Gomphocarpus Species, Balloonplant, Cotton-Bush, Hairy Balls, Giant Swan Milkweed

I'm just starting out c Asclepias physocarpus seeds for my first time. I'm a long time butterfly gardener and this Asclepiad intrigues me...Read More as a host plant/ nectar source.
I live in Zone 4b (WI) and am hoping this will reseed itself here in the Midwest.
If all else fails, I'll keep some seed back for next year...

got these seeds in SA planted them in doors and everyone germinated six plants the rest are in the fridge the plants are in pots in the g...Read Morearden and have flowers on now but I think there will not be any seed heads as it is already 10c.
Can anyone tell me if I put these in a green house that they will survive till next year they are already 4 foot high with loads of buds on
many thanks

the most important function this plant provides; in addition
to it's fun name and appearance; is that it is a Monarch
Butte...Read Morerfly attractant. The lady who complained about
caterpillars all year probably had a lot of monarchs
munching and making a mess, but what a bonus!
People who grow this plant in monarch areas are providing
much needed egg laying spots, and food for future generations.
I live in San Diego, and am seeing far more monarch in the yard, and yes, the caterpillars are munching.

I love this plant! I have found it easy to germinate, and the dried balloons look great with other dried flowers, or just piled into bow...Read Morel on the coffee table. They always generate comment. The flowers, too, while not showy, are graceful and often the plant grows into a lovely candelabra shape. My friends always look forward to the seedlings I germinate for them.

I have limited experience with this plant so far-started it from seeds this spring. Seeds were from 2 different sources. One pack from Ch...Read Moreiltern Seeds, UK; using baggie method, half w and half w/o cold stratification – none germinated. Another pack from Hardyplants; using baggie method, soaked seeds in 100 F and let sit overnight-7 out of 10 seeds germinated. One germinated during original overnight soak, the other 6 in a baggie within a week.
jxbrad14 – I saw this plant in Longwood Gardens this year, too. Unfortunately, there was nobody around at the time to ask if it survives the winters or they grow it as an annual.
Maybe, the seeds you picked were immature or they might require a period of dormancy to become viable.
I have my seedlings planted out in two places in the garden. One is more sheltered than the other. I also have 2 plants potted up to take inside for winter.We'll see how they make it.
We are infested with Monarch butterflies this summer. I am constantly moving Monarch caterpillars from Oscar’s milkweed to the wild ones that grow around, but find new ones on mine all the time. My plants are still rather small and having all the leaves eaten off of them is not going to help them get bigger and stronger. I am glad Monarchs are making a comeback, though.

Found seeds on a plant growing at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Sq. PA. and tried sowing them outdoors and indoors into peat moss pod. Out of...Read More 20 seeds none germinated.

This is the first Milkweed I grew. I planted about 10 seeds directly in my garden and 2-3 grew (my fault not the seeds, I was a beginnin...Read Moreg gardner). This was 3 years ago. Last year, only 2 came back. One grew very bushy to about 4 feet. The other to a lanky 6 feet. They are a caterpillar beacon! They were covered all summer and into fall. Also, I had a problem with aphids. There had to be thousands of them.

The seed pods ("balls", hehe) are so very interesting that I would grow this plant for those alone. They are amazing cut and dried, and everyone who walks past had to ask about them.

So pretty much you have:

Pros:
Strong grower
Give butterflies and caterpillars a home
Very cool seed spods

Cons:
Also attract aphids (yuck!)

I will always have one of these in my garden. Jennifer

I live in Palo Alto, CA and have grown this Asclepias for 2 years. The branches make a wonderful dried arrangement and it is a real atten...Read Moretion getter at over 6 feet when the swollen seed pods sway in the breeze. No cats yet though.

I planted it from seed last fall, and now it is about 8 ft and growing. I am not sure if I should cut it back in the winter. It is growin...Read Moreg above the roof!

This was my first year growing Oscar’s Milkweed or asclepias (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) here in Louisville, Kentucky. It did outstand...Read Moreing growing to better than six feet tall. I volunteer at a local nursery and was able to germinate the seed there in late March. and transplanted them in early May. There is a 120/130 days needed for maturity. being late Summer/Early Fall with flowering and pods. With high heat and dry weather it was drought-tolerant.
Seed saving can be a challenge; I didn’t want them to dry attached to the fluff so took the mature pods and separated the seed from the center of the pod and using my fingers rubbed the seed and they detached themselves into a container for drying. I found this method helpful to me rather than having the milkweed fluff escaping in the house of flying around my head.

Seed are slow to germinate. The plant is a fast grower in ordinary potting soil, and relatively free of oleander aphids.

A beautiful tall milkweed. Earlier on, it had quite a few tiny monarch cats on it, and I believe the high amount of wasps & predators di...Read Mored them in. I've seen conflicting hardiness info on this, ranging from Z7 thru Z10 and Z9 thru Z10. Regardless, it's a must have annual for us northerners. Hopefully I'll be able to harvest seed so I can grow more next year. It just started blooming in NJ, late August, originally wintersown.

Similar to Asclepias fruticosa, but a larger plant in general; also from South Africa.

This is a monarch magnet! I grew four other Asclepias in my garden this year, and this was the one that was consistently covered in cats...Read More all season long. The seed pods are a definite conversation starter! This plant gets a thick stalk and about 7 feet tall in Z7. The flowers are small, cream and pale lavender, and hang in clusters. I plan on adding several more to next year's garden. This is a must-have in a butterfly garden.