carton style container, since I figured the germination rate would be low. I kept the container in a heated humidity tent.

The deep-freeze seeds all failed to germinate and simply rotted. The snipped seeds actually sprouted recently. I'll update this when I get a sense of the rate of success.