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Tuesday - September 23, 2014

From: Muldoon, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Butterfly Gardens
Title: Best milkweed to plant in Fayette County, TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What is the best milkweed to plant in central Texas [Fayette County] in black clay soil? this soil does not drain well.

ANSWER:

Here are the milkweeds that are known to grow in Fayette County:

Asclepias asperula (Spider milkweed) recommended* Seeds are available from Native American Seeds in Junction TX.

Asclepias oenotheroides (Zizotes milkweed) recommended*

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed) This one requires good drainage and could do well in a flowerbed with amended soil for drainage.

Asclepias viridiflora (Green milkweed) Here is the propagation protocol from Native Plant Network.

Asclepias viridis (Green antelopehorn) recommended* Seeds are available from Native American Seed in Junction TX.

Matelea gonocarpos (Anglepod) This is a vine, but finding seeds or plants may be difficult.

Monarch Joint Venture recommends A. asperula, A. oenotheroides and A. viridis for Texas. They also give you hints on growing milkweeds. OurHabitatGarden.org has excellent instructions for collecting seeds and growing milkweeds. Here are more "Growing Instructions" from Live Monarch. Live Monarch also has seeds, but not those recommended above Here is information on Growing Milkweeds from Monarch Watch. They also have a Milkweed Market.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has a webpage, Milkweed Seed Finder, to help you locate seeds.