Thanks in advance for your help! 3 Big Advantages of Winter Sown Milkweed + Winter Sowing Container ideas. To prevent wasps, spiders, etc. Is it dangerous for the caterpillars to eat these leaves? The Myths to Bust Myth #1: Milkweed is an invasive weed. Why are my plants’ leaves turning purple? Thanks! Hi Andrea, I don’t know much about specific fungus types, but the techniques listed have worked well to prevent and stop the spread of milkweed fungus in our northern garden. What can I do to prevent this without hurting the plant or cats? Do I saturate the ground with hydrogen peroxide or just spray the surface? The pheromone bag is a great idea; I’ve never seen any to buy. Hopefully someone will come through on the Butterfly Garden forum for you. The flowers on the tops of my tropical milkweed plants are wilting and dying. I then explained that I had been doing things this way for a long time and never before had a problem. Milkweed spreads rapidly, is difficult to get rid of and is a strong competitor for water and nutrients. Without it, they cannot complete their life cycle and their populations decline. In continuous growing regions, tropical milkweed should be cut back periodically so fresh growth can emerge: I started several tropical milkweed from cuttings, and they were doing well until a couple of days, the leaves have tiny white spots and the leaf color is lighter green. http://nababutterfly.com/tropical-milkweed. ), I notice one of my milkweed plants is growing yellow leaves at the bottom. I have milkweed in my front yard that have lots of flowers. Looks like a nice plant, albeit there is controversy in the butterfly camp about it. Yet, again this year, I am running out of milkweed. Both nurseries assured me their vendors don’t spray. I usually remove/discard those leaves and it’s never developed into a serious problem. I don’t think h202 would hurt them, but I’ve never sprayed it directly on them. Yours should spread but if you still want more try digging some rhizomes from the ditch rather than pods. Joepyeweed, I'd be happy to send you any leaves I have. The plants infested with aphids you have to wash off the aphids by hand using water in a squirt bottle. POM-POM PARADISE – THE SEASONS OF MILKWEED. I just don't have experience with that particular species to know the right time to prune it. Hi Brenda, you could always try spraying leaves with a hydrogen peroxide solution and/or removing affected leaves as is listed in the post…, Will the peroxide help with rust spots do the leaves and will it hurt the caterpillars . Hi Ralph, I only spray plants after I’ve checked for eggs and caterpillars. I also have some butterfly bushes that have a little bleach looking area, but the milkweed is more worrisome for me. Of course it could be the incoming monarchs and their eggs but to me that just doesn’t seem right. If this plant was eliminated from the US (which is impossible), butterflies would still be flying over and drinking nectar from Tropical Milkweed as they migrate to their overwintering sites. I had planned to grow more milkweed but the darn caterpillars eat my plants to nubs - so they never get pods. Then you’ve come to the right page…. If an infected butterfly lays eggs, they will be infected and can spread the OE to other healthy cats who crawl over the same plants. The black spots on my curassavica look exactly like your picture so I’m going out right now to remove the unhealthy ones. Joepyeweed, There is a big difference between the Asclepius syriaca that is in my garden, and the syriaca growing wild certain places on the property. Any suggestions? They then told me because I’m using tropical plants and not native that that was the problem. I would like to try the hydrogen peroxide/water spray (I read thru the instrux) and BUT I’m not totally clear: can I do this while caterpillars or eggs may be present? Some are more red in color than green. I would not spray while they are present. Would aphids cause leaves to turn yellow? Is this fungus? Hi Toney, I already get news from your web site but my issue is leaves turning yellow and falling off with lots of weird looking spots all over so I am thinking it might be a fungus of some sort and I am not sure of how to get rid of this problem without killing the eggs. It begins on the edges of the leaves and gradually the whole leaf becomes purple. Hi Renee, this is how swamp milkweed goes out every season. nope…just the 3% commonly found in stores. Since milkweed requires a period of cold stratification, it is best to either seed in late fall after a frost but before a hard freeze or to cold stratify in the refrigerator an seed in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked. I though maybe milkweed weevil eggs, but not sure…. I removed the whole plant to be safe and when I checked the underside of all its leaves I found 2 small cats. We have had a lot of rain. I’ll send a photo if you can tell me how. Do not compost diseased leaves/stems and risk spreading fungus spores into the soil. Milkweed plants in winter are valued by birds and small animals who use their natural fibers and seed fluff in their nests. I rarely see monarch eggs on them so the butterflies seem to be avoiding them for some reason. Tony, I’ve been concerned about my milkweed leaves turning purple and dropping off. It has to be the milkweed, do you think the late season milkweed (tropical) could have oem that doesn’t wash off. This way you can find caterpillars and protect the plants. I don’t spray monarch eggs/caterpillars directly with hydrogen peroxide and not sure if/how it would affect them. Hello! The brown chrysalises can be a bacterial infection. Did you soak the dirt or just spray on top of it? Of course, they accept no responsibility and told me they know nothing about caterpillars etc. I thought of cutting down the plant totally just in case I missed something. Not this year-my planting plans for my work got finished in November-but maybe next year! This can be avoided by bringing in eggs. I am working on growing cassia from seed for the sulphurs. Collect milkweed seeds in late fall when the seed pods are brown and open, or green and easy to pop open. Once it is established it can spread from its rhizomatous root system. And if you want to send me the leaves... feel free. Thanks. Every bit of my milkweed has the rust colored fungus and my catties are eating them, so I hope the fungus doesn’t hurt them either. Its been damp lately but the plants have been protected from being rained on directly and I have only been watering them minimally. The weed I'm wanting to cut is the common milkweed, but I also have a pink butterfly weed--I'm not sure of the specific varieties. Midway during the growing season, one of the plants was covered with oleander aphids. Milkweed seeds in nature undergo a process called stratification where their outer shell is cracked by the cold winter weather, allowing the seed to sprout in Spring. I’m worried that if it continues happening in the weeks ahead, we may end up with not enough leaves for our monarch caterpillars to munch on. I’m new to the this and don’t want to do anything that is going to worsen the situation. Would the hydrogen peroxide possibly work? Hi Erin, Asclepias curassavica does not ‘contain’ OE spores…they are left on the plants by sick butterflies taking nectar and/or depositing eggs. I thought it was from the heat and lack of rain this summer, but now I’m going to remove all of the yellow mishapen plants and hope for some healthy ones to come back up. If left for the leaf hoppers, they’ll quickly spread the bacteria to other plants in the vicinity. Hi Wheelz, this sounds like a potential virus (NPV) or bacterial disease. I don’t know where to turn to an answer. It starts off with small Yellowish brown bumps all over the underside of the leaves. Leaves can also look mottled if infested with spider mites: Tony, do you have to use food grade hydrogen peroxide? This was a very helpful article on fungus. Hi Ralph, I’ve never heard of anyone doing this, so I would suggest testing a plant. Thank you so much for this! Over the years, I’ve been less concerned about what’s ailing our milkweed, and more concerned about treating it early. Third, seedlings that are falling over can be more prone to disease and pests. Most universities have a insect rearing lab that could answer your question. Darlene, I've raised Monarchs for 3 years, and yes they will eat stems if there is no other food left to eat, but it's probably not the most nutritious part. Plant diseases shouldn’t affect caterpillars, but if you have access to healthier milkweed I would use that. Can they be eating the eggs and cats? 4. Oddly- my neighbors yard has become overgrown with this same type milkweed which were healthy until this past week the leaves have a silvery blackish spotting along them. He was as upset as I was. Does that affect the caterpillars negatively if later, eggs are laid on the plants and caterpillars eat the leaves? Because everything is freshly planted, I have hand watered all the new plants (all are drought tolerant plants, ground cover) and not sure if I have too much or not enough water now for the milkweed. I wouldn’t worry about overusing it though. They all have the problem. It killed the aphids, didn’t harm the butterfly weed and the cats seemed to be ok. Hi Allie…hard to say. Hey Tony, will spraying my milkweed with the hydrogen peroxide mix for fungus hurt monarch eggs or cats. I also have seeds I want to plant in the same area. I don’t spray h202 on eggs/caterpillars so I can’t say for sure if it would harm them. Remove sick leaves–  Whenever you come across sickly milkweed leaves, remove and discard. Yet here too, this is too simplistic. Told me he trusted his vendor and told me he had a few calls with problems with the milkweed. Do you know what would cause this stunted growth and discoloration? These cuttings aren’t a perfect looking as some of the others but I can’t identify what I’m seeing. Could I have maybe just beat them up a bit too much when I was washing them? or is this something that is naturally occurring in the plant? Here’s more short and long term strategies on: My milkweed on the patio have white mottling on the leaves. Hi Tammy, I would just removed the affected leaves. Plants affected by this should be immediately removed and discarded. Milkweed (Asclepias L.) is an American herbaceous perennial with over 140 known species. Staking is a bit of a job, though, since some of these stalks are 5-6 ft tall and located on quite a steep slope. They suggested I call the department of agriculture. The wings that don’t open and deformed chrysalises would make me thing there has been an OE infestation. Unfortunately, the milkweed has a habit of falling over as the seed pods are ripening, and they are covering up some fall blooming plants that haven't had their chance to shine yet. By now that wouldn't be an issue. Thanks for your time. Yesterday they ate everything and today, I cleaned and replaced food with fresh cuttings from the same found space I’d fed them leaves from before. Hi Joanne, I’ve seen this before too and just removed the affected leaves. Hi Lynne, I’m not a plant disease expert. I’m not sure what causes it, but it’s never been a serious problem. Spray early next season including the soil before plants emerge…good luck! I have searched for problem solving issues but am not sure what to try now. I have since removed my other cats onto another plant. Hi Tony, I live in MA and have about 9 growing cars of various ages. It's a pretty plant and the monarchs were all over it. Yes, I bought it from my local nursery. This is happening on both our ground-planted swamp milkweed and also on our potted tropical milkweed plants. Harvesting milkweed seed, either for personal use or to donate to a seed-saving service, is an excellent way to help. As soon as the seeds germinate, they respond to the heat by putting up tall, skinny stems before leaf production has a chance to catch up. Please! This plant has gained attention in recent years because some types are the sole host plant for monarch butterfly larvae (babies). 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