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Winter be damned. I'm gonna grow milkweed right thru the frost. Arizona milkweed and Aquatic milkweed are the number one stunners of the season. Tropical's persist, or die, depending on the duration of freezing weather.   Seed starting tips: put is soil and wait, put in soil cover with lid and wait, clip and water germinate, don't clip and water germinate. So there isn't one best way. Try different ways and see how the seeds start best for you. I learned that Aquatic milkweed likes to sit in soil for nearly a month before germinating. Most other milkweed seeds will germinate in one to two weeks.  Inspired by this wonderful Christmas gift from my wife I decided to try growing milkweed in a jar. I rinsed out the honey jar and added soil. Sprinkled a pinch of Milkweed Medley on the surface of the soil and watered the seeds and soil. Placed the cap w/ holes on the jar. Set it on the window sill and in a few weeks these milkweed plants are growing!  Jars are not great for milkweed because over watering and fungal disease is likely to occur without drainage holes. The double-cup is a good way to care for seedlings. In the top cup you poke drainage holes. I poke three holes with the tip of my paring knife. Add soil to the cup with drainage holes. Add milkweed seeds. In this cup I am growing Green antelopehorn Asclepias viridis. Water the seed into the soil. Place the top cup in the bottom cup and place in a sunny window.  Store link: https://www.growmilkweedplants.com/store  Host: Brad Grimm

RIP Tropical Milkweeds: Putting Your Garden To Bed This Autumn Monarchs are in northern Mexico. Right on schedule for Day of the Dead. Not all tropical milkweed are created equal. Why native milkweed won't thrive in a subdivision (paid link) Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks Bringing Nature Home, Updated and Expanded: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants Arizona milkweed finally has a pollinator on the flowers. Western honey bee is moving from goldenrod to late blooming Arizona milkweed. To be fair to the plant. It blooms and fruits all summer long until there is a frost. 

A Dose of Milkweed with Danny Sanchez Danny began gardening at an early age. Take a look at one of Danny's earliest experiences in the garden.  Danny's passion for gardening has only grown over the years. Guest: Danny Sanchez instagram @adoseofdannysgarden facebook Danny Sanchez YouTube A Dose of Danny Host: Brad Grimm Music licensed by Epidemic Sound

2/28/2020 Grow Milkweed Plants Podcast Episode 45 For complete show notes visit www.growmilkweedplants.libsyn.com Two tour guides at a monarch reserve in Mexico have been found dead. Foul play is suspected. https://www.mimorelia.com/localizan-sin-vida-a-raul-hernandez-guia-turistico-de-la-mariposa-monarca/amp/ LA Times reports that a bloody war is brewing over "Blood Avocados". Is no one safe anymore? https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-11-20/mexico-cartel-violence-avocados Sign the Change.org petition to boycott blood avocados from Mexico. https://www.change.org/p/whole-foods-boycott-mexican-avocados-buy-fair-trade Xerces Society has released the Monarch Butterfly count for Western Monarchs; and they are bad. 29,418 monarchs counted. Below the threshold considered sustainable. Will the monarch migration in the West collapse? https://xerces.org/blog/western-monarchs-need-our-help-more-than-ever Dr. Chip Taylor from Monarch Watch weighs in on western monarchs and the impact climate may have on the population. https://monarchwatch.org/blog/2020/02/25/monarchs-and-climate-in-the-west/?fbclid=IwAR2OuYfDhqegGypEdu92wPjpSzu_rbcRiSo8d5ZPLMNWmkFUnq2MHN967Lc Host: Brad Grimm

44 GMP PODCAST SHOW NOTES Rotary Club of South Reno Octoberfest silent auction. Check their events calendar for details about upcoming event tickets. renosouthrotary.com/   Air Carrier used for the 2019 trip to Lihue (LIH) Kauai, HI was Alaska Air alaskaair.com   Ground transportation used was Dollar car rental dollar.com   Accommodations used Ali’i Kai Resort, Princeville aliikairesort.com   Top 5 places to look at Calotropis plants in Kauai:  #5 Calotropis gigantea and Calotropis procera. Kauai Seascapes Nursery Inc 4741 Kahiliholo Rd # A Kilauea, HI 96754 kauaiseascapesnursery.com #4 Private Residence (near public road) Calotropis procera. 5204 Kawaihau Rd Kapaa, HI  96746 #3 Kapa’a First Hawaiian Church. Calotropis gigantea. Enjoy from public road. Advise not to enter property without permission. Address 4-1325 Kuhio Hwy Kapaa, HI  96746 North side of property.  #2 Puakea Golf Course Park Calotropis gigantea. 4391 Nuhou St Lihue, HI  96766 look East toward Costco Gas Station #1 Kekaha Beach Park Calotropis procera. 1-7698 Kaumualii Hwy Kekaha, HI  96756   Calotropis gigantea is propagated by stem cuttings. Place the cut part in water and watch for roots.  Calotropis procera is propagated by seed. I sell this seed at growmilkweedplants.com/procera $8.00   Hawai’i has two native butterflies. Hawaiians should get to know them. Love them. Grow their host plants.  1 Udara blackburni which can go by the names Koa butterfly, Hawaiian Blue or Blackburn’s Butterfly. The host plant for Udara blackburnii includes but is not limited to the following species. Dodonaea viscosa (Broad leaf hopbush) and Acacia koaia (Koai’a). 2 Vanessa tameamea goes by the names Kamehameha butterfly and the Hawaiian name of pulelehua. Host plants include but are not limited to Pipturus albidus (Mamaki).   Grow Milkweed Plants launched a Free Milkweed Seeds program on October 1st 2019. Did you read the email? email link  $475 was raised in a facebook fundraising campaign. Grow Milkweed Plants matched $500. The goal was to ship 250 packets of Free Milkweed Seeds to 250 people by Christmas Day 2019. The goal was achieved!!! Learn more about the program at growmilkweedplants.com/freeseeds Consider purchasing a packet that funds a packet of Free Milkweed Seeds for others or make a direct donation thru the PayPal link provided on that webpage.   

MILKWEED HIT LIST ✔️ Asclepias asperula https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62298 ✔️ Asclepias nyctaginifolia https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62294 ✔️ Asclepias tuberosa https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47912 ✔️ Asclepias linaria https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62295 ✔️ Asclepias hypoleuca https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/158742 ✔️ Asclepias nummularia https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/158751

Nestor R and Brad G wander the Coral Pink Sand Dunes in search of the rare Welsh's milkweed. Plant page: growmilkweedplants.com/welshii Observation: inaturalist.org/observations/30008278 Google's top six results for Asclepias welshii Wikipedia Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center USDA Plant Guide (.PDF) USDA Plants Profile U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service A. welshii (.PDF) Grow Milkweed Plants - Asclepias welshii Host Brad Grimm Unspoken guest: Nestor Robles

What you will hear in this episode. Asclepias cryptoceras grows in a remote location on a shale slope in the Great Basin east of Reno NV. Three experts and me have an unplanned meeting in the mountains and talk milkweed over a rare milkweed. Cocoa Beach Florida has sun and fun but I take a time-out under an umbrella to talk about the diverse number of locally native milkweeds in central Florida.  Guests: Anurag Agrawal, Elizabeth Pringle, Aramee Diethelm Host: Brad Grimm

Monarch Population Status The Xerces Society Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count 1997-2018 The Western Monarch Thanksgiving & New Year’s Counts Second New Year’s Count Supports Monarchs Movement Between Sites This master gardener is luring monarchs to Las Vegas   Host: Brad Grimm Guests: Anne Marie Lardeau, Glenda Bona, Nestor Robles, David Dewenter   ROYALTY FREE MUSIC by BENSOUND

Jet down to Oleander Acres to see if milkweed really is bigger in Texas.

I still laugh about the first time I "found milkweed". It was actually dogbane. I revisit this location and walk along the Truckee river in Reno Nevada. Learn about the different kinds of leaf damage on milkweed leaves. Milkweed bugs make a living on the leaf and we meet both the small milkweed bug and red milkweed beetle. Support the show by clicking thru the E-Z Straw amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2MXtQWh E-Z Straw is the perfect mulch for busy professionals who have a large container garden in need of mulch. For incomplete show notes visit growmilkweedplants.com/38 Podcast Location: Mayberry Park, Reno, Nevada Host: Brad Grimm Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

  Fall monarch migration is beginning now. Monarch's keep warm in Mexico and California. If they were people we would call them snow-birds. Are you ready for winter? Check out these parkas insulated with the fibers of milkweed plants. Asclepias clothing is light, hypoallergenic and renewable. Plus it will keep you warm thru the winter!  Mason bees and summer leaf cutter bees do 10x the pollination work that a honeybee does plus they don't have a hive to protect so they don't sting. This summer, with the help of an instructables guide, I built a solitary bee house. Then to my surprise seven nesting tubes got used to build a bigger pollinator workforce. Over the winter I will make more and offer them for sale in the spring for you to place in your garden. Sadly, we mourn the passing of Mr. Lincoln Brower. Mr. Brower advanced the study of monarchs and milkweed and expanded our knowledge with over sixty years of research and education. His contributions will not be forgotten.  All this and more! Visit the complete show notes page at http://www.growmilkweedplants.com/37 Host: Brad Grimm Location​: Grow Milkweed Plants HQ Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com  

Water germination of milkweed seeds was introduced to me by Francisco Julich. I recommend following Francisco on Instagram at jardimdeborboletas he is based in Brazil. My understanding of water germination of milkweed seeds was expanded by Dr. Steven Broyles who is a professional on the subject of milkweed. I credit Francisco and Steven with being first to share the water germination method in my blog post Water Germination of Milkweed Seeds. Looking for a simple guide to help you grow milkweed plants from seed? A milkweed seed germination guide is available for download. Cold Moist Stratification is recommended if it is October through March. Water Germination is recommended from April through September.    Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com  

San Juan milkweed   Paco's Reserva de Flora y Fauna The monarch butterfly isn't the only butterfly that uses Asclepias plants as their host. Queen butterflies and Soldier butterflies are a common sight in tropical regions like Mexico and central America. The summer is the slow season for milkweed butterflies in Mexico. Due the the heat and it's drying effect on the milkweed in the area I did not see any milkweed butterflies during my visit. December and January are the rainy season in Mazatlan Mexico. During the wet time of year in the winter months the milkweed that was dry and dormant thru the summer comes back to life and grows with vigor.  SaveSave SaveSave

Show notes in progress.

Three main topics discussed. One Gallon Greenhouse update including forward looking statement for the upcoming growing season. Water Germination of milkweed seeds. The easiest way to go from seed to plant in the fastest time possible. Recap of Milkweed Madness winners and a tease at whats to come in the 4th annual Milkweed Madness free seed giveaway. royalty free music by: Ben Sound at bensound.com

Lynn Rosenblatt, author of MONARCH MAGIC and MONARCH BUDDIES dedicates 20 years to "POM-POM Paradise!" Connecticut teacher and author LYNN ROSENBLATT devoted twenty-five years to teaching energetic and spontaneous first and second grade children. She empowered students through a global teaching approach and welcomed student creativity and spontaneity. Her websites http://www.lynnrosenblattbooks.com/ and MonarchButterflyUSA continue that work. Lynn’s latest book Monarch Buddies: Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed! is the revival of an original story, “Butterfly Buddies” – the framework for her award winning book MONARCH MAGIC. Follow along as MAX and MAISY and their monarch mentor, Montgomery take the reader through an engaging tale of friendship and discovery. Learn more about Lynn’s other books, videos and music at her author website at www.lynnrosenblattbooks.com Kids are the inspiration. The creative eye of children allows them to see the magic.  MONARCH MAGIC! includes the inspiration and photographs of the children who worked with monarchs in the classroom.  "Children see the MAGIC because they LOOK for it." - Christopher Moore If you are interested in educating and inspiring children then I strongly encourage you pick up a copy of MONARCH MAGIC! and Monarch Buddies.  Connecticut has ten native milkweed species. If you are interested in finding out how many milkweed species are native in your state you can use the Milkweed Map to Locate Native Milkweed. Lynn grows and plants a few beautiful kinds of milkweed. common milkweed swamp milkweed purple milkweed Most milkweeds are perennial flowers that will grow back to provide habitat each summer. Plant it once and enjoy them for decades. Pictured here is swamp milkweed. Milkweed is The "Heart" of the Monarch Life Cycle. Are you interested in seeing a list of nearly all the different milkweeds the grow in North America? Discover milkweeds from Aquatic to Zizotes A-Z of MILKWEED SPECIES   POM~POM Paradise perfectly describes the milkweed field in the summer months when the milkweed plants are in full bloom; showing off their POM~POMs! The bright milkweed umbels (flowers) are like a group of POM~POMs.  For years I have been searching for a description of the habitat that is the nursery where monarchs grow. Fireworks seem pretty close. It's often around the 4th of July that the milkweed blooms seem to display their color explosions. POM~POM Paradise is my new favorite saying for whenever I am surrounded by milkweed in bloom. Monarchs need MILKWEED ACROSS AMERICA and so do we! Tony has an incredible story made possible by a POM~POM Paradise.   Twenty years after Lynn published MONARCH MAGIC! Things came full circle and the beautifully crafted story Monarch Buddies: Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed! has been published. Follow along as MAX and MAISY and their monarch mentor, Montgomery take the reader through an engaging tale of friendship and discovery. Their story shares their adventures as they munch and crunch milkweed, experience complete metamorphosis, life cycle changes and embark on a quest for survival. With hope in their hearts for a safe tomorrow, they will always remember their joyful days in the milkweed fields, and forever in their hearts they will always be…MONARCH BUDDIES!   Earth Day is April 22, 2018. Lynn likes to plant milkweed as an Earth Day activity. "Do something special to create something for the future. Something to save what we have and something for the future."  The musical score ~ ONE BIG WORLD For ALL of US to Share! ~ is a poignant plea for World Peace and Environmental Habitat Protection for the Monarch Butterfly.    Contact Lynn Rosenblatt directly at USAMonarch24@gmail.com to share your favorite photo of monarch butterflies or milkweed. Look for exciting changes at http://monarchbutterflyusa.com in the coming months! It was an absolute privilege to speak with Lynn! Now is the time to plant the milkweed seed that becomes the POM~POM Paradise of tomorrow. In addition to milkweed being the sole food source of the monarch butterfly caterpillar (Max and Maisy) it is also a flower that provides very high value as a nectar source for bees and other pollinators.    MILKWEED ACROSS AMERICA!   Complete Show Notes at GROWMILKWEEDPLANTS.COM/32 

Register now for Milkweed Madness.  Listen to The Garden Path Podcast with Misti Little. I was a guest on her show. Look for Ep. 3-18: Grow Milkweed Plants | Brad Grimm   Host: Brad Grimm Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

Anurag Agrawal author of Monarchs and Milkweed speaks to us on the topics that are most interesting to us.  Book title - Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution Grow Milkweed Plants podcast - Season 3 Episode 3 Read the recent blog posts by todays guest. Click on the titles which are links to monarchs and milkweed in Oxaca Mexico and the surrounding area.  Monarchs & Milkweed in Mexico – Pt 1 Posted on January 16, 2018 by Anurag Agrawal Monarchs & Milkweed in Mexico - Pt II Posted on January 28, 2018 by Anurag Agrawal Listen to the sounds of the monarch butterflies by locating Cerro Pelon on the SoundMap provided by Locus Sonus. Be sure to tune in during the daylight hours because that is when the monarchs are active but more important is that the microphone is powered by solar energy and the location only appears on the map when the sun is shining on the monarch butterflies. ​http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/ View the book which is available from Amazon (press and hold link below) Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution   Host: Brad Grimm Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

Winter sown. Garden grown. Use milk jugs to grow milkweed plants starting in the winter. Grow Milkweed Plants podcast - Season 3 Episode 2 Step two of winter sowing milkweed seeds in a one gallon greenhouse. My YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/5VMLrbqBauU How many monarch butterflies in the western population? See for yourself at https://www.westernmonarchcount.org Numbers should be released very soon. The 2017 Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count runs November 11th - December 3rd and the second annual New Year's Count runs December 30th - January 14th. The November 9th blog by Pacific Grove Museum said the arrival of the monarch butterflies at their location was slower and with lower numbers then in years past. http://www.pgmuseum.org/blog/2017/11/9/slow-monarch-arrival What does that mean for the western population as a whole? Monarch Butterfly Flight Challenge: Monarch Butterfly Fund Issues Technology Design Challenge to Solve Mystery of Monarch Butterfly Migration Inventors invited to participate in $50,000 challenge to create new tracking device. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fhX4d5bxmmB5ISwHhWho5-gGyGoLlxtXm_iqQhGzz88/edit  Milkweed Madness registration is going to open in February. Stay tuned for more information about how to win wonderful prizes thru this free giveaway. If you are interested in donating seeds or milkweed related products as prizes then contact Brad G at growmilkweedplants@gmail.com and use "milkweed swag" as the subject. Host: Brad Grimm Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com